Abstract:
A printing tower includes at least two printing groups which can each be controlled independently of the other by the entry of data into an operating unit. The operating unit is configured independently of the printing groups and can selectively exchange data with different printing groups.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is the U.S. national phase, under 35 U.S.C. 371, of PCT/EP 2004/050139, filed Feb. 16, 2004; published as WO 2004/080718 A1 on Sep. 23, 2004 and claiming priority to DE 103 11 284.7, filed Mar. 14, 2003, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention is directed to a printing tower with at least two printing groups. The two printing groups are arranged on top of each other. A lifting device is assigned to the printing groups and includes an operating unit.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Printing presses are generally known which are in the structural form of printing towers, for example, which printing towers are typically used as rotary printing presses for printing newspapers. Several printing units are provided in these printing presses, so that different colors, or so that both the front and back of a print medium, for example, can be imprinted.  
         [0004]     Operating units, by the use of which press operators can control each respective printing unit, are customarily installed in control cabinets, which control cabinets are provided for the individual printing presses for use in operating the individual printing units of each printing press. Customarily, graphic displays or run control boards are provided at these operating units and are used for showing defined parameters of the printing unit. Furthermore, input elements, such as, for example, alpha-numeric keyboards, are usually provided at these operating units for entering control data. So-called touch screens are also being increasingly employed for this purpose.  
         [0005]     A disadvantage in connection with known printing presses lies in the large expenditures required for the operating units, since it is necessary to assign a separate operating unit to each individual printing unit. Moreover, the available control cabinet space is reduced by the requirement for operating units at each individual printing unit. The operation of the generally known, customary operating units is also not satisfactory from an ergonomic viewpoint, since the operating units are installed in fixed locations which fixed installations, in particular in connection with wide-format presses, makes more demanding operating steps, which require direct observation at the printing location difficult. Moreover, because of the arrangement and the placement of the operating units in the direct vicinity of the printing units, soiling of the operating units by printing ink often occurs. Also, EMC interferences with the electronic components of the operating units, because of the close proximity of the operating units to the main drive regulators, cannot be ruled out. In the course of removing parts of the printing unit, such as, for example, the ink rollers or the protective device of the inking units, there is also the danger of damage to the operating units which are installed in fixed locations.  
         [0006]     DE 32 25 164 C2 discloses a printing press with several printing groups, which printing groups are independently controlled by a remote operating unit. The remote operating unit can selectively exchange data with various printing groups.  
         [0007]     A control device for rotary printing presses is known from DE 92 15 547 U1. The printing groups are connected with a control console via a common data bus.  
         [0008]     DE 299 18 654 U1 discloses an arrangement for the wireless transmission of signals between a printing press and a mobile computer unit.  
         [0009]     DE 93 21 349 U1 shows a transportable operating unit for a printing press, on which operating unit graphic symbols are arranged.  
         [0010]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,159 describes a printing tower with a lifting device for use by press operators. An operating device, for use in controlling the lifting device, is fastened on this lifting device.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     The object of the present invention is directed to providing a printing tower with at least two printing groups, and in which a simple, cost-effective operation of the at least two printing groups that constitute the printing tower is provided.  
         [0012]     In accordance with the present invention, this object is attained by the provision of a lifting device, which is usable for conveying press operators between the at least two printing groups that constitute the printing tower. An operating unit is attached to the lifting device by a support assembly. Several of the printing groups in the printing tower are assigned to this operating unit and each such printing group can be controlled independently of other printing groups by the input of data using the operating unit.  
         [0013]     The advantages to be gained by the present invention consist, in particular, in that the operating unit of the printing press is configured to be independent of the several printing groups. In other words, each printing group no longer has its own operating unit. Instead, several printing groups can each be selectively controlled by the use of one operating unit. To accomplish this purpose, the sole operating unit should, as a rule, be arranged in its own housing, since it is independent of the individual structures of the various printing groups. The sole operating unit should be configured in such a way that data can be selectively exchanged with it and the various printing groups.  
