Patent Publication Number: US-6339989-B1

Title: Ink fountain with two-position tray

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an ink supplying apparatus for use in a printing press such as a rotary press or a sheet-fed printing press, and more particularly to an ink supplying apparatus equipped with an ink tray attachable/detachable to an ink fountain. 
     2) Description of the Related Art 
     As FIGS. 12 and 13 show, a printing press such as a rotary press or a sheet-fed printing press is provided with an ink supplying apparatus  100  in which an ink fountain  102  is placed in front of an ink fountain roller  101 . The ink fountain  102  is composed of a circumferential surface of the ink fountain roller  101 , a plurality of ink keys (blades)  103  constituting a bottom section of the ink fountain  102 , and two side plates  104  (only one on the interior side is shown in FIG. 12) provided at both side surfaces of each of the ink keys  103  so that their front edges come into contact with the circumferential surface of the ink fountain roller  101  to slide thereon. In this construction, an ink lying within the ink fountain  102  is supplied through a gap between the ink fountain roller  101  and the tip portion of each of the ink keys  103  to the ink fountain roller  101  and then transferred through a non-shown calling roller to a group of ink rollers lying on the downstream side. 
     The plurality of ink keys  103  are, as shown in FIG. 13, arranged in parallel with each other in a lateral direction of the apparatus so that the ink keys  103 ,  103  adjacent to each other are brought into sliding contact with each other while both the end ink keys  103  and the side plates  104  are brought into sliding contact with each other. In addition, the ink keys are made to be driven independently of each other to rock or swing about a supporting shaft  105 , and an ink quantity control device  106  is situated under the respective ink keys  103 . 
     The ink quantity control device  106  is provided with a adjusting cam  106   b  engaging with a lower surface of the tip portion of each of the ink keys  103  and a pusher  106   a  brought into contact with the adjusting cam  106   b  to rock the adjusting cam  106   b  by its telescopic motion, namely, protruding/retracting movements. Additionally, the tip portion of each of the ink keys  103  is driven to rock in a manner that the pusher  106   a  is operated appropriately to protrude/retract for rocking the adjusting cam  106   b  so that its engaging portion of the adjusting cam  106   b  with the ink key  103  lifts/lowers, thereby controlling the gap between the ink key  103  and the ink fountain roller  101  to adjust the thickness of the ink film to be supplied. 
     Meanwhile, in the aforesaid conventional ink supplying apparatus, a microscopic gap is secured between the adjacent ink keys  103 ,  103  and between both the end ink keys  103  and the side plates  104  in order to permit the mutual sliding motion. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the ink permeates through the very small gap, for example, between the ink keys  103 ,  103  by the capillary phenomenon or the like. If the ink is hardened after permeating through the gap between the ink keys  103 ,  103 , the operation of the ink keys  103  becomes unstable and the worst case reaches the difficulty of movement thereof, so that a problem exists in that the high-accuracy control of the ink film becomes impossible. 
     In addition, after the completion of printing or in the ink replacement, although there is a need to clean the interior of the ink fountain  102  by wiping off the ink remaining in the interior of the ink fountain  102  with a waste or the like, or by washing it off with a cleaning solvent, the removal of the ink is difficult because the ink shows a high viscosity. Particularly, difficulty is experienced in removing the ink permeating into the gap between the ink keys  103 ,  103  so that a severe burden falls on the cleaning worker. 
     Still additionally, although, for improving the productivity, there is a need to shorten the preparation for the order change for enhancing the availability fact of the apparatus, if the load on the cleaning in the ink replacement is severe as mentioned above, the cleaning takes time largely. For this reason, it has been desired strongly to relieve the burden to be imposed on the worker through the labor-saving in the cleaning operation and further to enhance the availability factor of the apparatus through the shortening of the cleaning time. 
     Accordingly, this applicant has developed a construction in which an interior-placed container (which is referred to as an ink tray) for covering the upper surfaces of the ink keys or the inner surfaces of the side plates is detachably installed in the interior of the ink fountain for less direct adhesion of the ink to the ink keys or the side plates. In the case of the installation of such an ink tray, there exists one problem in a method for easy attachment/detachment of the ink tray. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the prevent invention to provide an ink supplying apparatus equipped with an ink tray capable of achieving the labor-saving of the cleaning operation and the shortening of the working time at ink replacement or the like in a printing press to improve the productivity, and designed to accomplish satisfactory attachment/detachment of the ink tray to improve the operational performance thereof. 
