US3241487A

US3241487A - Rotary printer feeder comprising oscillatable suction head and reciprocable pusher jaw

Info

Publication number: US3241487A
Application number: US305947A
Authority: US
Inventors: George E Martell
Original assignee: Smith Kline and French Laboratories Ltd
Current assignee: Smith Kline and French Laboratories Ltd; SmithKline Beecham Corp
Priority date: 1963-09-03
Filing date: 1963-09-03
Publication date: 1966-03-22
Anticipated expiration: 1983-03-22

Description

March 22, 1966 G. E. MARTELL ROTARY PRINTER FEEDER COMPRISING OSCILLATABLE SUCTION HEAD AND RECIPROCABLE PUSHER JAW 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept.

mm wwm INVENTOR.

GEORGE E. MART LL ATTORNEYS March 22, 1966 G. E. MARTELL 3,241,487

ROTARY PRINTER FEEDER COMPRISING OSCILLATABLE SUCTION HEAD AND RECIPROCABLE PUSHER JAW Filed Sept. 5, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 llllllll l l I I I l l I l l l I l ll wON IN VEN TOR.

Mr R E E N Du 1 R M A E. E

E Am 3,241,487 E SUCTION March 22, 1966 G. E. MARTELL ROTARY PRINTER FEEDER COMPRISING OSCILLATABL HEAD AND RECIPROCABLE PUSHER JAW 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 5, 1963 Ill/I [III III] Rf f/ Rmw m Q MTJ V R WA MA. E u G 1 m EM 6 \Y 6 0; #11

ATTORNEYS 3,241,487 OTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 cs. E. MARTELL so I56 ,"x

HEAD AND REGIPROCABLE PUSHER JAW March 22, 1966 ROTARY PRINTER FEEDER COMPRISING OSCILLATABLE SU Filed Sept. 5, 1963 u mm m 4 v E R E vw 9 G O l E F M m 6 mm m F 8/ 5 a M m M; m 4. m\ 6 m N m ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,241,487 ROTARY PRINTER FEEDER COMPRISING OSCIL- LATABLE SUCTION HEAD AND RECIPROCABLE PUSHER J AW George E. Martell, Rnnnernede, N.J., assignor to Smith Kline & French Laboratories, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 305,947 2 Claims. (Cl. 101-232) This invention relates to a printing machine suitable for printing sheets, blanks or the like as they are required.

It is frequently desired to print such information such as names, instructions, codes and sizes on envelopes, leaflets, flat packing boxes and the like as they are being used in a particular operation such as, for example, a package assembly line. Whenever the printing is accomplished ahead of time on a supply of such articles, extra handling is required. Further, the printing in advance frequently results in either over or short supplies with attendant waste or delay. In accordance with this invention, the printing of the articles is carried out as the articles are used.

The invention and its objects will be made fully apparent from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a printing machine in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the printing machine of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the box blank printed by the machine of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a front perspective View of the box blank of FIGURE 3 assembled into a box;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by the line 5-5 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section partially broken away taken on the plane indicated by the line 6-6 in FIG- URE 5 FIGURE 7 is a vertical section partially broken away taken on the plane indicated by the line 7-7 in FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated by the line 8-8 in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated by the line 9-9 in FIGURE 5; and FIGURE 10 is a vertical section partially broken away taken on the plane indicated by the line 10-10 in FIG- URE 9.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 1, a printing machine 2 is provided with a frame 4 on which is mounted a stationary support 6 forming a path for a blank to be printed. A magazine 8 has a supporting frame 10 mounted on support 6 and is provided with upstanding guide members 12. Stripper pins 14 secured to threaded members 16 which are threaded to frame 10 support the lowermost box blank 18 in magazine 8 along its edges.

The blanks 18 are removed one at a time from magazine 8 by means of suction cups 22 which are connected by pipes 24 to the interior of hollow arm 26. The hollow interior of each arm 26 is connected by a flexible, preferably rubber or synthetic resin, line 28 which in turn is connected to a conduit 30 which communicates with the interior of a manifold 32. A line 34 (see FIGURE 5) connects manifold 32 to a valve 36 which in turn is connected by a line 38 to a vacuum pump 40 driven by an electric motor indicated at 42. Valve 36 permits vacuum line 38 to either be connected to line 34 or to the atmosphere through port 44.

As best seen in FIGURE 5, arms 26 are mounted for vertical oscillation on members in each case by being ice fixedly connected to a pin 52 mounted for rotation in a pair of adjacent members 50. Shaft 54 is connected fixedly to the adjacent pin 52 which passes through the member 50 adjacent shaft 54. As best seen in FIGURES 5 and 8, shaft 54 is fixedly secured to a lever 56 which carries a cam follower roller 58 which in turn engages a cam 62. Valve operating lever 64 is pivotally connected at 66 to lever 56 at one end and has its other end pivotally connected to valves 36 for the operation thereof.

