Ink transfer arrangement and method in a printing press

An ink transfer arrangement for and a method of transferring ink to an engraved die surface of a reciprocatable die in a printing press of the type including a die drive for reciprocating the die, and a press ram drive for pressing sheet material to be printed against the ink engraved die surface to produce intaglio printing are disclosed. A rotatable inking roller is normally mounted on an ink fountain in inking engagement with a fountain roller also mounted on the fountain. Ink from the fountain is transferred to the fountain roller, and thereupon to the inking roller. The inking roller is mounted for limited displacement relative to the fountain roller in a direction transverse to the axis of rotation of the inking roller. A set of cam shoes and cam follower wheels are provided in operative association with the die drive for displacing the inking roller by a limited predetermined distance out of inking engagement with the fountain roller and into inking engagement with the engraved die surface to permit the ink-laden inking roller to roll over and apply ink to the engraved die surface during the reciprocating movement of the die. Intaglio printing speeds on the order of 8000 impressions per hour are achieved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention generally relates to an ink transfer arrangement for and 
method of transferring ink to an engraved die surface of a reciprocating 
die in a printing press and, more particularly, in an intaglio die 
stamping and embossing press for producing engraved stationery. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Intaglio printing on paper from an engraved line is thought to have 
originated in the fifteenth century. Typically, a fifteenth century artist 
would hand engrave a portrait on a plate and, after applying ink over the 
engraved plate, the portrait was printed by means of a manually operated 
plate press. 
It was not until the turn of the twentieth century that motor driven die 
stamping and embossing presses of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 
558,860; 695,542 and 842,865 were developed. These presses included an ink 
fountain for containing a supply of ink, a die having an engraved surface, 
an ink transfer arrangement for transferring ink from the ink supply to 
the engraved die surface, and a vertically reciprocatable press ram for 
pressing sheet material such as paper against the inked die surface to 
produce engraved stationery. At the time, and for many years later, the 
paper to be printed was hand fed to the printing press, typically at 
maximum speeds of about 1500 to 2500 impressions per hour. The advent of 
automatic paper feeders increased maximum printing speeds to about 2500 to 
4000 impressions per hour. Sometime around 1940, thermography, also called 
raised printing, made serious inroads into the production and sale of 
genuine engraved stationery. The maximum printing speeds at which 
letterpress or offset presses could be run was much faster than that of 
the die stamping presses. Some examples of offset presses are disclosed in 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,546,793; 2,737,109; 2,788,742; 3,347,160; 3,412,677; 
3,505,952; 3,611,924; 3,701,316 and 3,934,508. A color inking attachment 
for a printing press is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,096,385. 
All of the aforementioned die stamping presses from their beginning and, 
indeed, up to the present time, have used similar ink transfer 
arrangements to transfer the ink from the ink supply in the ink fountain 
to the engraved die surface of the die prior to pressing by the press ram. 
Typically, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 842,865, a cylindrical inking 
roller is connected at its opposite ends to the ends of a pair of transfer 
arms about 8" to 10" long. The transfer arms carry the inking roller and 
pivot in a large arc, typically greater than 30.degree.. When the transfer 
arms carry the inking roller upwardly, the inking roller picks up ink from 
a main cylindrical fountain roller that is partially immersed in the ink 
fountain. When the transfer arms carry the inking roller downwardly, the 
ink-laden inking roller deposits and distributes its ink over the engraved 
die surface. The arcuate distance traveled is about 8" to 10" upwardly and 
downwardly, depending on the press in question. 
There are numerous disadvantages to the aforementioned prior art ink 
transfer arrangement. Primarily, the maximum printing speed at which the 
die stamping press can be operated is limited by the time taken to ink the 
die by the inking roller. The longer the distance through which the inking 
roller moves, the slower is the maximum printing speed. Faster printing 
speeds were a primary consideration in the development of thermography. 
When the speed of the transfer arms is increased beyond a certain point, 
ink is thrown off from the inking roller all over the adjacent parts of 
the press. In most cases, depending on the viscosity of the ink, the upper 
speed limit of the printing process is in the neighborhood of 4500 
impressions per hour. A very large percentage of the ink in current use is 
water-based ink which has a relatively low viscosity, thereby worsening 
the ink-throwing problem. 
In addition, because of the relatively long time interval involved in 
moving the inking roller from the die to the ink fountain and back, the 
portion of the printing cycle during which the inking roller is in inking 
engagement with the fountain roller is very small. Hence, the fountain 
roller must be rotated at excessive speeds so that it can completely cover 
and distribute ink over the entire outer circumferential surface of the 
inking roller during that small portion of the printing cycle. However, 
the fountain roller is subject to overheating at higher speed, with 
concomitant vaporization of the ink. The higher printing speeds also 
result in larger magnitude vibrations which, in turn, have been found to 
develop undesirable harmonics, causing the transfer arms and the inking 
roller carried thereon to act in an uncontrollable fashion. 