     For these purposes, an ink supplying apparatus according to this invention involves the following features. 
     First, for achieving the foregoing object, in accordance with this invention, an ink supplying apparatus which supplies an ink from an ink fountain to an ink fountain roller is characterized by comprising an ink tray set detachably in the interior of the ink fountain in a manner that brackets provided at its left- and right-hand end portions are mounted on side plates constituting left- and right-hand side walls of the ink fountain, a stopping section provided in the ink fountain to come into contact with a front end portion of the ink tray for stopping the ink tray, and a fixing device provided in front of the ink fountain for pressing each of the brackets against the stopping section to fix the ink tray in the ink fountain, wherein the fixing device includes a supporting member placed under a mounting plane of the bracket, a rotating member made to be rotatable in a plane substantially perpendicular to a cross direction of the apparatus in a state where its one end is supported by the supporting member, pressing means provided on the rotating member for pressing the brackets in a state where the rotating member rotates upwardly so that the ink tray is fixed in the ink fountain, and arresting means for arresting the rotation of the rotating member when the pressing means presses the brackets. 
     With this construction, when the ink tray is mounted in the ink fountain, the fixing device fixes the mounting position of the ink tray surely in the ink fountain to prevent the adhesion of the ink to the ink fountain certainly. 
     In addition, since the pressing means, coming into contact with the brackets to press it, is made to rotate together with the rotating member, at the removal/mounting of the ink tray from/into the ink fountain, the ink tray does not interfere with the pressing means and the rotating member so that the attachment/detachment of the ink tray from/to the ink fountain is facilitated to improve the operating efficiency. 
     Preferably, the arresting means is made up of a hooking member placed on the rotating member and a hooked member placed on an upward engaging locus of the rotating member, and the rotation of the rotating member is arrested in a manner that the hooking member catches the hooked member at the upward rotation of the rotating member. 
     In this case, since it is possible to arrest the rotation of the rotating member only by engaging the hooking member with the hooked member at the upward rotation of the rotating member, the fixing operation of the ink tray becomes easy. 
     More preferably, an elongated hole is made in the supporting member so that a supporting shaft set one end portion of the rotating member is supported rotatably by the elongated hole, and a claw is used as the hooking member while a pin is used as the hooked member so that the claw catches the pin in a manner that the rotating member is driven to slide along the elongated hole while being rotated upwardly on the supporting shaft. 
     In this case, since it is possible to arrest the rotation of the rotating member only by hooking the claw on to the pin, the operation becomes facilitated. 
     More preferably, a screw is used as the pressing means so that the bracket is pressed by the tip portion of the screw when the screw is tightened. 
     In this instance, since it is possible to press the bracket only by tightening the screw, the fixing of the ink tray becomes easy and, additionally, since the pressing force is adjustable by the degree of the tightening of the screw, the ink tray can be fixed surely at an optimal pressing force. 
     Furthermore, for achieving the object, in accordance with this invention, an ink supplying apparatus which supplies an ink from an ink fountain to an ink fountain roller is characterized by comprising an ink tray set detachably in the interior of the ink fountain and equipped with a pin protrusively formed on each of its left- and right-hand end portions, and a hooker installed on an operating space side in front of the ink fountain for catching the pin to temporarily hold the ink tray in the exterior of the ink fountain. 
     Thus, at the removal of the ink tray from the ink fountain, since the hooker is hooked on to the fixing pin to hold the ink tray temporarily, the operator can shift the ink tray from one hand to the other for easy carrying, thus lessening the burden to be imposed on the operator who handles the ink tray. 
     In addition, since the ink tray can temporarily be held immediately after the removal from the ink fountain, the operator can conduct various operations, such as cleaning of the interior of the ink fountain and cleaning of the ink tray itself, while handling the ink tray, thus accomplishing the operations according to a higher-efficiency program. 
     Preferably, on the front side of the ink fountain, a fixing device is provided which comprises a engaging member engaging/disengaging with/from the pin and engages said engaging member with said pin to fix said ink tray in the interior of said ink fountain, and said engaging member functions as said hooker when said engaging member is disengaged from said pin. 
     In this case, since the engaging member constituting the fixing device for fixing the ink tray is also used as the hooker, the number of parts is reducible. 
