Lifting device for ink form rollers in a printing machine

Abstract: The present invention is to provide an inking device for a printing machine, which enables a work for replacing a plate cylinder to be carried out easily without removing a form roller or readjusting a nip pressure. Over a bearing 10 of the first swing roller 9a are supported a roller supporting lever 35 supporting rotatably the first form roller 13a and a roller attaching/detaching lever 45 linked with link mechanisms 49,47and 48 each mounted on a machine frame 1, a compression coil spring 63 is mounted in each lever via a guide rod for biasing the first form roller 13a against a plate cylinder 4, and the first form roller 13a is able to be moved to a retreat position separated from a running position into the axial direction of the plate cylinder by a prescribed distance via both the levers 35 and 45.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inking device for a printing machine in which a replacing work of a plate cylinder therein is made easier. (2) Description of the Related Art Heretofore, an inking device mounted on a printing machine such as a rotary printing machine is provided with an ink fountain and a number of rollers, and the ink reserved in the ink fountain is taken up by rotating the roller to adhere to the surface of the roller in the state of an ink film. Subsequently, this ink film is uniformed and kneaded in various directions while transferred among a number of rollers, and then it is supplied to a plate surface on a plate cylinder by a form roller. In such an inking device, there is a fear that a contact pressure between the form roller and the print surface, viz. a nip pressure is varied owing to the change in the diameter of the form roller by the thermal expansion and abrasion thereof and the finish state of the plate cylinder. Since the nip pressure influences the quality of prints largely, the nip pressure is adjusted in a printing preparation step or at the time of printing by providing the inking device with a nip pressure adjusting device. An example of this kind of nip pressure adjusting device is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 34670/1995 suggested by the applicant of the present invention. Meanwhile, when an old number barrel is removed in order to replace the number barrel (plate cylinder) with a new number barrel in a number printing machine, up to this time it is previously dismounted that a part (any form rollers being situated in the direction of removing the number barrel to blockade the removal) of a plurality of form rollers to rotatably contact the plate cylinder. Accordingly, a man-hour for its removing work is increased, moreover, it is required to adjust a nip pressure again, and hence it has caused a problem that a lot of hours and labor are necessary therefor. There is disclosed an inking device presented by the applicant of the present invention in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. SHO 63-172651 (see also EP-A-0275025), a plate cylinder of which is able to be subjected to the maintenance service without a readjustment of a nip pressure by retracting largely a form roller from its operating position instead of removing. This is as illustrated in Fig. 7, under the condition that an ink supply unit 102 is dismounted when a rubber barrel 100 or pushing barrel 101 are cleaned, when a spring 105 pushing a form roller 103 against a running-in roller 104- of the ink supply unit 102 is removed and the engagement between a claw 107 of a lever 106 and an engaging piece 108 of a frame is loosened, as shown by the imaginary lines in the figure, the form roller 103 and an ink holding roller 109 are able to be shifted largely along the periphery of a number cylinder 110 together with the lever 106, and thereby the space over the number cylinder 110 is made so that the cleaning work becomes easier. However, in the above inking device, since it employs such a structure that the form roller 103 connected to the number cylinder 110 by the lever 105 is shifted along the periphery of the number cylinder 110 to retract from the operating position, there is a problem that the form roller 103, lever 106 hinder the number cylinder 110 from being removed. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an inking device for a printing machine wherein a replacing work of a plate cylinder is easily practiced without dismounting a form roller or readjusting a nip pressure. DE-A-1 949 092 discloses an inking device comprising the features listed in the preamble of present claim 1. A similar inking device is disclosed in US-A-2004801. EP-A-0 437 230 discloses an inking apparatus for a printing machine where the plate cylinder is detachably supported on the machine frame. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to an inking device as claimed in claim 1. The essence of the present invention is the concept of replacing the plate cylinder itself which is not disclosed in any of the references cited. By so restricting, the plate cylinder can be attached or detached without removing the form roller and while maintaining a set state of the nip pressure. According to a constitution of the present invention, the form roller is able to moved largely to the retreat position from a plate cylinder without removing the form roller and while keeping a set condition of a nip pressure so as to make it easier to remove a plate cylinder. Also, a mechanism for attaching/detaching a form roller by the second lever is easily parted from another mechanism for acting on the form roller by the first lever without causing any trouble in both the mechanisms, and consequently the reliability of the unit is raised. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a side view illustrating a main part of an inking device relating to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a cross sectional plan view illustrating a main part of an inking device relating to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view illustrating the first form roller of an inking device relating to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view illustrating the third form roller of an inking device relating to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.5 is an enlarged cross sectional plan view illustrating the third form roller; Fig. 6 is a side view illustrating a reverse driving portion; and Fig. 7 is a side view illustrating a conventional inking device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Fig. 1 is a side view illustrating a main part of an inking device relating to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross sectional plan view illustrating a main part of an inking device relating to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view illustrating the first form roller of an inking device relating to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view illustrating the third form roller of an inking device relating to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig.5 is an enlarged cross sectional plan view illustrating the third form roller, and Fig. 6 is a side view illustrating a reverse driving portion. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a plate cylinder (e.g. a number barrel) 4 is rotatably and axially supported by a couple of right-and-left frames via the first and second eccentric bearings 2 and 3 and a contact pressure between a plate cylinder 4 and pushing barrel 5 is adjusted by shifting a pair of the first right-and-left eccentric bearings 2, in such a situation, a twist adjustment is conducted by shifting either of the second right-and-left eccentric bearings 3. A plate cylinder follow-up cam 6 is mounted on the second eccentric bearing 3 so that a circular cam surface 6a may be in conformity with the outer periphery of the plate cylinder 4, and a roller-lifting cam 7 (a cam adapted to attach/detach the first to third form rollers 13a to 13c that will be described later) having three cam surfaces 7a, 7b and 7c is swingably supported by the frames 1 so as to be adjacent to the plate cylinder follow-up cam 6, so that the first to third form rollers 13a to 13c can be attached/detached to/from the plate cylinder 4 by driving means such as a lever 8a, a rod 8b and an attaching/detaching cylinder (not shown). Above the plate cylinder 4, both the axial ends of each of the first and second swing rollers 9a and 9b positioned in the end portion of the inking device are rotatably supported by the frames 1 via the bearings 10, and the swing rollers 9a and 9b are provided with a swinging mechanism 11 and each adapted to be reciprocated in the axial direction in the prescribed cycles while drivingly rotated by a driving means 12. The above mentioned first and second form rollers 13a and 13b rotatably contact the first swing roller 9a, and similarly the third form roller 13c rotatably contacts the second swing roller 9b. That is to say, as illustrated in Fig. 3, roller supporting levers 14 are rotatably mounted on the bearings 10 of the first and second swing rollers 9a and 9b, and the second and third form rollers 13b and 13c are each supported by one end side of the roller supporting levers 14 via holders 15 respectively. Bearings 16 to support the axial ends of the first and second form rollers 13a and 13b are fixed to one ends of the holders 15 by bolts 18 via holding plates 17, furthermore, the other ends of the holders 15 are eccentrically fixed to the roller supporting levers 14 using split clamps. Meanwhile, each one end