Other problems with known die stamping presses involved such difficulties 
as cleaning the ink transfer arrangement, replacing the components thereof 
and adjusting the positions of the components thereof. The fountain roller 
was typically virtually permanently mounted on the fountain, and it was 
difficult and time consuming to replace the fountain roller. The position 
of the inking roller relative to the fountain roller was typically not 
readily adjustable except by laborious procedures. When an auxiliary 
fountain roller was used in conjunction with the main fountain roller to 
meter superfluous ink from the latter and thereby control the thickness of 
the ink layer thereon, it was typically very painstaking to finely adjust 
the position of the auxiliary roller. Periodic cleaning of the ink 
transfer arrangement was typically lengthy in duration. In the event that 
any of the aforementioned rollers had to be removed from their normal 
operating positions and replaced and/or cleaned, then extensive 
readjustment of the various components was necessary, thereby leading to 
long periods of down time, with concomitant high overhead and labor costs. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
1. Objects of the Invention 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the 
aforementioned drawbacks of prior art die stamping and embossing presses. 
It is another object of the present invention to increase the maximum 
printing speeds of die stamping presses. 
It is a further object of the present invention to no longer limit the 
printing speed by the relatively long time interval it previously took to 
complete inking of the die. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to rotate the fountain 
rollers at a slower speed without sacrificing production, to prevent 
overheating of the fountain rollers and the ink. 
It is still another object of the present invention to prevent throwing of 
the ink and ink vaporization. 
It is another object of the present invention to prevent uncontrolled 
vibrations at increased printing speeds. 
It is a still further object of the present invention to rapidly disengage 
the inking roller, the main fountain roller and the auxiliary fountain 
roller from their respective mountings on the ink fountain, and to rapidly 
clean and/or replace said rollers back in their respective operating 
positions. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to rapidly and finely 
adjust the position of the inking roller and of the auxiliary fountain 
roller relative to the main fountain roller. 
It is still another object of the present invention to rapidly disengage 
the auxiliary fountain roller from the main fountain roller without 
disturbing the inking engagement between the main fountain roller and the 
inking roller. 
It is a further object of the present invention to so yieldably mount the 
main and auxiliary fountain rollers as to prevent damage thereto in the 
event that a foreign object enters the nip between said rollers. 
It is another object of the present invention to readily move the ink 
fountain, the inking roller, the main fountain roller and the auxiliary 
fountain roller as a unit away from their operating position adjacent the 
die to a more rearward cleaning position remote from the die to permit 
access to the die for cleaning purposes, as well as to permit access to 
the ink transfer arrangement itself for cleaning purposes. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel method 
of transferring ink from an ink fountain to an engraved die surface in an 
intaglio printing press. 
2. Brief Description of the Invention 
In keeping with these objects, and others which will become apparent 
hereinafter, one feature of the invention resides, briefly stated, in an 
ink transfer arrangement for and a method of transferring ink to an 
engraved die surface of a reciprocatable die in a printing press of the 
type including a die drive for reciprocating the die, and a press ram 
drive for pressing sheet material to be printed against the inked engraved 
die surface to produce intaglio printing. 
The ink transfer arrangement advantageously comprises an ink fountain 
mounted on the press and containing a pool of ink. A rotatable fountain 
roller is mounted on the fountain and has at least a portion of its outer 
circumferential surface in inking communication with the ink from the 
pool. Means are provided for rotating the fountain roller to distribute 
ink from the pool circumferentially along the outer circumferential 
surface of the fountain roller during rotation of the same. 
In further accordance with this invention, a rotatable inking roller is 
normally mounted in inking engagement with the fountain roller for 
rotation by the same about an axis. The inking roller has an outer 
circumferential surface along which ink is distributed by the outer 
circumferential surface of the fountain roller during rotation of the 
same. The inking roller is also mounted for limited displacement relative 
to the fountain roller in a direction transverse to the axis of rotation 
of the inking roller. Displacing means are also provided in operative 
association with the die drive for displacing the inking roller by a 
limited predetermined distance out of inking engagement with the fountain 
roller, and into inking engagement with the engraved die surface to permit 
the ink-laden inking roller to roll over and apply ink to the engraved die 
surface during the reciprocating movement of the die. 
The limited distance through which the inking roller is displaced is 
typically on the order of 1/8". When compared to the large arcuate 
distance through which a prior art inking roller was moved, the inking 
roller of this invention can be considered, for all practical purposes, to 
be virtually motionless. The maximum printing speed is no longer limited 
by the excessively long time interval previously needed to effect inking. 
Typical maximum printing speeds achieved by the present invention are on 
the order of 8000 impressions per hour, which represents a significant 
improvement over the previous maximum printing speeds for die stamping 
presses, which were on the order of 4000 impressions per hour. 
The limited displacement of the inking roller also eliminates the problem 
of ink that can be thrown therefrom. In addition, the fountain roller can 
be rotated at slower speeds than previously without sacrificing production 
efficiency, because the inking roller is in inking engagement with the 
fountain roller for a greater portion of each printing cycle. The slower 
fountain roller is thus prevented from overheating, as well as from 
causing the ink thereon to vaporize. 
Another feature of this invention advantageously resides in mounting the 
ink fountain on a carriage and moving the carriage away from its normal 
operating position to a cleaning position to permit cleaning. Access is 
thereby provided to the engraved die, as well as to the portions of the 
press vacated by the moved carriage. 