     More preferably, the ink tray is set in the interior of the ink fountain in a manner that brackets set on its left- and right-hand end portions are mounted on side plates constituting left- and right-hand side walls of the ink fountain, and a supporting member is placed under a mounting plane of the brackets, while the engaging member is rotated in a plane substantially perpendicular to a cross direction of the apparatus in a state where one end portion of the engaging member is supported by the supporting member and engages with the pin in a state rotated upwardly and functions as the hooker in a state rotated downwardly. 
     In this instance, since the engaging member functions as the hooker when rotated to under the bracket mounting plane, if the ink tray is drawn out from the ink fountain to the front side and shifted dowanwardly, the fixing pin is caught by the hooker to hold the ink tray temporarily, which permits easy handling of the ink tray without imposing a burden. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view schematically showing a construction of an ink supplying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a construction of an ink tray of the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing a construction of the ink tray of the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 4 is an illustration of a state of engagement between the ink tray and an ink fountain in the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention, where a bracket is partially broken away; 
     FIG. 5A is a side elevational view showing a construction of a presser in the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 5B is a side elevational view showing the construction of the presser in the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a construction of a lever in the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevational view useful for describing attachment/detachment of an ink tray in the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a side elevational view useful for describing the attachment/detachment of an ink tray in the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a side elevational view useful for describing the attachment/detachment of an ink tray in the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 10 is a side elevational view useful for describing the attachment/detachment of an ink tray in the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 11 is a side elevational view useful for describing the attachment/detachment of an ink tray in the ink supplying apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 12 is a side elevational view illustratively showing a construction of a conventional ink supplying apparatus; and 
     FIG. 13 is a top view illustratively showing the interior of an ink fountain in a construction of the conventional ink supplying apparatus. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings. 
     The description starts at the outline of a construction of an ink supplying apparatus according to this embodiment. As FIG. 1 shows, the ink supplying apparatus, designated generally at reference numeral  2 , is equipped with an ink fountain  23  defined by a circumferential surface of an ink fountain roller  20 , ink keys  21  and side plates  22  so that an ink is put in the ink fountain  23  and supplied to the ink fountain roller  20  in printing. A plurality of ink keys  21  are arranged in a cross (transverse) direction of the apparatus in a state of coming closely into contact with each other, and their rear end portions are supported rotatably by a supporting shaft  18  set on a supporting base  24 . The side plates  22  are fixedly secured onto the supporting base  24  in a state where the ink keys  21  are interposed therebetween, and their front end portions are brought into sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the ink fountain roller  20 . 
     In addition, under the ink fountain  23 , a horizontal beam  5  is installed to support components constituting the ink fountain  23 , and an ink quantity control device  25  is set on this horizontal beam  5 . The ink quantity control device  25  is made up of an adjusting cam  26  engaging with a lower surface of the tip portion of each of the ink keys  21 , and a pusher  27  made to be brought into contact with the adjusting cam  26  at its tip portion and, further, to be protruded and retracted (extensible/contractible) in the longitudinal (forward and backward) directions in accordance with the rotations of a knob  28  or a motor  29 . Accordingly, if the pusher  27  is protruded or retracted suitably to lift or lower the adjusting cam  26  in a state where the adjusting cam  26  rocks or swings around a supporting point  26   a , then the tip portion of each of the ink keys  21  is driven to rock, thereby controlling the gap between the ink key  21  and the ink fountain roller  20  to adjust the thickness of an ink film to be supplied thereinto. Add to it that, under the tip portions of the ink keys  21 , a first ink receiver  6 A is placed to receive the ink dropping from the ink keys  21  and guides  6 C,  6 D are situated to guide the ink from the interior of the first ink receiver  6 A to a second ink receiver  6 B. 
     Still additionally, this ink supplying apparatus  2  is provided with an ink tray  30  placed detachably in the interior of the ink fountain  23 . As FIGS. 2 to  4  show, the ink tray  30  is made up of side walls  31 ,  31  formed in corresponding relation to the left- and right-hand side plates  22 ,  22  of the ink fountain  23 , and a bottom plate  32  set in a state where its tip side is tilted downwardly to the ink keys  21  constituting a bottom section of the ink fountain  23 . 