side of the first spring bearing member 20 and guide rod 21 is rotatably connected to the other end side of each roller supporting lever 14, and each second spring bearing 22 is slidably engaged with the guide rod 14 on the other end side thereof. The second spring bearing member 22 is rotatably mounted on the frame 1, and the compression coil spring 23 is wound around the guide rod 21 between the first and second spring bearing member 20 and 22. Accordingly, a rotating force round each bearing 10 supplied to the roller supporting lever 14 by a biasing force of the compression coil spring 23 and the rotating force pushes the first and second form roller 13b and 13c against the plate cylinder 4. Each rolling member supporting lever 25 is rotatably mounted on each bearing 10 of the first and second swing rollers 9a and 9b, and two rows of bearing rollers (cam followers) 27 are mounted on one end side of the rolling member supporting lever 25 by means of a pin 26. The inner bearing roller 27 and outer bearing roller 27 are brought into contact the cam surface 6a of the above described plate cylinder follow-up cam 6 and the cam surfaces 7b and 7c of the roller-lifting cam 7 as defined above, respectively. The other end sides of the roller supporting lever 14 and rolling member supporting lever 25 are connected to each other through the intermediary of a screw rod 29 as a adjusting means using pins 28a and 28b. The screw rod 29 is extended to the end surface of the frame via an universal joint 30, and a square rod portion 29a of the tip end thereof is slidably and axially inserted into a square hole 32a of a handle 32 connected to the frame 1 by a pin 31. The connection of the square rod portion 29a and square hole 32a allows the screw rod 29 to move forward and backward when the second and third form roller 13b and 13c are attached or detached by the roller-lifting cam 7. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 4, another roller supporting lever (the first lever) 35 is rotatably mounted on the bearing 10 of the first swing roller 9a as it adjoins the rolling member supporting lever 25, the first form roller 13a rotatably supported by the tip end of the roller supporting lever 35 via a holder 15A. Each bearing 16 to support the axial end of the first form roller 13a is fixed to one end side of the holder 15A by bolts 18 via a holding plate 17, the other end side of the holder 15A is eccentrically fixed to the roller supporting lever 35 using a split clamp, and hence a contact pressure of the first form rollers 13a applied to the first swing rollers 9a is made adjustable by unclamping the split clamps followed by shifting the holders 15A. As illustrated in Fig. 5, a rotational shaft 37, as it is not rotatable, connected to a rotary lever 36 is rotatably engaged with the holder 15A, the shaft axis of the rotational shaft 37 is deviated from that of the first form roller 13a. A plate cam 38 (cam follower) and bearing rollers 27 are mounted an eccentric shaft 37a on the outer end side of the rotational shaft 37. The inner plate cam 38 and outer bearing roller 27 are brought into contact with the cam surface 6a of the plate cylinder follow-up cam 6 as mentioned above and the cam surface 7a of the roller-lifting cam 7 as mentioned likewise, respectively. A pin 39 within which a female screw is formed is engaged with the tip end portion of the rotational lever 36 rotatably engaged with the holder 15A. On the other hand, an adjusting screw 40 screwed into the pin 39 is rotataly mounted on the roller supporting lever 35 via a pin 41 engaged with the roller supporting lever 35. Accordingly, when the adjusting screw 40 is rotated directly or using e.g. a screw driver 43 (refer to Figs.1 and 4), the pin 39 moves forward or backward to the adjusting screw 40 so that the rotational lever 36 and rotational shaft 37 rotates in relation to the holder 15A. As a result, the shaft axis of the plate cam 38 mounted on the rotational shaft 37 moves on the circular arc round the shaft axis of the holder 15, and the shaft axis of the plate cam 38 is relatively shifted in relation to the shaft axis of the first form roller 13a. The position of the first form roller 13a in relation to the plate cylinder 4 is shifted into the radial direction of the plate cylinder 4 and thereby a nip pressure is able to be adjusted. Furthermore, a roller attaching/detaching lever (the second lever) 45 is rotatably mounted on the bearing 10 of the first swing roller 9a as it adjoins the roller supporting lever 35, and the tip end of the roller attaching/detaching lever and the tip end of an inner lever 47 fixed to the inner end of an attaching/detaching pin 46 penetrating rotatably the frame 1 are interconnected by a link 49 using pins 48 in respective