Another advantageous feature of this invention is embodied in means for 
readily removably mounting the fountain roller on the fountain to permit 
ready removal. In this same vein, a rotatable auxiliary roller operative 
for milling ink and also for metering superfluous ink from the fountain 
roller is also readily removably mounted on the fountain. The auxiliary 
roller is adjustably mounted closely adjacent the fountain roller to 
control the thickness of the layer of the ink on the same. The Auxiliary 
roller, like the fountain roller, likewise rotates at slower speeds than 
heretofore, and is thus prevented from overheating as well as from causing 
the ink thereon to vaporize. 
In furtherance of this invention, the inking roller is adjustably mounted 
on opposite sides of the fountain on a pair of support arms. The inking 
roller is readily removable from the arms, and its position relative to 
the fountain roller can be finely adjusted. 
The inking roller can be rapidly disengaged from its position in inking 
engagement with the main fountain roller without disturbing the inking 
engagement between the auxiliary and the main fountain roller. Similarly, 
the auxiliary roller can be rapidly disengaged from the main fountain 
roller without disturbing the inking engagement between the latter and the 
inking roller. 
In a preferred embodiment, the displacing means includes a pair of cam 
follower wheels mounted at opposite end regions of the shaft on which the 
inking roller is mounted, and a pair of cam shoes operatively connected 
with the die drive to jointly move with the reciprocating movement of the 
die. Each shoe engages a respective wheel during a part of the 
reciprocating movement to effect the aforementioned limited displacement. 
Advantageously, each shoe has a rear portion for lifting the respective 
wheel and, in turn, the inking roller out of inking engagement with the 
fountain roller, and a front portion for lowering the respective wheel 
and, in turn, the inking roller into rolling, inking contact with the 
engraved die surface. When the die drive moves the die and the shoes along 
a rearward stroke in a rearward direction toward the inking roller, the 
inking roller first contacts the engraved die surface at a location spaced 
forwardly of a rear edge of the die. At the conclusion of the rearward 
stroke, the inking roller maintains contact with the die at a location 
spaced rearwardly of a front edge thereof. 
When the die drive returns the die and the shoes along a forward stroke in 
the forward direction away from the inking roller, the inking roller rolls 
along the engraved die surface until the front portion of each shoe lifts 
the respective wheel and, in turn, the inking roller out of rolling, 
inking contact with the engraved die surface. Thereupon, the rear portion 
of each shoe lowers the respective wheel during further forward movement 
and, in turn, the inking roller is lowered and returned into inking 
engagement with the fountain roller. The aforementioned rearward and 
forward strokes are alternately repeated. 
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention 
are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved device 
itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, 
together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best 
understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain 
specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings and, more particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, 
reference numeral 10 generally identifies an intaglio printing press 
having a floor-mounted stationary upright frame 12 on the front of which a 
press ram drive 14 is mounted for generally vertical reciprocating 
movement. An automatic sheet material feeder 16 is located at the front of 
the press for automatically feeding successive sheet materials, e.g. 
paper, to be printed underneath the ram drive 14 for individual subsequent 
pressing against an inked engraved die surface of a generally horizontally 
reciprocating die 18, as described below, to produce genuine engraved 
stationery. An overhead paper wiping and feeding arrangement 15 on which a 
supply of wiping paper 19 is mounted is employed in conventional manner to 
wipe excess ink off the inked engraved die surface of the die. Inasmuch as 
the ram drive 14, automatic paper feeder 16, and the paper wiping and 
feeding arrangement 15 are entirely conventional in this art, additional 
structural and functional details thereof are not believed to be necessary 
for an understanding of this invention which, as noted above, is more 
particularly directed to an ink transfer arrangement 20 that is located at 
the rear of the press as viewed in FIG. 1. 
As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the ink transfer arrangement 20 includes an 
ink fountain 22 in which a pool of ink is contained. The fountain 22 is 
shaped as a generally rectangular shallow pan, and is mounted on a 
carriage 24 that is, in turn, mounted on a horizontally extending bed 26 
of the press. The carriage 24 includes a base 28; a pair of upper side 
walls 32, 34 located at opposite lateral sides of the fountain 22 to 
restrain side-to-side movement of the fountain relative to the carriage; 
and a pair of lower side walls 36, 38 outwardly offset from, and extending 
downwardly generally parallel to, the upper side walls 32,34. 
The carriage 24 includes a front stop 29 and a rear stop 30, both mounted 
on the base and respectively located at the front and rear of the fountain 
22 to restrain to-and-fro movement of the fountain relative to the 
carriage. The position of the fountain relative to the lower side walls 
36, 38 is adjustable in the horizontal direction by turning a set of 
knurled adjusting nuts 31a, 31b, 31c along a threaded elongated rod 33, 
said nuts and rod being provided on opposite lateral sides of the 
fountain. Each rod 33 is threaded into the lower side walls 36, 38 of the 
carriage. A cross-block 35 extends transversely across the fountain, and 
is connected to the rear of the base 28. Each nut 31a engages one side of 
the block 35, and each pair of nuts 31b, 31c is located at the opposite 
side of the block 35. When the nuts 31a, 31b, 31c are tightened against 
the cross-block 35, the position of the base 28 and all the superstructure 
thereon is adjustably restrained relative to the lower side walls 36, 38 
of the carriage 24. 