     The lower surface of the bottom plate is reinforced by a reinforcing plate  33 , and the rear end portion of the bottom plate  32  is extended outwardly and downwardly to form a cover  34  for preventing the adhesion of the ink to the supporting base  24 . Additionally, left- and right-hand pins  35 ,  35  are protrusively formed in the cross directions from a boundary section between the bottom plate  32  and the cover  34 . Still additionally, brackets  36 ,  36  are fixedly secured onto the upper end portions of the side walls  31 ,  31  of the ink tray  30 , respectively, in a state directed outwardly. Moreover, a handle  37  is set on an upper surface of each of the brackets  36 . 
     This ink tray  30  covers most of the ink keys  21  and the side plates  22  (these sections will be referred to hereinafter as coated sections) so that they do not come directly into contact with the ink within the ink fountain  23 , whereas the upper surface of the tip portion of each of the ink keys  21  and the inner surface of the tip portion of each of the side plates  22 , which slide on the ink fountain roller  20  in a state where an ink liquid film is interposed therebetween, are exposed so as to come directly into contact with the ink within the ink fountain  23  without being covered with the ink tray  30  (these sections will be referred to hereinafter as an exposed section). That is, the inner circumferetial surface of the ink fountain  23  is formed by an inner surface of the ink tray  30 , an upper surface of the exposed section (the tip portion)  21 A of each of the ink keys  21 , an exposed section  22 A of each of the side plates  22  and an outer circumferential surface of the ink fountain roller  20 . 
     The portion between the ink tray  30  and the tip portion (exposed section)  21 A of each of the ink keys  21  or the portion between the ink tray  30  and the exposed section  22 A of each of the side plates  22  constitutes a joint of the ink fountain  23 , and these portions require sealing processing. For this reason, holders  31   c  and  32   c  are set in outer surfaces of the tip portions of the side walls  31 ,  31  and the bottom plate  32 , respectively, with a packing (sealing member)  38  having a continuous sealing surface being fitted in the holders  31   c  and  32   c.    
     In a state where the ink tray  30  is mounted in the ink fountain  23 , of the packing  38 , portions fitted in the holder  31   c  made in the outer surfaces of the tip portions of the side walls  31  are brought under pressure into contact with vertical wall portions of steps (stopping section)  22   a  formed on inner surfaces of the side plates  22  of the ink fountain  23 , and of the packing  38 , a portion fitted in the recess groove  32   c  made in the outer surface of the tip portion of the bottom plate  32  is brought under pressure into contact with a vertical wall portion (see FIG. 1) of a step (stopping section)  21   a  formed on an upper surface of the tip portion of each of the ink keys  21 . 
     In addition, this packing  38  seals the portions between the tip portions of the side walls  31 ,  31  of the ink tray  30  and the side plates  22 ,  22  of the ink fountain  23  and the portions between the tip portion of the bottom plate  32  of the ink tray  30  and the upper surfaces of the ink keys  21  of the ink fountain  23  so that the ink leakage from the ink fountain  23  is preventable at the joints between the ink tray  30  and the ink keys  21  and between the ink tray  30  and the side plates  22 . 
     As described above, since the ink tray  30  is detachably set in the interior of the ink fountain  23 , the contact area of the ink keys  21  with the ink is considerably reducible to lower the possibility that the ink permeates into the gap between the ink keys  21 ,  21 , which not only stabilizes the operations of the ink keys  21  but also shortens the cleaning time of the interior of the ink fountain  23 , thus improving the availability factor of the apparatus and the productivity. Incidentally, the ink tray  30  shown in FIGS. 5A,  5 B and  7  to  11  is different in shapes of the brackets  36  and the handles  37  from that shown in FIGS. 1 to  4 . However, these illustrations are for showing another possible construction of this ink tray  30 , and the function thereof is substantially the same. 
     Meanwhile, although the packing  38  is used for sealing the gap between the ink tray  30  and the ink keys  21  and the gap between the ink tray  30  and the side plates  22 , in order to accomplishing the sealing surely for the prevention of the ink leakage, there is a need to fix the ink tray  30  in the ink fountain certainly and accurately. Additionally, in order to improve the operational efficiency at the ink replacement and to improve the productivity, there is a need to facilitate the attachment/detachment of the ink tray  30 . For these purposes, a need for a construction which does not cause the hindrance at the attachment/detachment of the ink tray  30  exists on the fixing means of the ink tray  30 . 