connections. The first spring bearing member 51 and one end side of a guide rod 52 each are rotatably connected to the tip end of an outer lever 50 fixedly formed on the outer end of the attaching/detaching pin 46, and the second spring bearing member 53 is slidably engaged with the guide rod 52 on the other end side thereof. The second spring bearing member 53 is rotatably mounted on the frame 1, and a compression coil spring 54 is wound around the guide rod 52 between the first spring bearing member 51 and the second spring bearing member 53. Accordingly, a rotating force round the attaching/detaching pin 46 acts on the inner lever 47 owing to a biasing force of the compression coil spring 54, and the roller attaching/detaching lever 45 is pushed as it is usually restricted by a stopper 55 against the side of the contact position of the first form roller 13a (refer to the solid lines in Fig. 1). On the other hand, when the inner lever 47 is rotated counterclockwise directly or using e.g. a spanner (refer to Fig. 1) in Fig. 1, as shown in Fig. 6, the outer lever 50 and guide rod 52 are subjected to resilient reverse (over a dead point), thereby it is now pushed, as it is restricted by a stopper 57, against the side of the detachment position of the first form roller 13a (refer to the imaginary lines in Fig. 1). The first spring bearing member 60 and one end side of an guide rod 61 are each rotatably connected to the tip end of the roller supporting lever 35, the second spring bearing member 62 and the guide rod 61 are each rotatably engaged with the guide rod 61on the other end side thereof. The second spring member 62 is rotatably mounted on the other tip end of the roller attaching/detaching lever 45, and a compression coil spring 63 is wound around the guide rod 61 between the first spring bearing member 60 and the second spring bearing member 62. A collar 64 is fixed to the slidable end of the guide 61. Accordingly, a rotational force round the bearing 10 acts on the roller supporting lever 35 owing to a biasing force of the compression coil spring 63, and hence the first form roller 13a is pushed against the plate cylinder 4 by the rotational force. When the roller attaching/detaching lever 45 is rotated toward the side of the detachment position of the first form roller 13a and switched over thereto, the roller supporting lever 35 is rotated in the same direction within the limit caused by the collar 64 as it is drawn by the guide rod 61, and thereby the first form roller 13a is largely retreated (absented) from the plate cylinder 4 (refer to the imaginary lines in Figs. 1 and 4). The numerals 70 and 71 each denote ink rollers and an ink top, respectively. As constituted above, while printing is not conducted, the roller-lifting cam 7 is driven by the driving means of the lever 8a, rod 8b and attaching/detaching means (not illustrated) to be swingably moved upward. Thereby, the three bearing rollers 27 which contact the three cam surfaces 7a, 7b and 7c of the roller-lifting cam are shifted while resisting the biasing forces of the compression coil springs 29 and 63, together with the rolling member supporting lever 24 and roller attaching/detaching lever 45, as it is lifted from the plate cylinder 4. Hence, the first to third rollers 13a to 13c are separated from the printing roller 4 to take a non-contact form. When a twist adjustment of the plate cylinder 4 is conducted by shifting either of the second right-and-left eccentric bearings, since the printing follow-up cam 6 mounted on the second eccentric bearing 3 moves together with the plate cylinder 4, the two bearing rollers 27 and the plate cam 38, which are pushed against the cam surface 6a of the printing follow-up cam 6, are also moved simultaneously. Accordingly, before and after the twist adjustment, the positional relation between the first to third form rollers 13a to 13c and the plate cylinder 4 is not altered and then the nip pressure remains unchanged. In order that the plate cylinder 4 is dismounted in the embodiment, the roller attaching/detaching lever 45 is rotated toward the side of the detachment position, as defined by the stopper 57, of the first form roller 13a to be switched over thereto by rotating the inner lever 47 directly or e.g. using a spanner 56 (refer to Fig. 1) counterclockwise to thereby subject the outer lever 50 and guide rod 53 to resilient reverse. According to the above, the roller supporting lever 35 is rotated in the same direction within the limit caused by the collar 64 as it is drawn by the guide rod 61, and consequently the first form roller 13a is largely retreated from the plate cylinder 4 so that a large space for taking out and removing the plate cylinder 4 is made. Accordingly, even when a running