In addition, the lower side walls 36, 38 extend downwardly, at least in 
part, along a pair of outer side walls 40, 42 located at opposite sides of 
the press bed 26. As will be explained in further detail below, the bed 26 
has a horizontally extending undercut channel 44 (see FIG. 2) between the 
outer side walls 40, 42, said channel 44 providing clearance for the die 
18 during its reciprocating movement. 
A rotatable large or main fountain roller 50 having a cylindrical metallic 
body centered on a horizontal shaft 52 is mounted at the front region of 
the fountain 22 so that at least a portion of its outer circumferential 
surface is in inking communication with the ink supply in the fountain. As 
shown in FIG. 4, the lower side of the fountain roller 50 is immersed in 
the ink pool. Drive means are provided for rotating the fontain roller 
about a horizontal axis to distribute ink from the pool circumferentially 
and axially along the outer circumferential surface of the fountain roller 
during rotation of the same. The drive means includes a large drive gear 
54 operatively connected to a non-illustrated motor drive, and fixedly 
mounted at one axial end of the shaft 52 (see FIG. 3) to turn the fountain 
roller 50 at a predetermined angular speed. Axially spaced-apart portions 
of the shaft 52 are respectively journaled in circular bearings 56 (only 
the one on the right side of the press being shown, it being understood 
that the bearing on the left side of the press has been omitted for 
clarity), each bearing 56 having an internal ball bearing rat race to 
minimize frictional drag. 
Each circular bearing 56 is supported in a circumferentially incomplete 
C-shaped support 58 which is connected to or integral with and extends 
upwardly from the upper carriage side walls 32, 34. Each bearing support 
58 has a pair of upright projections 60, 62 which together bound an 
upwardly open recess in which the respective circular bearing 56 is 
supported. 
Each circular bearing is advantageously provided with an annular locking 
groove 64 (see FIG. 3) in which a leading end of a turnable locking 
element 66 is received. The elment 66 is advantageously threadedly mounted 
on projection 60, and the leading end of element 66 is lockingly received 
in the groove 64 by tightening a wing nut 68 against the projection 60. 
The element 66 need not necessarily be received in its associated groove 
64. If desired, each element may be employed to firmly press each bearing 
56 downwardly into its associated support to thereby anchor the bearing in 
place therein. The locking element 66 prevents axial shifting in the 
side-to-side direction of the fountain roller relative to the carriage, 
and also prevents the fountain roller from being lifted out of the 
upwardly open C-shaped supports 58 unless the leading ends of the locking 
elements 66 have been removed from their locking grooves 64. Untightening 
the wing nuts 68 provides for a rapid replacement and/or cleaning of the 
fountain roller. 
A rotatable small or auxiliary fountain roller 70 having a cylindrical 
metallic body centered on a horizontal shaft 72 is mounted rearwardly of 
the main roller 50 in close confronting relationship therewith for the 
purpose of controlling the thickness of the layer of ink on the main 
roller. The auxiliary roller 70 serves as a miller and also meters excess 
ink from the main fountain roller, and also serves to smoothly and 
uniformly spread the ink layer over the entire outer circumferential 
surface of the main roller 50. The shaft 72 is elevated above the shaft 
52, and the diameters of the larger main roller 50 and of the smaller 
auxiliary roller 70 are selected such that the nip therebetween is located 
at about the 2 o'clock position as viewed in FIG. 4. 
The auxiliary roller is driven about a horizontal axis defined by the shaft 
72 by a small drive gear 74 which meshingly engages the large drive gear 
54 and is rotated by the same at an angular speed greater than said 
predetermined speed, said greater speed being dependent on the number of 
respective teeth on the gears 54 and 74. 
In another embodiment, a separate motor drive for the small gear 74 could 
be employed. 
Axially spaced-apart portions of the shaft 72 are journaled in circular 
bearings 76 (only one shown), each bearing 76 having an internal ball 
bearing rat race to reduce frictional drag. Each circular bearing 76 is 
supported in a circumferentially incomplete C-shaped support 78 which is 
pivotably connected to the upper carriage side walls at pivot points 77. 
Each C-shaped support 78 in its operating condition, as shown in FIG. 4, 
has a frontwardly facing open recess in which the bearings 76 are 
supported. 
Means 80 are provided for adjustably positioning the auxiliary roller 70 at 
a predetermined selected radial distance from the main roller 50 in the 
aforementioned operating condition, as shown in solid lines in FIG. 4. 
Different radial distances between the main and auxiliary rollers 
determine the thickness of the ink layer on the former. The positioning 
means 80 are provided at both opposite lateral sides of the fountain, and 
each positioning means includes an elongated member 82 which extends in 
the direction of the desired adjustment, and an abutment 84 which is 
mounted at one end region of the elongated member 82 and which, in 
operating condition, engages the rear of the C-shaped support 78. Knurled 
nuts 86, 88 are turned to advance the abutment 84 in either direction 
along member 82 to adjustably set the position of the abutment 84. 
At the opposite end region of the elongated member 82, a manually-operated 
handle or toggle lever 90 is mounted at pivot point 92 on a bracket 96. 
