Method and apparatus for printing cylindrical structures
First Claim
1. An apparatus for printing onto cylindrical structures comprising:
- a plurality of inker devices each comprising a print cylinder and one or more servomotors for adjustably controlling the position or orientation of the print cylinder;
a blanket device comprising a plurality of print blankets, in which the blanket device is configured to bring each print blanket into contact with the print cylinders to transfer ink from the print cylinders to the print blanket, and to bring each print blanket into contact with a cylindrical structure to achieve printing thereon;
a transporter for transporting the cylindrical structures into and out of contact with the print blankets;
a camera positioned to capture an image of a print blanket in the plurality of print blankets; and
an automatic print correction system responsive to the image of the print blanket captured by the camera, the automatic print correction system comprising a print inspection device for detecting a misregistration of ink transferred from one or more of the print cylinders onto a print blanket, and a controller for controlling the servomotors of the print cylinders to correct the misregistration in response to data received from the print inspection device.
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Abstract
According to the invention there is an apparatus for printing onto cylindrical structures comprising: a plurality of inker devices each comprising a print cylinder and one or more servomotors for adjustably controlling the position or orientation of a print cylinder; a blanket device comprising a plurality of print blankets, in which the blanket device is configured to bring each print blanket into contact with the print cylinders to transfer ink from the print cylinders to the print blanket, and to bring each print blanket into contact with a cylindrical structure to achieve printing thereon; a transporter for transporting the cylindrical structures into and out of contact with the print blankets; and an automatic print correction system comprising a print inspection device for detecting a misregistration of ink transferred from one or more of the print cylinders onto a print blanket, and a controller for controlling the servomotors of the print cylinders to correct the misregistration in response to data received from the print inspection device.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An apparatus for printing onto cylindrical structures comprising:
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a plurality of inker devices each comprising a print cylinder and one or more servomotors for adjustably controlling the position or orientation of the print cylinder; a blanket device comprising a plurality of print blankets, in which the blanket device is configured to bring each print blanket into contact with the print cylinders to transfer ink from the print cylinders to the print blanket, and to bring each print blanket into contact with a cylindrical structure to achieve printing thereon; a transporter for transporting the cylindrical structures into and out of contact with the print blankets; a camera positioned to capture an image of a print blanket in the plurality of print blankets; and an automatic print correction system responsive to the image of the print blanket captured by the camera, the automatic print correction system comprising a print inspection device for detecting a misregistration of ink transferred from one or more of the print cylinders onto a print blanket, and a controller for controlling the servomotors of the print cylinders to correct the misregistration in response to data received from the print inspection device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of printing onto cylindrical structures comprising the steps of:
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operating a plurality of inker devices to apply ink to a plurality of print cylinders, each inker device having one or more servomotors for adjustably controlling the position or orientation of its print cylinder; transferring ink from a print blanket to a cylindrical structure to achieve printing thereon; capturing an image of the print blanket; and automatically detecting a misregistration of ink transferred from one or more of the print cylinders onto the print blanket based on the captured image of the print blanket; and
automatically controlling the servomotors of the print cylinders to correct the misregistration in response to the detection of the misregistration.
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13. An apparatus for printing onto cylindrical structures comprising:
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a plurality of inker devices each comprising a print cylinder, a print shaft connected to the print cylinder, and a servomotor for adjustably controlling the position of the print cylinder; a blanket device comprising a plurality of print blankets, in which the blanket device is configured to bring each print blanket into contact with the print cylinders to transfer ink from the print cylinders to the print blanket, and to bring each print blanket into contact with a cylindrical structure to achieve printing thereon; and a transporter for transporting the cylindrical structures into and out of contact with the print blankets; in which, in each inker device, the print shaft comprises an outer shaft member and an inner shaft member which is reciprocable within the outer shaft member, and the inner shaft member is connected to the servomotor wherein the servomotor can adjust a longitudinal position of the print cylinder by moving the inner shaft member. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. An apparatus for printing onto cylindrical structures comprising:
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a plurality of inker devices each comprising a print cylinder and one or more servomotors for adjustably controlling the position or orientation of the print cylinder; a blanket device comprising a plurality of print blankets, in which the blanket device is configured to bring each print blanket into contact with the print cylinders to transfer ink from the print cylinders to the print blanket, and to bring each print blanket into contact with a cylindrical structure to achieve printing thereon; a transporter for transporting the cylindrical structures into and out of contact with the print blankets; a camera positioned to capture an image of a print blanket in the plurality of print blankets; and an automatic print correction system responsive to the image of the print blanket captured by the camera, the automatic print correction system comprising a print inspection device for detecting a misregistration of ink transferred from one or more of the print cylinders onto a print blanket, and a controller for controlling the servomotors of the print cylinders to correct the misregistration in response to data received from the print inspection device, wherein, in each inker device, a print shaft comprises an outer shaft member and an inner shaft member which is reciprocable within the outer shaft member, and the inner shaft member is connected to a longitudinal adjustment servomotor of the one or more servomotors, wherein the longitudinal adjustment servomotor can adjust a longitudinal position of the print cylinder by moving the inner shaft member.
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Specification