Patent GB-709415-A (GB)
Title: Press for printing individual articles such as envelopes
Inventor: SKOW ROSS ERIC
IPC: B41L19/00
Filed: 1950-07-07
Abstract: 709,415. Printing machines; feeding and delivering sheets. WALBERT MACHINE CO. July 7, 1950, No. 17087/50. Classes 100 (1) and 100 (2) A high speed printing press comprises a frame supporting rotatably mounted printing plate cylinder and impression cylinder and carrying a magazine for flat articles, such as envelopes, to be printed, a rotary cylinder with suction means for withdrawal of the articles one by one from the bottom of the magazine and deposit them in inverted position on an endless conveyer for moving them towards the printing plate cylinder, means being provided in association with the conveyer for guiding and shifting the articles while on the conveyer into proper position for feeding to the printing cylinder. The machine shown comprises a base 2 housing a motor 3 for operating countershafts 4, 5, 6 through belts and pulleys, the shafts 5 and 6 constituting drives to operate parts of the printing section 11 of the machine, which comprises inking rollers 12, printing plate cylinder 13 and impression cylinder 14 supported in side frames 19 on the front of the base 2. Shaft 4 is used to operate the sheet feeding, printing and sheet delivery apparatus through chain and sprocket connections. The sheet feeding apparatus is supported on the base 2 by side plates 20, 21 connected by a cross bar 22 and yoke 23 whose side arms 24, 25 are connected by a cross bar 29. Pile tables or supports.-The envelopes 31 are supported, in a stack with the front edge of the lowermost on the withdrawal cylinder 46, by vertical rear and side posts 32, 33 and 34, 35 each of which has a slotted foot 36 adjustably supported on a lug 37 or 38 projecting from the bar 29 or side arms 24, 25, the posts 32, 33 also having tongues 72, 73 to engage under the rear of the stack, and by front posts 40, 41 adjustably mounted on cross bar 22 by brackets 42. Sheet separators.-The withdrawal cylinder 46, mounted on shaft 57 between the plates 20, 21 and driven from shaft 4, has diametrically opposed pairs of spaced suction ports 49-50 and 51-52, each pair being interconnected by a channel 54, 55 which extends to one side of the cylinder to connect the pairs of ports in turn to an anuate channel in a valve disc 61 retained on shaft 57 by a collar 65 and restrained from rotation by an arm 66 secured to the disc and to the cross bar 29. The arcuate channel is connected by a nipple 70 to a flexible duct 71 leading to a vacuum pump which may be housed in the base 2. The suction through ports 49, 50 or 51, 52 removes one envelope from the pi'e 31, carries it around a channel 76 formed by an adjustable arm 77 and releases it, as the channel 54 or 55 passes the end of the arcuate channe', onto a chain conveyer 115, 116. A control member 82 for the pile 31, having a rubber facing 83 in contact with the front edges of the envelopes and a flexible projecting lip 92 to contact the cylinder 46, is adjustably mounted on the cross bar 22 by a bracket 81 for movement towards and away from the pile and cylinder by adjusting screws 84' and 88. To re'ieve the weight from the lower envelopes, a finger 101 is mounted on a bracket 96 adjustably secured to a bracket 94 on the cross bar 29, the finger 101 be:ng adjusted so as to engage lighty between envelopes in the pile Sheet carriers and forwarders; registering.- The enve'opes are moved towards the printing cylinder by pins 122 on chains 115. 116 which pass round sprockets on shafts 107, 112 and through channel tracks 118, 119, the pins 122 being carried on plates 138 adustably mounted on lugs 139 projecting laterally from selected links of the chains 115, 116. The chain belts 115, 116 are driven from shaft 4 through a countershaft 140, the shaft 112 projecting out from the side of the machine to carry a sprocket 114 which engages the top run of a chain 151 connecting sprockets on shaft 140 and shaft 154 of the printing cylinder 13, the relative sizes of sprockets being such that the speed of the conveyer is less than that of the printing cylinder Spaced feed rollers 209 and opposed rol'er 210 geared to the impression cylinder 14 to run at the same peripheral speed, remove the envelope from the pins 122 and hold the envelope during printing and until gripped by rollers 217 in contact with cylinder 14. Guides 215 are positioned between the feed rollers 209. To register the envelopes with the printing plate, while on the conveyer, the hub 146 of the sprocket 144 is adjustable relative to its shaft 112 bv a knurled collar 145 screwed to the hub and to the shaft 9. The pairs of pins 122 can then be adjusted in turn behind a gauge when a notch in the sprocket 144 is engaged by a click giving an audible signal. A brush 211 is provided which engages the leading edge of an envelope as it travels on the conveyer until the trailing edge is engaged by the pins 122. Side guides 128, 129 are adjustably carried by a cross bar 125 which also supports the channel tracks 118, 119. One guide 128 or 129 is positioned parallel with the conveyer chains and one at a slight angle thereto so that the delivery end is in correct register with the printing plate and the other end spaced to allow free entry of the envelopes. Rods 155 adjustably carried by cross rods 156, 157 hold down the envelopes on the conveyer chains. Sheet detector &c. mechanism.-To stop the machine in case of a pile up of two or more envelopes on the chain conveyer, a central rod 167 rides on the envelopes and has lateral stems 168, 169 freely sliding in a supporting bar 170 engaging the cross bars 156, 157. A plate 176 secured to the stems 168, 169 operates a switch 175, connected in the circuit of the motor 3, when the rod 167 is raised by having two or more envelopes below it. To prevent ink deposit on the impression cylinder 14 when no envelope is on the conveyer, the cylinder 14 is caused to drop by means of a solenoid magnet 185 connected with a switch closed by a cam on shaft 107 while an envelope should be on the conveyer and the circuit completed when no envelope present by a contact arm 183 engaging a ground contact 184 carried by cross bar 125. The solenoid magnet 185 is connected through an arm 191 to an arm 192 on rock shaft 193, a latch 194 on the rock shaft 193 engaging a notch 195 in a pin 196 on arm 197 adjustably carried on a shaft 198 on which are mounted eccentrics 199 Eccentric straps 200 mounted on eccentrics 199 are pivotally connected to slide blocks 201 on which the shaft of cylinder 14 is mounted, the weight of the cylinder 14 and a spring 202 causing the cylinder to drop when, by operation of solenoid 185, latch 194 is disengaged from the arm 197 to rock the eccentrics 199 and 200. A lever is provided on shaft 198 for resetting the cylinder 14. Sheet delivery apparatus.-Envelopes passing under rollers 217 on cylinder 14 are collected by means of belts 234, 235 running over pulleys 230, 231 and 232. 233 on shafts 228 and 229 to pass along a table 220 adjustable relative to cylinders 13, 14 by means of links 221 between ears 223 and 222 on the table and frame 19, screws 224 on the links 221 engaging the under side of the table 220, the opposite end of the table rocking about rollers 226 on supporting legs 225. Pressure wheels 238, 239 and a resident tongue 245 are adjustably mounted so as to bear on the enve'opes on the belts 234, 235 which are driven at reduced speed from the shaft 112 through a speed reduction mechanism 254 and a shaft 249, used as an envelope counter, the envelopes piling up against a fixed rest 280 from which they are removed by hand. The shaft 249 is provided with a cam disc 258 having a notch which, at each revolution of the shaft 249 corresponding to a given number of envelopes, is engaged by a roller pressing on the cam disc, the rol'er then operating a switch 267 connected to an e'ectromagnet to swing an arm linked thereto which rocks a shaft 247 and attached arm 246 to shift one envelope out of line and against an adjustable stop 271. Specification 709,470 is referred to.