Cam 62 is fixedly secured to shaft 68 which is mounted in a bearing indicated at 70 and as best seen in FIG- URES 5 and 8 is fixedly held by a collar 72 secured to plate 74 which frictionally engages plate 76 of a conventional friction clutch 78. Plate 76 is fixedly secured to rotate with sprocket 80 which in turn is secured to a stub shaft 82 rotatably mounted in bearing member 84.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, sprocket 80 is driven by a chain 86 which passes over an idler roller 88 and in turn is driven by a sprocket 90 secured to shaft 92. Shaft 92 is driven by a speed reducer indicated 94 which in turn is driven by an electric motor indicated at 96. Sprocket 80 is driven counterclockwise as viewed in FIG- URE 1 which results in the counterclockwise rotation of plate 76 which slips relative to plate 74 which is held against rotation by virtue of horizontal pin 102 secured to plate 74 and adapted to engage shoulder 104 of stop member 106 (see FIGURE 7). Stop member 106 has a horizontal lower leg 108 (FIGURE 7) which rides in a groove 110 in a block 112 secured to frame 4. A plate 114 overlies leg 108 to hold it in groove 110. A pin 116 secured to stop member 106 projects through a slot 118 in block 112 and is connectedto one end of an extension spring 120, the other end of which is connected to a pin 122 secured to block 112. The upper end of stop member 106 is secured to lever 124.

A ramrod 126 is connected in a conventional manner to a ram cylinder indicated at 128 (FIGURE 1). One end of ram cylinder 128 is connected by a line 130 to a valve 132, the other end of ram cylinder 128 being connected to valve 132 by a line 134. Valve 132 is supplied with air by a line 136 and has an exhaust port 137. Valve 132 is a solenoid valve and is connected to ground by a line 138 (see' FIGURE 5) and is connected to a suitable power line by a line 140 which contains a normally open microswitch 142 which has an operating lever 144 which extends above support 6 at the left-hand end as viewed in FIGURES 1 and 5 and also contains a normally open switch 146. A switch operating plate 148 is adapted to engage and close switch 146 when arms 26 are in their lowermost positions, plate 148 being supported by arms 150 which are secured to arms 26 as best seen in FIG- URES 1 and 8. One of arms 150 carries a pin 151 to which one end of extension spring 153 is secured, the other end being secured to frame 4. Spring 153 urges the arms 26 upwardly.

Ramrod 126 is secured to an end member 152 which carries a finger 154 (FIGURES 1 and 5) which is adapted to engage the upper inner end of lever 124 as ramrod 126 is pulled into ram cylinder 128. A rod 156 extending above ramrod 126 is carried by end member 152 and forms part of the apparatus which advances the blank 18 removed from magazine 8 along the path formed by support 6. A block 158 (FIGURE 10) rides below support 6 and is fixedly secured to a bracket 160 which is secured to rod 156 to travel therewith. An L-shaped lever 162 is pivotally secured at 164 to block 158 and has one end which passes upwardly through a slot 166 in support 6 to carry a slanting lever 168 provided with a downwardly extending pin 170 which is threadably secured to lever 168 for adjustment. The other end of lever 162 is provided with a cam follower roller 172 which is adapted to engage cam 174 secured below support 6. An extension spring 176 has one end secured to lever 162 and the other end secured to a pin 178 which is secured to a bracket 180 attached to rod 156. Spring 176 acts to bias lever 162 so as to rotate clockwise as viewed in FIGURE 10 about the pivot point at 164. Block 158 carries a jaw member 181 opposite pin 178.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a rotatable hold-down roller 184 is spaced above support 6 and rotatably secured to a slide member 186 provided with a slot 188 through which bolts 190 pass to secure it to a bracket 192. Bracket 192 is fixedly secured to frame 10 of magazine 8 by means of a support member 194.

A roller 200 carries a printing plate 202 (FIGURE 2) and is in rolling contact with a transfer roller 204 which in turn is in rolling contact with an ink reservoir roller 206. An extension of spring 208 is secured to a pin 210 on roller 200 at one end and has its other end secured at 212. Spring 208 acts to center up to its zero position roller 200 after it has turned 360 more or less. All of these rollers are rotatably mounted on a plate indicated at 214. A driven backup roller 216 extends upwardly through an opening 217 in support 6 and is fixedly secured to a shaft 218 which is mounted for rotation in bearings 220, 220 (FIGURE 5). A sprocket 222 secured to shaft 218 is driven by a chain 224 which in turn is driven by a sprocket 226 secured to shaft 92.