position of the first form roller 13a is situated in such a position that it cannot be removed even though the plate cylinder 4 is dismounted, the plate cylinder 4 is able to be dismounted and removed by moving the first form roller 13a largely to the retreat position as described above without removing it. After the plate cylinder is replaced, the first form roller 13a can be returned precisely to the running position before the replacement of the plate cylinder by now rotating the inner lever 47 clockwise in Fig. 1, and hence any readjustment of a nip pressure is not required. In the above embodiment, as a measure of retreating largely the form roller, it is operated using a spanner 56, however, it is possible to absent the roller by mounting a motor on a bolt portion (rotating operation portion) or conduct a rotating operation by directly employing an actuator such as an air cylinder or hydraulic cylinder via the lever. According to an inking device for a printing machine of the present invention, the inking device is provided with a constitution wherein a form roller is enabled to move to a retreat position being apart greatly from a detachment position, besides a running position and the detachment position which are conventionally employed, accordingly the form roller is able to be moved largely to the retreat position from a plate cylinder without removing the form roller and while keeping a set condition of a nip pressure to make it easier to remove a plate cylinder. The inking device comprises the first lever supporting a form roller, the second lever supported to be linked with a link mechanism mounted on a machine frame, and spring members each wound round these levers to push the form roller against the plate cylinder, consequently, a mechanism for attaching/detaching a form roller by the second lever is easily parted from another mechanism for acting on the form roller by the first lever without causing any trouble in both the mechanisms, and consequently the reliability of the unit is raised.

Claims: An inking device for a printing machine detachably supporting a form roller (13a) to a plate cylinder (4), wherein the form roller (13a) is rotatably supported by a lever (35) pivotally mounted on a machine frame so that the form roller can be moved to a running position where the form roller (13a) contacts the plate cylinder (4) via the lever (35), a detachment position separated from the plate cylinder (4) and a retreat position separated as much as a predetermined distance from the detachment position, characterized in that the plate cylinder (4) is detachably supported on the machine frame (1) and that the retreat position of the form roller (13a) is a position at which attachment or detachment of the plate cylinder (4) is not hampered. The inking device for the printing machine according to claim 1, wherein the lever (35) is linked with a link mechanism (49) supported by the machine frame so that the form roller (13a) can be moved to the retreat position by the operation of an operating portion (56) via the link mechanism (49). The inking device for the printing machine according to claim 2, wherein the lever comprises a first lever (35) for rotatably supporting the form roller (13a) and a second lever (45) coaxially supported with the first lever (35) so as to be liked with the link mechanism (49), and a spring member (63) for always pressing the form roller (13a) against the plate cylinder is disposed via a guide rod (61) between the first lever and second lever. The inking device for the printing machine according to claim 3, wherein the first lever and second lever (35, 45) are adjacently supported coaxially with an oscillating roller (9a) which the form roller (13a) rotatably contacts. The inking device for the printing machine according to claim 3, wherein the form roller (13a) is supported by the first lever (35) via a holder (15a), and the end portion of the holder (15a) is eccentrically supported by the first lever (35). The inking device for the printing machine according to claim 2, wherein a cam follower (38) contacting a plate cylinder follow-up cam (6) is supported by the lever (35). The inking device for the printing machine according to claim 6, wherein the cam follower (38) is movably supported by the lever (35) and provided with an adjusting means (40) for adjusting a position of the cam follower (38). The inking device for the printing machine according to claim 6, wherein another cam follower (27) contacting a roller-lifting cam (7) is supported by the lever (35).

Inventors: KAMODA HIROYOSHI, KAMODA, HIROYOSHI, Kamoda, Hiroyoshi, c/o Komori Corporation
Applicants: KOMORI PRINTING MACH, KOMORI CORPORATION
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B41F31
IPC codes: B41F31