The toggle handle 90 is movable between its illustrated solid line 
position and its phantom line position 90'. 
Each positioning means 80 is independently supported above the fountain 22 
at the rear of the carriage by an upright support plate 94 with the aid of 
a tightenable nut 98 which engages one side of the plate 94. 
As best shown in FIG. 6, a spring 99 is mounted within each abutment 84 for 
yieldably and constantly urging the latter against its respective C-shaped 
support 78 in the operating condition. In the event that a foreign object 
or contaminant enters the nip between the main and auxiliary rollers, this 
yielding action afforded by the spring 99 represents a safety feature 
which prevents damage to the rollers. 
The solid line lowered position of of the handle 90 positions the abutment 
84 in an engaged position against its associated support 78 and, in turn, 
properly positions the auxiliary roller 70 into inking engagement with the 
main roller 50. When the handle 90 is raised to the phantom line position 
90', the abutment 84 is withdrawn to a released position 84' represented 
by phantom lines in which the abutment is disengaged from its associated 
support to permit each support 78 to pivot rearwardly to its lowered 
position 78'. Each support 78 in its lowered position 78' has an upwardly 
open recess from which the auxiliary roller can be easily lifted for rapid 
removal and replacement. Upon replacement of the auxiliary roller in its 
supports 78, the supports are tilted forwardly about pivot points 77 and, 
thereupon, the handles are manually lowered to thereby move the abutments 
84 to their aforementioned engaged position. Thus, the auxiliary roller 
may be rapidly removed and replaced without requiring readjustment of the 
positioning between the auxiliary and main rollers, and without laborious 
adjusting procedures. 
A rotatable inking roller 100, as shown in FIG. 4, is normally mounted in 
inking engagement with the main roller 50 for rotation by the same about a 
horizontal axis defined by a shaft 102. The inking roller has a 
cylindrical body 104 (see FIG. 7) centered on the shaft 102. The 
cylindrical body is covered with an ink-absorbing layer 106, preferably 
made of a durable, resilient material. Ink is distributed 
circumferentially and axially along the entire outer circumferential 
surface of the layer 106 by the outer circumferential surface of the main 
roller during rotation of the same. 
The term "inking engagement" as used throughout the specification and the 
claims is intended to signify that one component need not necessarily, but 
preferably does, directly contact another component to transfer ink 
thereto, inasmuch as a thin layer of ink is interposed therebetween. 
In contrast to the fountain rollers 50, 70, which are driven solely in 
their respective circumferential directions, as indicated by their 
associated arrows, the inking roller 100, as explained below, is rotatable 
in one or the other circumferential direction about its shaft 102 in the 
manner explained below. 
In contrast to prior art constructions wherein the inking roller is carried 
by a pair of pivotable transfer arms and swung through a large arcuate 
distance, the inking roller 100 of this invention is mounted on the 
fountain and, more specifically, on the carriage for limited displacement 
relative to the main roller 50 in a direction generally transverse to the 
axis of rotation defined by the shaft 102, said direction being indicated 
by the double-headed arrow 108. Axially spaced-apart portions of the shaft 
102 are journaled in circular bearings 110 (only one shown), each bearing 
110 having an internal ball bearing rat race to reduce friction. Each 
bearing 110 is supportably mounted in a circumferentially incomplete 
C-shaped support 112. Each bearing 110 is provided with an annular locking 
groove 111 (see FIG. 7) into which a leading end of a locking screw 116 is 
lockingly received to prevent axial side-to-side shifting of the inking 
roller relative to the supports 112. 
The inking roller 100 is mounted forwardly of the ink fountain 22 by a pair 
of generally V-shaped support arms 120, each having a horizontally 
extending rear leg 122 mounted at an opposite side of the carriage 24 on 
the upper side wall thereof, and an inclined front leg 124 extending 
upwardly and forwardly of the rear leg 122. 
The front legs 124 are interconnected by a cross-rail 118 for increased 
stability. Each front leg 124 is also formed with a slot 117 which is 
elongated lengthwise of the front leg 124. Each of the aforementioned 
C-shaped supports 112 is connected to a channel-shaped bracket 114 that is 
mounted in the respective slot 117 for adjustable movement therealong. A 
locking screw 126 fixes the position of each bracket 114 and, in turn, the 
position of the inking roller along the length of the front leg 124. 
As best shown in FIG. 7, each support 112 is connected to a cylindrical 
piston shaft 128 which is slidingly received in a cylindrical sleeve 130 
having an external thread. An outer tubular collar 132 having an internal 
thread threadedly engages the externally threaded sleeve 130. An adjoining 
co-linear shaft 134 has a reduced diameter as compared to that of the 
piston shaft 128. A threaded fastener 136 has a threaded shaft which 
threadedly engages a tapped hole in the upper end of the reduced shaft 
134. The upper end or neck of the sleeve 130 is unthreaded, and is formed 
with a plurality of equiangularly spaced-apart longitudinally extending 
teeth 138. The leading end of a locking screw 140 mounted in the upper 
region of each front leg 124 is lockingly received in a selected tooth 138 
to prevent the sleeve 130 from turning. 