     Because of the existence of this necessity, in this ink supplying apparatus  2 , the fixing of the ink tray  30  in the ink fountain  23  is made by a presser (fixing device)  40  having the following construction. 
     The presser  40  is a device for fixing the ink tray  30  by pressing an inclined surface  36   a  of a rear portion of each of the brackets  36  of the ink tray  30 , and is provided at each of both left- and right-hand end portions of the supporting base  24  in connection with each of the left- and right-hand brackets  36 ,  36 . A description of a concrete construction of the presser  40  is as follows. That is, as FIGS. 5A to  6  show, the presser  40  is mainly made up of a lever (rotating member, engaging mamber)  42  equipped with a fixing screw (pressing means)  41 , a bracket (supporting member)  47  or bearing the lever  42  and a pin (hooked member)  46  for fixing the lever  42 . In these illustrations, the presser  40  is one standing on the right-hand side when viewed from the operator side. 
     The bracket  47  is fixedly secured through a bolt  49  or the like to a back (surface directed to the operator)  24   a  of the supporting base  24 , and an elongated hole (slit)  47   a  having an elliptic configuration in cross section is made to penetrate the bracket  47  in a cross direction of the apparatus. The position and direction of the elongated hole  47   a  are set so that the rear portion inclined surface  36   a  of the bracket  36  of the ink tray  30  lies on the lengthwise prolongation of the ellipse of the elongated hole  47   a.    
     Furthermore, the bolt  49  is disposed under the elongated hole  47   a  and outside it in the cross-direction of the apparatus, and is positioned on a rotating locus of the lever  42 , which will be described later, to function as a stopper for the lever  42 . 
     The pin  46  is provided in a state where its central portion is supported by a bracket  48  fixedly secured to the back  24   a  of the supporting base  24  while both end portions  46   a  and  46   b  protrude in the cross directions of the apparatus. The bracket  48  is positioned above the above-mentioned bracket  47  and outside it in the cross direction of the apparatus to be interposed between the loci of arms  43  and  44  of the lever  42  which will be described later. In addition, the length of the pin  46  is set so that its inside portion (on the end portion  46   b  side) has a length which does not cause the interference with the ink tray  30  while its outside portion has a length substantially equal to that of the pin  35  of the ink tray  30 . 
     Secondly, a description will be given hereinbelow of a construction of the lever  42 . The lever  42  is, at its one end portion, equipped with a pin  45 , and is, at the other end portion, provided with two arms  43  and  44  parallel with each other. The pin  45  is disposed to be perpendicular to the lever  42 , while the arms  43  and  44  are disposed to be parallel with the rotating plane of the lever  42  on the pin  45 . The arms  43  and  44  have a configuration curved inwardly, and the tip portions and intermediate portions of the inner side thereof have claws (hooking members)  43   a ,  44   a ,  43   b  and  44   b , respectively, constituting arresting means. The separation or interval between the arms  43  and  44  is set to be somewhat larger than the width of the bracket  48  so that the bracket  48  is put between the arms  43  and  44  when the ink tray  30  is in a fixed condition. 
     In addition, at the junction between the arm  44  on the disposition side of the pin  45  and the lever  42 , a bracket  42   a  is installed to support the fixing screw  41 . A screw hole  41   b  is made in the bracket  42   a , and the fixing screw  41  is engaged with the screw hole  41   b  in a state where its tip portion (screw section)  41   a  is directed inwardly (the extending side of the arms  43  and  44 ). 
     Moreover, a description will be given hereinbelow of the relationship in engagement among the respective components (the lever  42 , the bracket  47 , the pin  46  and others) of the presser  40 . First, a description will be made of the engaging relationship between the lever  42  and the bracket  47 . The lever  42  is disposed outside the bracket  47  in the cross direction of the apparatus, and the pin  45  placed at its end portion is inserted into the elongated hole  47   a . The pin  45  is supported rotatably in the interior of the elongated hole  47   a  so that the lever  42  is rotatable on the pin  45  and movable in parallel with the elongated hole  47   a.    
     When the lever  42  is rotated, the bolt  49  and the bracket  48  exist in its rotating locus thereof as mentioned above. First, when the lever  42  is downwardly rotated counterclockwise, a back  42   b  of the lever  42  comes into contact with the bolt  49  to inhibit further rotation thereof. That is, the bolt  49  functions as a stopper for stopping the rotation of the lever  42 . At this time, the lever  42  is tilted downwardly in a state where the arms  43  and  43  are directed upwardly, and also functions as a hook engaging with the pin  35  of the ink tray  30  (see FIGS. 9 to  11 ). 