Operation In operation, the parts will normally be initially in the position shown in FIGURE 1 with

switches

142 and 146 being closed so that when power line 140 is energized, solenoid valve 132 will be positioned so as to cause ramrod 126 to be retracted which will result in drawing finger 154 into contact with stop member 106 so as to slide it against the force of spring 120 away from pin 102. Since motor 96, speed reducer 94 and shaft 92 are causing chain 86 through sprocket 80 to rotate shaft 82 and hence plate 76 of slip clutch 78, the release of stop member from pin 102 will cause the rotation of clutch plate '74 due to its frictional engagement by plate 76 and the consequent rotation of shaft 68 and cam 62. As cam follower 58 moves towards the low point of cam 62, extension spring 153 elevates arms 26 until suction cups 22 are in contact with the lowermost blank 18 in magazine 8. Prior to contact of suction cups 22 with the blank 18, arm 56 has rotated counterclockwise as viewed in FIGURE 6 sufiiciently to cause lever 64 to shift valve 36 to change the connection of line 34 from port 44 to line 38, thus connecting suction cups 22 to vacuum pump 40.

As soon as arms 26 commence to elevate, plate 148 moves away from switch 146 permitting it to open and causing solenoid valve 132 to be deenergized and to thus reverse the direction of movement of ramrod 126 to cause the ramrod to return to its original extended position.

The continued rotation of cam 62 causes the lowering of arms 26 against the force exerted by spring 153 causing the lowermost blank to be withdrawn from its engagement by stripper pins 14 and the blank to be lowered down to a position where it lies on support 6. Just as the blank reaches support 6 lever 56 actuates lever 64 to reconnect line 34 to port 44 which leads to the atmosphere thus breaking the suction connection between cups 22 and blank 18. When arms 26 reach their lowermost position, switch 146 will again be closed by plate 148 and if there is no blank overlying lever 144 of switch 142 to open this switch, solenoid valve 132 will be energized to cause ramrod 126 to be retracted. Gripper lever 168 will be advanced to overlie blank 18 on support 6 and shortly thereafter urged downwardly so that pin 170 will engage the blank and urge it against jaw member 181 due to the engagement of cam follower roller 172 with 4 cam 174 as the cam follower roller 172 moves from right to left as viewed in FIGURES l and 10.

The blank 18 on support 6 will then be moved under hold-down roller 184 to be urged between

roller

200 and 216 where the counterclockwise rotation of roller 216 as viewed in FIGURE 1 will remove the blank 18 from its position between pin 170 and jaw member 181 and urge it onto the left-hand end of support 6 in a position overlying lever 144 to move this lever downwardly and open switch 142. As blank 18 passes under roller 200 in rolling contact therewith, the ink printing plate 202 will be forced into contact with the upper surface of the blank to transfer the desired printing thereon. After the blank has moved beyond contact with roller 200, it will be centered up by means of spring 208, the roller in the printing operation generally travelling 360 but tending to overtravel. Here again, as ramrod 126 is retracting, finger 154 will come into contact with lever 124 causing stop member 106 to release pin 102 to cause the elevation of arms 26 for the pick-up of another blank which will be lowered to support 6 in the manner previously described. Ramrod 126 will not be retracted again to cause the second blank to be printed until the first blank overlying switch lever 144 has been removed.

What is claimed is:

1. Printing apparatus comprising a stationary support forming a path for a blank to be printed, a magazine for blanks to be printed positioned above said support, said magazine having an open bottom with means to engage the lowermost blank about its edges, oscillatable means including at least one suction head, said oscillatable means being hinged for movement between engagement of the bottom blank in said magazine by said suction head and the transfer of the blank thus engaged to said support, a printing roller and an opposed roller in said path, reciprocable means to engage on its advancing stroke a blank on said support to advance said blank into engagement by said rollers, means for oscillating said oscillatable means, suction means, a valve, said suction head connected alternately to said suction means and to the atmosphere upon operation of said valve, said means for oscillating said oscillatable means including means for the operation of said valve to connect said suction head to said suction means to provide suction to said suction head upon its engagement with said bottom blank and to connect said suction head to the atmosphere upon transfer of said blank to said support, means for immobilizing said means for oscillating said oscillatable means upon transfer of said blank to said support, means for reciprocating said reciprocable means, control means for controlling said means for reciprocating said reciprocable means to effect the advancing stroke of said reciprocable means upon transfer of said blank to said support, means for deimmobilizing said means for oscillating said oscillatable means actuated by said reciprocable means, said control means effecting the return stroke of said reciprocable means prior to the transfer of the next succeeding blank to said support, and means to rotate at least one of said rollers.