A coil spring 142 is mounted in an annular clearance surrounding the 
reduced shaft 134. One end of the spring 142 bears against a shoulder 
formed at the junction between the piston shaft 128 and the reduced shaft 
134. The opposite end of the spring 142 bears against an inner transverse 
wall of the sleeve 130 in the vicinity of its neck. Each spring 142 is 
normally operative to constantly and yieldably urge the supports 112 and, 
in turn, the inking roller itself downwardly and rearwardly into inking 
engagement with the main roller 50 to thereby assume an operating position 
shown in solid lines in FIG. 4. 
To ensure the inking engagement between the inking and main rollers, the 
inking roller is not only adjustable lengthwise of the inclined slot 117 
as described above, but the inking roller is also adjustable in the 
horizontal direction by either forwardly or rearwardly moving the rear 
legs 122 of the support arms 120 relative to the carriage. Each rear leg 
122 is formed with a horizontally extending slot 144 (see FIG. 5) in which 
a horizontally extending guide block 146 is fixedly positioned. A set of 
anchoring bolts 148a, 148b, 148c fixedly secures the guide block 146 to 
the upper side wall of the carriage. A cover plate 150 is captured between 
the heads of the bolts 148a, 148b, 148c and the block 146. 
An elongated threaded adjustable element having a fine threaded section 152 
and a coarse threaded section 154 extends in the direction of horizontal 
adjustment. The free end of threaded section 152 threadedly engages a 
tapped hole in the rear end of the leg 122. The free end of threaded 
section 154 threadedly engages a tapped hole in the front end of a locking 
block 156. An adjustable nut 158 is threadedly mounted on the elongated 
element 152, 154. An eccentric cam lock 160 is mounted for rotation about 
a horizontal axis on the locking block 160 between a locked and an 
unlocked position in which the locking block 160 cammingly engages or 
disengages, respectively, the respective upper side wall of the carriage. 
As shown in FIG. 4, each locking block 160 is fixedly secured in its 
illustrated locked position. By turning each adjustable nut 158 on both 
sides of the fountain in either the forward or rearward direction, the leg 
122 is likewise forwardly or rearwardly moved relative to the guide block 
146 and the locking block 156, both of said blocks being fixed to the 
carriage. In turn, each support arm 120, 122 is moved forwardly or 
rearwardly, thereby adjusting the horizontal position of the inking roller 
100 correspondingly. This adjustment is a fine adjustment because, for 
each turn of a respective nut 158, the inking roller 100 moves through a 
distance equal to the difference between the pitch of the threaded 
sections 152, 154. 
Before describing the limited displacement of the inking roller in more 
detail and the means by which the limited displacement is effected, the 
various rollers 50, 70 and 100, together with all their respectively 
associated adjusting, positioning and mounting means, are all mounted on 
the carriage which, in turn, is operatively connected with the fountain to 
constitute an ink fountain assembly or unit. 
In order to clean the die 18, the adjacent parts of the press and the ink 
fountain assembly itself, as well as to facilitate the replacement and/or 
cleaning of any of the components of the overall assembly, the entire 
fountain assembly can be moved as a unit by a motor driven lifting means 
rearwardly of the operating position, shown in solid lines in FIG. 1, on 
the bed 26 to a more rearward cleaning position. The lifting means 
includes a reversible electrical motor 162 and a speed reduction gear box 
164, both being mounted below the bed 26 on a support plate 166 which 
extends downwardly and which is connected to the rear end of the bed 26. A 
tubular housing 168 contains a ball screw which is operative to move a 
horizontally reciprocating actuator 170 in either the forward or the 
rearward direction indicated by the double-headed arrow 172. 
The lifting means includes a support link 174 which is pivotably connected 
to the outer side wall 40 of the bed 26, and to the outer end of the 
actuator 170, for supporting the components located below the bed 26. A 
translatory link 176 is pivotably connected to the support link 174, and 
to a drive link 178 at pivot point 177. A front driven link 184 is 
pivotably connected at pivot point 181 to a downwardly extending front lug 
180 of the lower carriage side wall 36, and at pivot point 179 to the 
outer side wall 40 of the bed 26. The drive link 178 is also pivotably 
connected at its intermediate region to the link 184 at pivot point 179. A 
rear driven link 186 is pivotably connected at pivot point 187 to a 
downwardly extending rear lug 188 of the lower carriage side wall 36, and 
at pivot point 185 to the outer side wall 40 of the bed 26. Another set of 
front and rear driven links 184, 186 are located on the other side of the 
bed. 
A collar 182 surrounds the upper ends of the links 178 and 184. A pair of 
springs (non-illustrated) is located within the collar between the links 
178 and 184, and serve as a yieldable coupler to transmit a driving force 
from the drive link 178 to the driven link 184. 
In operation, the motor 162 is operative to move the plunger 170 either 
forwardly or rearwardly (double-headed arrow 172) which, in turn, causes 
the drive link 178 and the driven links 184, 186 to pivot about pivot 
points 179, 185 in either direction of the double-headed arrow 190, 
thereby lifting the ink fountain assembly off, or lowering the assembly 
onto, the bed 26. In the lifted off condition, the ink fountain assembly 
is spaced further away from the die 18. If desired, the entire fountain 
assembly can be removed from the bed. 