     On the other hand, when the lever  42  is upwardly rotated clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 9, although the arms  43  and  44  may interfere with the pins  35  and  46  in this state, since the lever  42  is engaged with the pin  45  forming the rotary shaft of the lever  42  by means of the elongated hole  47   a , as shown in FIG. 8, the interference therewith is avoidable in a manner that the lever  42  is operated so that the pin  45  slides upwardly with respect to the elongated hole  47   a . That is, the distance between the claws  43   a  and  44   a  at the tip portions of the arms  43 ,  44  and the pin  45  is set to be longer than, at least the distance between the pin  35  or  46  and the upper end of the elongated hole  47   a.    
     In contrast with this, the distance between the claws  43   a ,  44   a  and the pin  45  is set to be substantially equal to or shorter than the distance between the pin  46  and the lower end of the elongated hole  47   a . Additionally, the bracket  48  is positioned between the rotating loci of the arms  43  and  44  as stated above. Accordingly, if the pin  45  is operated upwardly to slide along the elongated hole  47   a  to avoid the interference between the claws  43   a ,  44   a  and the pins  35 ,  46  and, subsequently, the pin  45  is again shifted downwardly along the elongated hole  47   a , as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the end portions  46   a  and  46   b  of the pin  46  are loosely fitted in the groove between the claws  43   a ,  43   b  and in the groove between the claws  44   a ,  44   b , respectively. At this time, the pin  35  is accommodated in the curved portion between the claws  43   b ,  44   b  and the lever  42 . 
     As described above, when the claws  43   a ,  43   b  of the arm  43  and the claws  44   a ,  44   b  of the arm  44  are engaged with the pin  46 , as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the rear portion inclined surface  36   a  of the bracket  36  of the ink tray  30  is positioned on the axis of the fixing screw  41 . Furthermore, when the fixing screw  41  is tightened, the tip portion  41   a  thereof comes into contact with the rear portion inclined surface  36   a , and if further tightened, the claws  43   a  and  44   a  are hooked to the pin  46 ; therefore, the rotation of the lever  42  is arrested, and still further tightened, the tip portion  41   a  of the fixing screw  41  pushes the rear portion inclined surface  36   a . The screw hole  41   b  engaging with the fixing screw  41  is made so that the fixing screw  41  and the rear portion inclined surface  36   a  meet each other at right angles. 
     In this ink supplying apparatus  2 , with the above-described construction of the presser  40 , by tightening the fixing screws  41 ,  41  for the left- and right-hand pressers  40 ,  40 , the rear portion inclined surfaces  36   a ,  36   a  of the left- and right-hand brackets  36 ,  36  are pressed toward the tip portion of the ink tray  30  (toward the gap between the ink keys  21  and the ink fountain roller  20 ) so that the sealing member  38  of the ink tray  38  is pressed against the steps  22   a ,  21   a  of the ink fountain  23 , thus fixing the ink tray  30 . 
     Furthermore, the front end portions  36   b  of the left- and right-hand brackets  36  are equipped with positioning bolts  39  for positioning the ink tray  30 , respectively. The mounting position of the ink tray  30  in the longitudinal directions is defined with the positioning bolts  39  being brought into contact with projecting portions  22   b  formed on the upper surface of the side plates  22 . Incidentally, the position of the ink tray  30  in the longitudinal directions is adjustable by controlling the tightening quantity of the positioning bolts  39 , while the position thereof in the vertical (height) directions is adjustable by height adjusting screws  19  set in the brackets  36 . 
     Since the ink supplying apparatus  2  according to the embodiment of this invention is thus constructed, the attachment/detachment of the ink tray  30  to/from the ink fountain  23  are made as follows. 
     First, when the ink tray  30  is detached from the ink fountain  23 , as shown in FIG. 7, each of the fixing screws  41  is loosened so that its tip portion  41   a  is separated from the rear portion inclined surface  36   a  of the bracket  36  to some extent. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 8, the lever  42  is pulled upwardly in a state where the fixing screw  41  is held by hand. At this time, the lever  42  slides upwardly according to the length of the elongated hole  47   a  to release the pin  46  and the claws  43   a ,  43   b  and  44   a ,  44   b  of the arms  43  and  44  from the engagement therebetween. 
     After the pin  46  is released from the engagement, as shown in FIG. 9, the lever  42  is shifted downwardly along the elongated hole  47   a  while being rotated downwardly (counterclockwise in FIG. 9) on the pin  45 . The rotation of the lever  42  is stopped when its back is brought into contact with the bolt  49  and the pin  45  is lowered up to the lower end of the elongated hole  47   a , and the lever  42  is maintained in this positional state by the self-weight, that is, kept in the downwardly tilted condition in a state where the arms  43  and  44  turn upwardly. 
     When the left- and right-hand pressers  40  are operated as described above, the ink tray  30  is released from the fixing to the ink fountain  23 . Additionally, as shown in FIG. 10, the left- and right-hand handles  37  are held by hands and the ink tray  30  is drawn out from the ink fountain  23 . At this time, since the lever  42  is rotated downwardly as mentioned above so that there is no hindrance in the direction of drawing out the ink tray  30 , the ink tray  30  can easily be drawn out therefrom. 
     Moreover, since the lever  42  is maintained in the downwardly tilted condition in a state where the arms  43  and  44  turn upwardly, the lever  42  can also be used as a hook to be hooked to the pin  35 . That is, after the ink tray  30  is drawn out from the ink fountain  23  in a state where the left- and right-hand handles  37  are held by hands, as shown in FIG. 11, if the levers  42 ,  42  are hooked on to the left- and right-hand pins  35 ,  35 , then the ink tray  30  drawn out from the ink fountain  23  is maintainable temporarily. Accordingly, the operator can shift the ink tray  30  from one hand to the other for easy carrying, or can clean the interior of the ink fountain  23  in a state where the ink tray  30  is in the temporarily held condition. 
     In the case in which the ink tray  30  is mounted in the ink fountain  23 , the operation reverse to the above-described operation is conducted. That is, the handles  37  are held by hands to carry the ink tray  30  as shown in FIG. 10, and the left- and right-hand brackets  36 ,  36  are hooked on to the side plates  22 ,  22  to place the ink tray  30  in the interior of the ink fountain  23  as shown in FIG.  9 . At this time, the ink tray  30  is not placed directly in the ink fountain  23 , but it can be set in the ink fountain  23  after being temporarily held with the levers  42 ,  42  being hooked on to the left- and right-hand pins  35 ,  35 . 
     After the ink tray  30  is set in the ink fountain  23 , the positioning bolts  39  are brought into contact with the projecting portions  22   b  on the upper surfaces of the side plates  22  so that the ink tray  30  is positioned in the longitudinal directions. Additionally, if needed, the adjustment of the position thereof in the forward/backward or vertical directions is made by controlling the tightening quantity of the positioning bolts  39  or the height adjusting screws  19 . 
     After the completion of the positioning of the ink tray  30 , as shown in FIG. 8, each of the levers  42  is rotated upwardly while the pin  45  is driven to slide up to the upper end of the elongated hole  47   a . When the lever  42  rotated is brought into contact with the pin  35 , the lever  42  is pressed downwardly so that the pin  46  engages with the claws  43   a ,  43   b ,  44   a  and  44   b  of the arms  43  and  44  as shown in FIG.  7 . Additionally, on the engagement between the pin  46  and the claws  43   a ,  43   b ,  44   a  and  44   b , the fixing screw  41  is tightened to cause the tip portion  41   a  of the fixing screw  41  to push the rear portion inclined surface  36   a  so that the sealing member  38  of the ink tray  30  is pressed against the step portions  22   a  and  21   a  of the ink fountain  23  for the fixing the ink tray  30 . 
     As described above, according to this ink supplying apparatus  2 , when the ink tray  30  is mounted in the ink fountain  23 , the presser  40  presses the sealing member  38  of the ink tray  30  against the step portions  22   a  and  21   a  of the ink fountain  23  for fixing the ink tray  30  in the ink fountain  23 ; therefore, it is possible to surely seal the gaps between the ink tray  30  and the ink keys  21  and between the ink tray  30  and the side plates  22  for prevention of the ink leakage. Add to it that the pressing force is adjustable properly by the tightening degree of the fixing screw  41 . 