         [0014]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a selector switch is provided at the operating unit and is usable for selecting a defined printing group from the several printing groups. Because of this configuration, the press operators have the opportunity of selecting a defined printing group by setting the selector switch. Only this defined printing group can now exchange defined types of data with the operating unit. The exchange of such data with other, non-selected printing groups is prevented. In the course of this procedure, it is conceivable, in principle, that, following the selection of a defined printing group, the operating unit can still exchange other types of data with all of the other printing groups. An example of such other types of data, which can be exchanged at all times, with all of the printing groups, regardless of the setting of the selector switch, is an emergency shut-off signal, provided that such an emergency shut-off switch for the entire printing press is provided at the operating unit.  
         [0015]     The manner in which data is exchanged between the operating unit and the respective printing group is basically a matter of choice. In accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, suitable connecting cables are provided at each printing group, to which cables the operating unit can be connected for accomplishing a data exchange with the selected printing group.  
         [0016]     Alternatively, is also possible to provide a data bus, through which data bus the operating unit can exchange data with the various printing groups.  
         [0017]     If a common data bus is not provided, an interface, for accomplishing data transmission, should preferably be provided at each printing group, via which interface, the data between the printing group and the operating unit can be transmitted when the respective printing group is selected. The way in which this interface is constructed is also basically a matter of choice. For example, it is conceivable for this interface to be configured in a wireless manner, and in particular in the manner of an infra-red or a radio interface.  
         [0018]     Alternatively to such a wireless interface, it is also possible to provide plug-in connectors for the connection of the operating unit with data cables that connect to the various printing groups.  
         [0019]     The selective control of different printing groups, by the use of only a single operating unit, in accordance with the present invention, is particularly advantageous for use with printing presses that are configured with several printing groups arranged one on top of the other. Lifting devices, such as, for example, lifting platforms, for use to convey the press operators to the respectively required level of each printing group, are typically provided in such printing presses, in which several such printing groups are arranged on top of each other. Such a lifting device or platform for a press operator is described in DE 27 41 596 A1, for example.  
         [0020]     To attach the operating unit to the lifting device, a support device, such as, for example, a support arm, can preferably be provided. To improve the operating ergonomics, the support device should be configured so that it will permit the vertical and/or horizontal adjustment of the position of the operating unit and/or the inclination of the operating unit. As a result of the provision of such a universal support device, it then becomes possible for the operators to position the operating unit for optimal use, matched to the respective operating steps to be performed, so that for performing an operating step, such as, for example, in the course of observing the print location, it is also possible to input control commands directly at the operating unit. Optimal operation of the operating unit, regardless of the body size of the operator, is also possible because of the provision of such a universal support device.  
         [0021]     In a basic form of the present invention, the respective printing group to be controlled by the operating unit is selected by the press operators. If several printing groups are provided in the printing tower, it is possible that errors can occur in the course of this selection by the press operators, so that an incorrectly selected printing group is accidentally triggered by the transmission of data. In the situation in which several printing groups arranged on top of each other, such errors can be avoided if a sensor device, by the use of which the position of the lifting device can be detected, is arranged on the lifting device that is being used for conveying the operators. This sensor device can be configured, for example, in the manner of an electronic cam switching system which may be incorporated in the drive mechanism of the lifting device. Pull cable sensors, open or encapsulated linear measuring systems, and the like can also constitute alternative sensing devices. Information regarding the position or the location of the lifting device is transmitted, by the sensor device, to the operating unit wherein, as a function of the position of the lifting device, data can only be exchanged between defined printing groups and the operating unit, while data exchange with other printing groups is prevented. In other words, this means that by setting the height of the lifting device for example, the operating unit is automatically programmed in such a way that a data exchange between it and the printing tower is possible only with defined printing groups.  
         [0022]     The control of defined functions of the printing groups, and in particular, the control of safety-relevant functions, such as the issuance of an emergency shut-off signal, is of particular importance when operating a printing press. Therefore, the operating elements for controlling these defined functions should be provided redundantly at the printing press. This means that such operating elements, for controlling these defined functions, should be provided at the operating unit, as well as at the individual printing groups. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]     A preferred embodiment of the present invention is represented in the drawings and will be described in greater detail in what follows.  