As shown in FIG. 3, the die 18 is clamped between a stationary front jaw 
200 and a movable rear jaw 202 which are interconnected by a pair of bolts 
206 (only one shown) at opposite sides of the press above a die box 204. 
The jaws 200 and 202 are movable together with the die box 204. The 
upwardly facing surface 208 of the die 18 is engraved, and is the surface 
to be inked by the inking roller 100. 
As noted previously, the die 18 is horizontally reciprocated by a die drive 
which includes, as shown in FIG. 4, a pivoting slotted cam 210 driven by a 
non-illustrated drive in the direction of the double-headed arrow 212. At 
an upper pivot point 214, a slide block 216 is mounted for sliding 
movement along a threaded rod 218. A pair of very stiff coil springs 220, 
222 are mounted between the opposite sides of the slide block 216 and two 
pairs of adjustment nuts 224, 226. The forward end of the threaded rod 218 
threadedly engages an internally threaded tubular member 228 which, in 
turn, is pivotably connected at pivot point 230 to a bottom extension of 
the die box 204. As the slotted cam 210 moves either forwardly or 
rearwardly in the direction of the arrow 212, this motion is transmitted 
to the die box 204 and to the die 18 clampingly mounted thereon for joint 
movement therewith. The die 18 travels lengthwise of the bed 26 through 
the aforementioned channel 44 and, in its end limiting rearmost position, 
as indicated by reference numeral 18' in FIG. 4, the die passes, at least 
in part, underneath the ink fountain assembly. 
The limited displacement of the inking roller 100 is effected by displacing 
means operative for displacing the inking roller by a predetermined 
limited distance on the order of 1/8" out of its normal inking engagement 
with the main roller and into inking engagement with the engraved die 
surface 208 to permit the ink-laden inking roller to roll over and apply 
ink to the engraved die surface. Preferably, the displacing means is 
operatively associated with the die drive so that the ink is applied over 
the engraved die surface during the reciprocating movement of the die. 
Alternatively, a separate drive for the displacing means could be used. 
The displacing means includes a pair of cam follower wheels 232, 234 
mounted at opposite axial end regions of the inking roller shaft 102, each 
wheel being located between a respective axial end of the cylindrical body 
104 and a bearing support 112. As shown in FIG. 7, the wheel 232 at the 
right side of the press is journaled for rotation on a tubular bushing 236 
through which the shaft 102 passes. The right axial end of the cylindrical 
body 104 is closed by an annular plug 238 which is journaled for rotation 
on a tubular bushing 240 through which the shaft 102 passes. The axially 
spaced-apart bushings 236, 240 have respective annular flanges 242, 244 
which are maintained axially apart from each other by an annular collar 
246 whose position is fixed on the shaft 102 by a set screw 248. 
The displacing means also includes a pair of cam shoes 250, 252 mounted at 
opposite sides of the press, each shoe being operative for engaging a 
respective wheel 232, 234 during a portion of the reciprocating movement. 
Each shoe is fixedly connected to the die box 204 by means of a bolt 254 
which is adjustably mounted along the length of an elongated slot 256 
formed in each shoe. As shown in FIG. 4 for the representative shoe 250, 
each shoe has a front tapered portion 260, a rear tapered portion 262, and 
an intermediate portion 264 of substantially constant height. The die 18 
has a front edge 266 and a rear edge 268. The position of the bolt 254 in 
the slot 256 is preferably selected such that the rear edge 268 of the die 
is located approximately midway along the length of the front portion 260 
of the shoe. The height of the engraved die surface 208 is located 
approximately midway of the height of the front tapered portion 260 of the 
shoe. The operative connection between each shoe and the die 18 permits 
the shoes to jointly move with the die in either direction of the 
double-headed arrow 270. When the die and the shoes are moved to the right 
or the left, as illustrated in FIG. 4, this is defined as the rearward or 
forward strokes, respectively. 
Turning now to the successive views of FIGS. 9-13, the main roller 50, the 
inking roller 100, the wheel 232, the shoe 250 at the right side of the 
press (it being understood that the shoe 252 at the left side of the press 
is similarly situated relative to the wheel 234), and the die 18 have been 
shown in isolation in order to better illustrate the limited displacement 
of the inking roller during the rearward stroke of the displacing means. 
FIG. 9 shows the main and inking rollers in inking engagement just prior to 
the shoe 250 engaging the wheel 232. As the main roller turns 
counterclockwise, the inking roller is driven clockwise by the main 
roller. No ink has yet been transferred to the die. 
As shown in FIG. 10, the rear tapered portion 262 of the shoe 250 has 
engaged the wheel 232 and has gradually lifted the same. At the same time, 
the shoe 252 has engaged the wheel 234 and gradually lifted the same. The 
lifting of wheels 232, 234 causes the inking roller 100 and, more 
particularly, the ink-laden layer 106, to be lifted out of inking 
engagement with the main roller. The force exerted by the rear portions 
262 of the shoes on the wheels is directed perpendicularly to the plane in 
which the upper surfaces of the rear tapered portions lie. However, the 
only component of said force which is permitted to act on the inking 
roller is in the direction of the arrow 272. This radially directed force 
component acts against the resisting force of the springs 142 to partially 
compress the same. The engagement of the rear portions 262 against the 
wheels, and the movement of the wheels upwardly along the length of the 
rear portions cause the wheels and the inking roller to turn in the 
counterclockwise direction. The inking roller is continuously and 
gradually lifted off the main roller due to the linear taper of the rear 
portions until the inking roller reaches an elevation which is above that 
of the engraved die surface 208. 
