Patent ID: 8955433
Filing Date: 2015-02-17
Classification: B41F

Abstract:
1. A pad printing system comprising: first and second doctor assemblies each including a body and a doctor blade, the bodies each having an outer surface and an opposite inner surface that defines a passageway through the bodies, the inner surfaces configured to engage removable pre-filled ink cups to secure the ink cups to the bodies, the inner surfaces configured to direct ink from the ink cups through the passageways toward an ink-receiving surface of a cliché device, the doctor blades each configured to be coupled with the corresponding bodies of the first and second doctor assemblies and to engage the cliché device, the doctor blades configured to wipe at least some of the ink along the cliché device as at least one of the bodies or the cliché device laterally moves relative to another of the at least one of the bodies or the cliché device, wherein the doctor blades are configured to be coupled with the bodies such that the doctor blades are laterally spaced apart from the inner surfaces of the bodies, wherein each of the bodies of the first and second doctor assemblies includes a lower surface that faces the ink-receiving surface of the cliché device when the doctor blades engage the ink-receiving surface, and the inner surfaces of the bodies include interior walls that are oriented at acute angles with respect to the lower surfaces of the bodies, wherein the body of the first doctor assembly is larger than the body of the second doctor assembly and the acute angle at which the interior wall is oriented with respect to the lower surface of the first doctor assembly is smaller than the acute angle at which the interior wall is oriented with respect to the lower surface of the second doctor assembly.