Stencil carrier apparatus

Abstract: A stencil carrier apparatus including a semi-cylindrical driving feed roller (21), driven feed rollers (18), a pressure guide plate (25), and a control cam (26) enables a used stencil from a printing drum to be reliably transported to a stencil receiver (10) so as to be discharged out of a printing apparatus.

Description: 1. Field of the Invention: This invention relates to a stencil carrier apparatus, and more particularly to a stencil carrier apparatus which is incorporated into a stencil discharging section of a printing apparatus and transports a used stencil from a printing drum to a predetermined position. 2. Description of the Related Art: In a printing apparatus such as a mimeo-graphic printing apparatus or an offset printing apparatus, various types of stencil discharging devices have been heretofore developed so as to automatically remove a used stencil from a printing drum and discharge the same to a pre-determined position. Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawing shows one of such apparatuses, which is exemplified in Japanese Patent Publication No. 54708/1986. In FIG. 4, a plurality of driven feed rollers 2 are disposed at the bottom of a stencil receiver 1. Above the driven feed rollers 2, there is disposed a substantially semi-cylindrical driving feed roller 3 in such a manner that a driving shaft of the driving roller 3 and a rotary shaft of the driven feed rollers are parallel with each other. The semi-cylindrical portion of the driving roller 3 is covered with an elastic member 4, through which the driving roller 3 is pressed toward the driven feed rollers 2 when it rotates with its semi-cylindrical portion coming downwards. Discharge rollers 5 are disposed downstream of the driving feed roller 3, and discharge used stencils into a box, not shown. With the foregoing structure, while the flat portion of the driving roller 3 is facing the driven rollers 2, there is a gap wide enough to receive a stencil therein. Under this condition, a used stencil is fed into the gap from a printing drum. Then the driving roller 3 rotates so as to have its semi-cylindrical portion come into pressure contact with the driven rollers 2, thereby causing the used stencil to be taken in between the driving and driven rollers 2 and 3. As the driving roller 3 keeps rotating, the stencil is reliably transported by the frictional resistance between the rollers 2 and 3. Finally, the stencil is discharged into the box, not shown, by the discharge rollers 5. However, in the conventional stencil carrier apparatus, there has been a problem that the leading edge of the stencil tends to be lifted or curled while the stencil is being carried between the driving roller 3 and the driven rollers 2. Then such a lifted or curled stencil gets into a space between the driving roller 3 and the stencil receiver 1, winds around the driving roller 3, and finally winds around the driving shaft of the driving roller 3. Otherwise, the lifted or curled stencil will not be carried in the desired direction. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a stencil carrier apparatus, which can prevent the stencils from being wound around the driving shaft of the driving roller, and enable the stencil to be reliably carried to the desired position. The present invention is as claimed in claim 1. With this arrangement, the pressure guide plate is made of an elastic material, is disposed downstream of the driving feed roller and has a fixed rear end and a free forward end viewed in the feeding direction of the stencil. Further, the driving feed roller is divided around a groove at the center thereof in the axial direction, and has a part of the pressure guide plate positioned in said groove. The above and other advantages, features and additional objects of this invention will be manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings in which the principles of this invention are shown by way of illustrative example. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are front sectional views of a stencil carrier apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of this invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a left-side sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1; and FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), showing an example of the conventional apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The principles of this invention are particularly useful when embodied in a stencil carrier apparatus, such as shown in FIGS. 1(a), 1(b), 2 and 3. The stencil carrier apparatus according to this invention is for use in a stencil discharging apparatus for a mimeographic printing machine. A stencil receiver 10 is attached on a side of the printing machine by means of a hinge 12 located at a ceiling 11. The stencil receiver 10 can be opened and shut. The stencil receiver 10 has an intake port 14 on its front side so as to receive the used stencils, and an outlet port 15 on the right side thereof. As illustrated in FIG. 3, at the intake port 14, there are disposed intake rollers 16 whose axes are in parallel with the printing drum. The intake rollers 16 are arranged so that they can receive the used stencils from the printing drum and transport them to the stencil receiver 10. As shown in FIGS. 1(a), 1(b) and 