FIG. 11 shows the wheel 232 engaging the intermediate portion 264 of the 
shoe. When traveling from right to left along the length of the 
intermediate portion 264 illustrated in FIG. 11, the wheel 232 continues 
to rotate in the counterclockwise direction at the aforementioned constant 
elevation above the engraved die surface 208. The springs 142 remain in a 
partially compressed state. The ink-laden layer 106 still is out of inking 
engagement with the main roller as well as with the shoe itself. 
FIG. 12 shows the wheel 232 after it has rolled about halfway down the 
downwardly tapered front portion 260 until substantially tangential 
contact is made between the outer circumferential surface of the layer 106 
and the engraved die surface 208 at a zone A which is spaced rearwardly, 
e.g. on the order of 1/4", from the rear edge 268. The layer 106 has been 
gradually and continuously lowered onto the die surface by the restoring 
action of the spring 142. The contact zone A is not strictly linear, but 
occupies a somewhat broad surface area due to some flattening of the 
resilient layer 106 against the metal die 18. The gentle lowering of the 
layer 106 on top of the die at an inwardly spaced zone from the edge 268 
prevents ink splattering which otherwise would be caused if the layer 106 
directly struck the edge 268. 
During further rearward movement, the layer 106 rolls over and applies ink 
to the upper engraved surface 208 until the position of FIG. 13 is 
reached. During this rolling movement, the inking roller continued to 
rotate in a counterclockwise direction. FIG. 13 indicates the end limiting 
forward position wherein the layer 106 contacts the engraved die surface 
208 at a zone B which is located up to, but not over, the front edge 266. 
Practically, zone B is spaced rearwardly, e.g. on the order of 1/64", from 
the front edge 266 of the die. Due to the resilient nature of the layer 
106, the contact zone B is not strictly linear, but is somewhat flattened 
over a surface area. Again, the primary reason for not rotating the layer 
106 over and past the front edge 266 is to avoid ink splattering and 
drying in the event that the layer 106 should fall off during the forward 
stroke, or directly strike the front edge 266 during the rearward stroke. 
During the rearward stroke, the sequence of events of FIGS. 9-13 is 
reversed so that the layer 106 rotates from contact zone B to contact zone 
A along the engraved die surface in the clockwise direction illustrated by 
the arrow 274. Thereupon, the front tapered portion 260 lifts the wheel 
232 and the inking roller off the die plate; the intermediate portion 264 
maintains the layer 106 above the height of the die surface 208; and the 
rear tapered portion 262 lowers the inking roller back into inking 
engagement with the main roller 50, the latter engagement being assisted 
by the springs 142 which are constantly acting in the direction toward 
forcing the inking roller into engagement with the main roller. If 
desired, the magnitude of the restoring force exerted by each spring 142 
during expansion, as well as the resisting force exerted by each spring 
142 against compression, can be adjusted by turning the neck of the sleeve 
130 relative to the tubular collar 132 to thereby effectively shorten the 
length of the spring 142 and its corresponding spring characteristic. 
Thus, as described above, ink has been transferred from the main roller 50 
onto the ink-laden layer 106 and, in turn, over the engraved die surface 
208 during the forward stroke, as well as during the rearward stroke. The 
forward and rearward strokes are alternately repeated. During each pair of 
strokes, the wiping paper 19 is caused to wipe excess ink off the engraved 
die surface, leaving ink only in the wells of the engraving. Once the 
engraved die surface 208 has been wiped clean, a sheet of paper is fed 
onto the engraved die surface, and thereupon the press ram drive 14 moves 
downwardly to stamp the paper and transfer the ink from the wells to the 
paper, thereby completing the printing process. 
Turning to FIG. 14, which is generally analogous to FIG. 7, another feature 
of this invention resides in being able to interchangeably mount an 
ink-absorbing resilient stockinette 275 over the cylindrical body 104 of 
the inking roller. By removing the axial end plugs 238 from the open ends 
of the cylindrical body 104, the resilient stockinette may be 
interchangeably mounted thereon. This feature may be used for changing ink 
colors, causing ink to be entered deeper into the wells of the engraving, 
as well as for increasing the lifetime of the inking roller itself because 
only the stockinette, i.e. the ink-absorbing layer 275, need be replaced. 
It should be understood that the limited displacement which is on the order 
of 1/8" is merely intended to be exemplificative. The distance through 
which the inking roller can be displaced can be less or greater than 1/8". 
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or 
more together, may also find a useful application in other types of 
arrangements differing from the type described above. 
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an 
ink transfer arrangement and method in a printing press, it is not 
intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications 
and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the 
spirit of the present invention. 
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of 
the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge, 
readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, 
from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential 
characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of my contribution to 
the art and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be 
comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims.