Device for printing cans, a process for printing cans, a printed can and a transfer blanket

• US 10,315,411 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2017
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ball Beverage Can South America SA (Ball Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Ball Beverage Can South America SA (Ball Corporation)
• Inventors: Boas, Joao Vilas, Lewis, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Marini, Matthew G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Samreth, Marissa Ferguson
• Application Number:
  US15/399,192
• Publication Number:
  US 20170113452A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41C 1/05 Heat-generating engraving heads, e.g. laser beam, electron beam
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 11/00 Rotary presses or machines having forme cylinders carrying a plurality of printing surfaces, or for performing letterpress, lithographic, or intaglio processes selectively or in combination
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/22 by rolling contact
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/28 for printing on curved surfaces of conical or frusto-conical articles
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/28 on metals
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/40 Printing on bodies of particular shapes, e.g. golf balls, candles, wine corks sublimation or volatilisation of pre-printed design B41M5/035
• CPC Class Codes: B41N 10/02 Blanket structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41N 2210/02 Top layers
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 1/12 Cans, casks, barrels, or drums
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 17/28 at lines or points of weakness

Abstract

A device 1 for imprinting cans 8 comprises a plurality of ink cartridges 2a-2f that supply ink to a plurality of printing plates 3a-3f; the printing plates 2a-2f communicate with transfer blankets 5a-5l fixed to drum 6, the transfer blankets 5a-5l move ink from the printing plates 2a-2f and apply it to cans 8; each transfer blanket 2a-2f includes a different art in low relief (FIG. 15) which produces an image on cans 8 in addition to the image produced by printing plates 2a-2f; the device 1 is preferably a rotary dry offset printer. A method of printing cans comprising forming a relief image in a transfer blanket with a laser is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can comprising:

a first ink cartridge carrying a first color ink;

a first printing plate comprising a first printing plate surface with a first printing plate finished art in high relief configured to receive the first color ink supplied by the first ink cartridge;

a first transfer blanket comprising a first transfer blanket surface with a first transfer blanket finished art in low relief recessed thereon which is different relative to the first printing plate finished art in high relief;

a second transfer blanket comprising a second transfer blanket surface with a second transfer blanket finished art in low relief recessed thereon which is different relative to the first printing plate finished art in high relief and the first transfer blanket finished art in low relief;

a relative movement between the first printing plate and the first and second transfer blankets bringing the first and second transfer blanket surfaces into engagement with the first printing plate to supply ink from the first printing plate finished art in high relief to the first and second transfer blanket surfaces;

a relative movement between the first transfer blanket and a first can bringing the first transfer blanket surface into contact with the first can to imprint the first can with the first printing plate finished art and the first transfer blanket finished art; and

a relative movement between the second transfer blanket and a second can bringing the second transfer blanket surface into contact with the second can to imprint the second can with the first printing plate finished art and the second transfer blanket finished art.

2. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 1 wherein the first and second transfer blanket finished arts are selected from the group consisting of a name of person, a cartoon, an animal drawing, a country name, a still of a sports activity, a name of a team, and a geometric figure.

3. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 2 wherein the device transfers ink to a plurality of cans comprising at least the first and second cans continuously without interrupting a production of a plurality of decorated beverage cans produced by the device.

4. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 3 wherein the first can is imprinted with ink corresponding to the first printing plate finished art and exhibits an absence of ink corresponding to the first transfer blanket finished art, and wherein the second can is imprinted with ink corresponding to the first printing plate finished art and exhibits an absence of ink corresponding to the second transfer blanket finished art.

5. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 4 wherein each of the first and second transfer blanket surfaces comprise a smooth portion in high relief which engages the first printing plate finished art in high relief and engages the first and second cans under pressure to transfer ink therefrom to the first and second cans, respectively, wherein the first and second transfer blanket low relief finished arts are vertically offset from the smooth portion in high relief such that substantially no ink from the first and second transfer blanket low relief finished arts is transferred to the first and second cans, respectively.

6. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 1 wherein the device transfers ink to a plurality of cans comprising at least the first and second cans continuously without interrupting a production of a plurality of decorated beverage cans produced by the device.

7. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 6 wherein the first can is imprinted with ink corresponding to the first printing plate finished art and exhibits an absence of ink corresponding to the first transfer blanket finished art, and wherein the second can is imprinted with ink corresponding to the first printing plate finished art and exhibits an absence of ink corresponding to the second transfer blanket finished art.

8. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 7 wherein each of the first and second transfer blanket surfaces comprise a smooth portion in high relief which engages the first printing plate finished art in high relief and engages the first and second cans under pressure to transfer ink therefrom to the first and second cans, respectively, wherein the first and second transfer blanket low relief finished arts are vertically offset from the smooth portion in high relief such that substantially no ink from the first and second transfer blanket low relief finished arts is transferred to the first and second cans, respectively.

9. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 8 wherein the first and second transfer blanket finished arts are selected from the group consisting of a name of person, a cartoon, an animal drawing, a country name, a still of a sports activity, a name of a team, and a geometric figure.

10. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 1 further comprising:

a rotational plate cylinder wherein the first printing plate is attached thereto and is rotational therewith.

11. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 10 further comprising:

a rotational drum wherein the first and second transfer blankets are attached thereto and rotational therewith.

12. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 11 further comprising:

a rotational can carrier wherein the first and second cans are rotationally displaced thereby and wherein the first and second cans are further rotational about respective main axes as the first and second cans are rotationally displaced by the rotational can carrier.

13. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 1 further comprising:

a second ink cartridge carrying a second color ink;

a second printing plate comprising a second printing plate surface with a second printing plate finished art in high relief configured to receive the second color ink supplied by the second ink cartridge;

a relative movement between the second printing plate and the first and second transfer blankets bringing the first and second transfer blanket surfaces into engagement with the second printing plate to supply ink from the second printing plate finished art in high relief to the first and second transfer blanket surfaces,

wherein each of the first and second transfer blanket surfaces receives the first color ink from the first printing plate and the second color ink from the second printing plate.

14. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 1 wherein the first and second transfer blanket finished arts comprise alphanumeric characters.

15. A can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can comprising:

a plurality of printing plates, each printing plate attached to a corresponding rotary plate cylinder and having a printing plate finished art in high relief;

a plurality of ink cartridges, each ink cartridge carrying a colored ink, each ink cartridge in the plurality of ink cartridges configured to supply ink to the finished art in high relief of a corresponding printing plate in the plurality of printing plates upon rotation of the corresponding plate cylinder;

a plurality of transfer blankets attached to an outer surface of a rotary transfer blanket drum, each transfer blanket having a transfer blanket surface with a transfer blanket finished art in low relief recessed therein which is different relative to remaining transfer blankets in the plurality of transfer blankets;

the rotary transfer blanket drum configured to bring each transfer blanket in the plurality of transfer blankets into contact with each printing plate in the plurality of printing plates to transfer ink from each printing plate finished art in high relief to the transfer blanket surface of each transfer blanket in the plurality of transfer blankets;

a can carrier which delivers each can in a plurality of cans to one of the transfer blankets where rotation of each can against one of the transfer blankets imprints each can with ink corresponding to the finished art in high relief from each printing plate and with the transfer blanket finished art from one of the transfer blankets.

16. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 15 wherein each transfer blanket finished art is selected from the group consisting of a name of a person, a name of a team, and a geometric figure.

17. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 15 wherein the device transfers ink to the plurality of cans continuously without interrupting a production of a plurality of decorated beverage cans produced by the device.

18. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 15 wherein subsequent to processing, each can in the plurality of cans comprises a portion in an original color of the can prior to decoration which corresponds to the transfer blanket finished art on a corresponding transfer blanket which engages the can during operation.

19. The can imprinting device for transferring ink to a surface of a beverage can of claim 15 wherein each transfer blanket surface further comprises a smooth portion in high relief relative to the transfer blanket finished art in low relief.

20. An improvement to a rotary dry offset beverage can imprinting device which continuously without interruption transfers a plurality of ink patterns from a smooth surface in high relief of a single transfer blanket in a plurality of transfer blankets, where each ink pattern in the plurality of ink patterns corresponds to a printing plate finished art in high relief on one of a plurality of printing plates, to each beverage can in a production sequence comprising a plurality of beverage cans, the improvement comprising:

a first transfer blanket finished art in low relief on the smooth surface of a first transfer blanket in the plurality of transfer blankets, and

a second transfer blanket finished art in low relief on a second transfer blanket in the plurality of transfer blankets, the first transfer blanket finished art being different from the second transfer blanket finished art such that consecutively decorated first and second beverage cans in the production sequence exhibit an identical art corresponding to the printing plate finished arts and a different finished art corresponding to only one of the first or second transfer blanket finished arts in low relief.