         [0024]     Shown are in:  
         [0025]      FIG. 1 , a perspective plan view of printing press with eight printing groups in accordance with the present invention, and in  
         [0026]      FIG. 2 , a schematic side elevation view of the printing press in accordance with  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0027]     Eight printing groups  01  to  08  are provided in the printing press which is represented schematically in  FIG. 1 . Each one of the eight printing groups  01  to  08  is configured as a rotary printing group. The various components of each the rotary printing groups depicted in  FIG. 1  are only schematically indicated. The printing groups  01 ,  03 ,  05 ,  07  are arranged on top of each other on the left side of the printing press. The printing groups  02 ,  04 ,  06 ,  08  are arranged on top of each other on the right side of the printing press. All of the various printing groups  01  to  08  can be operated independently of each other during rotary printing.  
         [0028]     To allow easier access for the press operators to the printing groups  01  to  08 , which are arranged on top of each other on either the left side or the right side of the printing press, lifting devices  09  or  11 , as seen in  FIG. 1  and in  FIG. 2  are provided on both sides of the printing press, which lifting devices are embodied in the manner of lifting platforms  09  or  11  and which can be displaced by the use of drive mechanisms, which are not specifically represented in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Support devices  12  or  13  are provided on the two lifting devices  09 ,  11 . Operating units  14  or  16 , which are adjustable in their positions, have been attached to upper ends of support devices  12  or  13 , respectively. By setting the height of the operating units  14 ,  16 , through movement of the support devices  12 ,  13 , the press operators can assume an ergonomically advantageous operating position. The operating units  14  or  16  are each connected by data cables  17  or  18  to a data bus, so that the operating unit  14  can exchange data with the left printing units  01 ,  03 ,  05 ,  07 , and the operating unit  16  can exchange information with the right printing units  02 ,  04 ,  06 ,  08 .  
         [0029]     As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , the press operators can selectively move the lifting device  09  or  11  to the level of the various printing groups  01  to  08 . The actual level of each of the lifting devices  09 ,  11  is detected by an appropriate sensor device and this information is passed on to the respective one of the operating units  14  or  16 . As a function of the measured level of the lifting device  09 ,  11 , the operating units  14 ,  16  are automatically programmed in such a way that only defined ones of the respective printing groups  01  to  08  can exchange data with the operating units  14  or  16 . If, for example, as represented in  FIG. 2 , the left side lifting device  09  is located at the level of the left side printing group  07 , the operating unit  14  supported on that lifting device is programmed in such a way that data can only be exchanged between the operating unit  14  and the printing group  07 . A data exchange between the operating unit  14  and all of other printing groups  01 ,  03 ,  05  is prevented by the provision of such a position sensor.  
         [0030]     If the respective lifting device  09 ,  11  is not in its highest position but, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the right lifting device  11  is, for example, positioned at the level of the second-lowest printing group  04 , the operating unit  16  associated with lifting device  11  is automatically programmed in such a way that data can only be exchanged either between the operating unit  16  and the printing group  04 , or between the operating unit  16  and the printing group  06 . In this position of the lifting device  11 , a data exchange between the operating unit  16  and the printing groups  02  or  08  is prevented.  
         [0031]     Graphic displays and/or run control boards are provided at the operating units  14 ,  16 .  
         [0032]     Four printing groups  01 ,  03 ,  05 ,  07 , or  02 ,  04 ,  06 ,  08  are arranged on top of each other in the printing tower. Each of the printing groups  01 ,  03 ,  05 ,  07 , or  02 ,  04 ,  06 ,  08  has a forme cylinder and a transfer cylinder. Two printing groups  01 ,  03 ,  05 ,  07 , or  02 ,  04 ,  06 ,  08  are respectively arranged opposite each other in a bridge-printing manner in the printing tower, again as seen most clearly in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0033]     While a preferred embodiment of a printing tower comprising at least two printing groups, in accordance with the present invention, has been set forth fully and completely hereinabove, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art that various changes in, for example, the specific structure of the printing groups and of the lifting devices can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention which is accordingly to be limited only by the appended claims.