2. Printing apparatus comprising a stationary support forming a path for an object to be printed, a magazine for sheets to be printed positioned above said support and having an open bottom and means to support the edges of the bottom sheet in the magazine, oscillatable means including at least one suction head to engage the bottom sheet in the magazine and transfer it to said support, a printing roller and an opposed pressure roller in said path, reciprocable means to engage the sheet on the support and advance it into engagement between said rollers, means to operate said oscillatable means and said re ciprocable means to repeatedly and successively remove a sheet from the magazine and transfer it to said support and therefore to advance it to between said rollers, said last mentioned means including means to return said reciprocable means to its original position after the advancement of each said sheet, and means to rotate at least one of said rollers to advance the sheet therethrough and print it, said means to operate the oscillatable means comprising a cam follower secured to the oscillatable means, a movable cam, a spring urging the oscillatable means in a direction to keep the cam follower in contact with the cam, a shaft connected to said cam, a slip clutch connected to said shaft, said clutch having a rotatable member for connection to a power source and a second rotatable member in frictional engagement with said first mentioned clutch member and fixed to said shaft, stop means to arrest said shaft, said stop means beirfi comprised of a stop member rotatable with said shaft and a non-rotatable reciprocable member resiliently urged into the path of said first mentioned stop member to prevent rotation of said shaft, and an actuating member attached to the reciprocable means for moving said reciprocable member of said stop means out of the path of said first mentioned stop member upon advance movement of said reciprocable means to permit rotation of said shaft, said reciprocable member of said stop means returning to its original position upon the return of said reciprocable means to its original position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,577,084 12/1951 Laxo 27154 2,598,150 5/1952 Wethe et al. 271-44 2,663,253 12/1953 Sauerman et a1. 271--14 X 2,703,526 3/1955 Hansson 101-232 2,787,214 4/4957 Halahan et a1 101232 2,929,318 3/1960 Pannier 10l-245 X 3,021,766 2/ 1962 Mossor 271-14 X 3,053,529 9/1962 Dunn 271--29 X ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

20 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Examiner.

Claims

1. PRINTING APPARATUS COMPRISING A STATIONARY SUPPORT FORMING A PATH FOR A BLANK TO BE PRINTED, A MAGAZINE FOR BLANKS TO BE PRINTED POSITIONED ABOVE SAID SUPPORT, SAID MAGAZINE HAVING AN OPEN BOTTOM WITH MEANS TO ENGAGE THE LOWERMOST BLANK ABOUT ITS EDGES, OSCILLATABLE MEANS INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE SUCTION HEAD, SAID OSCILLATABLE MEANS BEING HINGED FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN ENGAGEMENT OF THE BOTTOM BLANK IN SAID MAGAZINE BY SAID SECTION HEAD AND THE TRANSFER OF THE BLANK THUS ENGAGED TO SAID SUPPORT, A PRINTING ROLLER AND AN OPPOSED ROLLER IN SAID PATH, RECIPROCABLE MEANS TO ENGAGE ON ITS ADVANCING STROKE A BLANK ON SAID SUPPORT TO ADVANCE SAID BLANK INTO ENGAGEMENT BY SAID ROLLERS, MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID OSCILLATABLE MEANS, SUCTION MEANS, A VALVE, SAID SUCTION HEAD CONNECTED ALTERNATELY TO SAID SUCTION MEANS AND TO THE ATMOSPHERE UPON OPERATION OF SAID VALVE, SAID MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID OSCILLATABLE MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR THE OPERATION OF SAID VALVE TO CONNECT SAID SUCTION HEAD TO SAID SUCTION MEANS TO PROVIDE SUCTION TO SAID SUCTION HEAD UPON ITS ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BOTTOM BLANK AND TO CONNECT SAID SUCTION HEAD TO THE ATMOSPHERE UPON TRANSFER OF SAID BLANK TO SAID SUPPORT, MEANS FOR IMMOBILIZING SAID MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID OSCILLATABLE MEANS UPON TRANSFER OF SAID BLANK TO SAID SUPPORT, MEANS FOR RECIRPOCATING SAID RECIPROCABLE MEANS, CONTROL MEANS FOR CONTROLLING SAID MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING SAID RECIPROCABLE MEANS TO EFFECT THE ADVANCING STROKE OF SAID RECIPROCABLE MEANS UPON TRANSFER OF SAID BLANK TO SAID SUPPORT, MEANS FOR DEIMMOBILIZING SAID MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID OSCILLATABLE MEANS ACTUATED BY SAID RECIPROCABLE MEANS, SAID CONTROL MEANS EFFECTING THE RETURN STROKE OF SAID RECIPROCABLE MEANS EFFECTING THE RETURN STROKE NEXT SUCCEEDING BLANK TO SAID SUPPORT, AND MEANS TO ROTATE AT LEAST ONE OF SAID ROLLERS.