     In addition, the completion of the fixing of the ink tray  30  by the presser  40  depends only upon that the claws  43   a ,  43   b ,  44   a  and  44   b  at the tip portions of the arms  43  and  44  extending from the lever  42  catch the pin  46  and the fixing screw  41  is tightened afterwards, and the release of the ink tray  30  from the fixing to the ink fountain  23  relies only upon the loosening of the fixing screw  41  and the release of the claws  43   a ,  43   b ,  44   a  and  44   b  from the engagement with the pin  46 ; hence, the fixing of the ink tray  30  and the release thereof from the fixing are feasible with simple operation. 
     Still additionally, since the pressers  40  are located at the left- and right-hand end portions of the ink supplying apparatus  2 , the pressers  40  do not constitute the hindrance when the operator approaches the ink supplying apparatus  2 , particularly the ink fountain  23 . Furthermore, since the lever  42  having the fixing screw  41  is designed to be rotated downwardly, when the ink tray  30  is detached from the ink fountain  23  or placed therein, the ink tray  30  does not interfere with the lever  42 . Accordingly, this ink supplying apparatus  2  is capable of facilitating the attachment/detachment of the ink tray  30  to/from the ink fountain  23  and, hence, improve the operational efficiency. 
     Yet additionally, in this ink supplying apparatus  2 , since the arms  43  and  44  are directed upwardly so that the levers  42 ,  42  tilted downwardly catch the pins  35 ,  35  to hold the ink tray  30  temporarily; therefore, the operator can shift the ink tray  30  from one hand to the other for easy carrying, thus lessening the burden to be imposed on the operator who handles the ink tray  30 . 
     Moreover, the operator cannot conduct another operation while carrying the ink tray  30  and, hence, cannot do his work according to a high-efficiency program. On the other hand, since the ink tray  30  can temporarily be held immediately after being taken out from the interior of the ink fountain  23 , in the meantime, the operator can do various kinds of operations, such as the cleaning of the interior of the ink fountain  23  and the cleaning of the ink tray  30  itself, while handling the ink tray  30 , that is, can do his work according to a higher-efficiency program. 
     Still moreover, if the lever  42  is used as a hooker, the increase in the number of parts is suppressible, thereby restraining the increase in cost. 
     As described above, according to this ink supplying apparatus  2 , the ink tray  30  can be fixed easily and surely into the ink fountain  23  and easy attachment/detachment of the ink tray  30  are feasible; therefore, the contamination of the interior of the ink fountain  23  is reducible and the labor-saving on the cleaning operation becomes possible, and the ink tray  30  is held temporarily in a manner that the levers  42 ,  42  are hooked on to the pins  35 ,  35  of the ink tray  30 ; hence, the operational efficiency improves considerably at the ink replacement or the like to enhance the productivity. 
     Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the invention covers all changes and modifications of the embodiment herein which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, although the two arms  43  and  44  parallel with each other are provided in the lever  42  so that the claws  43   a ,  43   b ,  44   a  and  44   b  are hooked on to the pin  46  in a state where the bracket  48  is interposed therebetween, only one arm will do, or it is possible to provide the claws only on the tip sides of the arms. 
     In addition, in the above-described embodiment, although the restriction of the rotation of the lever  42  is made in a manner that the claws  43   a ,  43   b ,  44   a  and  44   b  of the arms  43  and  44  catch the pin  46 , in contrast to this, it is also possible that a claw installed on the supporting base  24  side catches a pin provided on the arm side. That is, as long as the hooking member provided on the lever  42  side is hooked on to the hooked member provided on the supporting base  24  side for arresting the rotation of the lever  42 , the construction thereof is not limited to that in the above-described embodiment. Incidentally, in addition to the construction in which a hooking member catches a hooked member, it is also appropriate that the lever  42  itself is equipped with a lock mechanism. 
     Still additionally, in the above-described embodiment, although the fixing screw  41  is employed as a pressing means so that the bracket  36  is pressed by tightening the fixing screw  41 , the concrete construction of the pressing means is not limited to this. For example, it is also acceptable that a plunger with a spring is employed as the pressing means so that the biasing force of the spring presses the bracket  36 . 
     Yet additionally, in the above-described embodiment, although the lever  42  forming a component of the presser  40  for fixing the ink tray  30  in the ink fountain  23  is used as the hooker, it is also possible that a dedicated hooker (for example, a hook), by contrast, is put to use.