3, discharge rollers 17 are disposed at the outlet port 15 with their axes at right angles to those of the intake rollers 16, so that the used stencil can be discharged into a box (not shown) located outside the stencil receiver. At the bottom of the stencil receiver 10, a plurality of the driven feed rollers 18 are disposed adjacent the discharge rollers 17 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Rotary shafts of the driven rollers 18 are in parallel with the rotary shafts of the discharge rollers 17. The ceiling 11 is formed with a rectangular opening 19, at which a driving roller 21 is disposed. The driving shaft 20 of the driving roller 21 is in parallel with the driving shafts of the rollers 18 and 17. The driving roller 21 is sector-shaped and has its semi-cylindrical portion covered with an elastic member 22 having a large frictional resistance. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the driving roller 21 is divided into two around a groove 23 at the center thereof in the direction of the drive shaft 20. A semi-cylindrical cover 24 is disposed on the opening 19 of the ceiling 11 under which the driving roller 21 is positioned. The cover 24 covers the driving roller 21 when its semi-cylindrical portion comes upward with the rotation thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1(a), 1(b) and 2, an elongate pressure guide plate 25 made of an elastic material is disposed at the opening 19. The pressure guide plate 25 is as long as the diameter of the driving roller 21, and is positioned horizontally in the gap between the driving roller 21 and the groove 23 , and between the driving roller 21 and the opening 19. Viewed in the stencil feeding direction, the rear end of the guide plate 25 is fixed to the ceiling 11, and the other end of the guide plate 25 is free. A control cam 26 for controlling the guide plate 25 is fixedly mounted on the drive shaft 20 of the driving roller 21. As the driving roller 21 rotates to carry the stencil, the control cam 26 pushes the guide plate 25 downwards to have it flexed. As can be seen in FIG. 1(b), when the driving roller 21 engages with the driven rollers 18 at the lowest position, the pressure guide plate 25 is flexed to the maximum extent by the control cam 26. Operation and advantages of the stencil carrier apparatus will be described hereinafter. As illustrated in FIG. 1(a), when the slanted portions of the driving roller 21 face the driven rollers 18, a used stencil is removed from the printing drum and is fed into the stencil receiver 10 via the intake rollers 16. Then the driving roller 21 rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 1(a), and comes into pressure contact with the driven rollers 18 with its semi-cylindrical portion as shown in Fig. 1(b). The used stencil is reliably received between the rollers 21 and 18, and is carried toward the discharge rollers 17. Following the rotation of the driving roller 21, the control cam 26 pushes and rocks the pressure guide plate 25 downwardly to the stencil. The pressure guide plate 25 depresses downwardly the leading edge of the stencil held between the driving and driven rollers 18, 21, thereby enabling the stencil to be carried without being lifted or curled, or without being wound around the driving roller 21 or around the drive shaft 20. Then the stencil is transported toward the outlet port 15 of the stencil receiver 10 by the guide of the guide plate 25, and is finally discharged into the box outside the stencil carrier apparatus. According to the stencil carrier apparatus, since the pressure guide plate is designed so as to hold the stencil downwardly in synchronization with the rotation of the driving roller, it is possible to keep the stencil from being lifted or curled, and to transport the stencil reliably to the pre-determined position.

Claims: A stencil carrier apparatus having: a guide means (2); a driving feed roller (21) which is of semi-cylindrical shape and arranged to transport a received, used stencil (13) in cooperation with the guide means (2); characterised by a pressure guide plate (25) which is pushed toward said stencil in synchronization with rotation of said driving feed roller so as to depress downwardly the leading edge of the stencil during transportation of the stencil (13). A stencil carrier apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pressure guide plate (25) is made of an elastic material, is disposed downstream of said driving feed roller (21) and has a fixed rear end and a free forward end viewed in the feeding direction of the stencil (13). A stencil carrier apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said driving feed roller (21) is divided around a groove (32) at the center thereof in the axial direction, and has a part of said pressure guide plate (25) positioned in said groove (32). A stencil carrier apparatus according to claim 3, having a control cam (26) operable in synchronization with said driving feed roller (21) to keep said pressure guide plate (25) pushed toward said stencil (13) while the stencil (13) is being transported by said driving feed roller (21).

Inventors: YASUDA AKIRA, YASUDA, AKIRA
Applicants: RISO KAGAKU CORP, RISO KAGAKU CORPORATION
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B41L31
IPC codes: B65H29, G09F7, B41L31, B65H5, B41F27, B41L13