METHOD AND A PRINTING MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING PRINTED BOARD CONTAINERS

• US 20100091054A1
• Filed: 03/27/2008
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stora Enso Oyj
• Original Assignee: Stora Enso Oyj
• Inventors: Vesanto, Risto, Laalo, Ville, Sundqvist, Bo, Aunola, Mika, Backfolk, Kaj, Tanninen, Panu, Nylander, Noora
• Granted Patent: US 8,201,904 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/9
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 2105/00 Rigid or semi-rigid containers made by assembling separate sheets, blanks or webs
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 2105/0022 Making boxes from tubular webs or blanks, e.g. with separate bottoms, including tube or bottom forming operations
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 2110/10 having a cross section of varying size or shape, e.g. conical or pyramidal
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/88 Printing; Embossing
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/002 Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/4073 Printing on three-dimensional objects not being in sheet or web form, e.g. spherical or cubic objects B41J3/283, B41J3/286 take precedence; building up a 3D object using individual droplets from jetting heads B29C64/112
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/40733 Printing on cylindrical or rotationally symmetrical objects, e. g. on bottles
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/543 with multiple inkjet print heads B41J2/17503, B41J2/2103 take precedence

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of providing board containers (V) with prints and a printing machine that applies the method. According to the invention, the printing machine comprises a turret head (2), with uniformly spaced radial arms (3) diverging from its rotational axis, each arm ending in a mandrel (4) that carries a container (1); and stationary stations (5, 6, 8) that are located on the path of the turret head for gripping a container, printing it by a printhead (7, 13), and removing the printed container (V). At the printing station (6), the container (1) is digital-printed by the printhead (7), past which the surface of the container is conveyed by means of a rotational motion. The container can be a conical drinking cup (1), which is ink-jet printed by the stationary printhead (7) by rotating the cup by 360° by means of the mandrel (4) that is pushed inside the cup. The cups (I) can be produced at a plant in mass-scale production runs and divided into smaller lots, which are delivered to customers and which the customers then print according to their own individual needs.

Claims

1. A printing machine for providing board containers (1) with prints (11), comprising at least one digital printhead (7, 13), past which the mantle surface of the container (1) to be printed can be conveyed by rotational motion of a mandrel (4) inside the container, characterized in that the printing machine comprises a turret head (2), with uniformly spaced radial arms (3) diverging from its rotational axis, each arm ending in a mandrel (4) that carries a container (1);

and stationary stations (5, 6, 8) that are located on the path of the turret head for gripping a container, printing it by the printhead (7, 13), and removing the printed container (1′

).

2. A printing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the mandrels (4) are arranged to move in the longitudinal direction of the arms (3) and that the longitudinal, reciprocating motions of the mandrels are synchronized with each other to keep the turret head (2) continuously in balance.

3. A printing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, to move the mandrels (4), the arms (3) have been rendered telescopically extendable and retractable.

4. A printing machine according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, at the printing station (6), there are several circumferentially arranged stationary printheads (7) for printing different colours.

5. A printing machine according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, on the path of the turret head (2), there are several printing stations (6) and, possibly, subsequent drying stations.

6. A printing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the printhead (7) is an ink jet printhead.

7. A printing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the container to be printed is a conically widening cup (1) or container.

8. A printing machine according to claim 7, characterized in that the container to be printed is a frusto-conical disposable drinking cup (1).

9. A method of providing board containers (1) with prints (11), wherein the containers are digital-printed by one or more printheads (7, 13), past which the mantle surface of the container (1) to be printed is conveyed by the rotational motion of a mandrel (4) inside the container, characterized in that, in connection with the printing, the containers (1) are continuously moved from one station to another by means of a turret head (2), with uniformly spaced radial arms (3) diverging from its rotational axis and ending in a mandrel (4), whereby the mandrel grips the container at a feeding station (5), the container is printed on the path of the turret head at a following printing station (6), and the printed container (1′

) is removed from the mandrel on the path at a subsequent removing station (8), whereafter the mandrel that is released from the container returns to the feeding station (5) for a new working cycle.

10. A method according to claim 9, characterized in that, at each station (5, 6, 8), the mandrel (4) carries out a reciprocating motion in the longitudinal direction of the arm (3), and that the longitudinal motions of the mandrels at the different stations are synchronized with each other to keep the turret head (2) continuously in balance.

11. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that, in the recip- rocating motion of the mandrel (4), the arm (3) extends and retracts telescopically.

12. A method according to claim 9, characterized in that, on the path of the turret head (2), there are several printing stations (6) and, possibly, subsequent drying stations.

13. A method according to claim 9, characterized in that the container to be printed is a frusto-conical drinking cup (1).

14. A method according to claim 9, characterized in that the printing comprises ink-jet printing.

15. A method according to claim 9, characterized in that the printing is carried out in continuous runs, wherein the printing is changed from one container to another.

16. A method of manufacturing printed board containers, characterized in that the containers (1) are produced at a plant in runs that are divided into lots, which are transferred to outlets outside the plant, where the containers are digital- printed by a method according to claim 9, the prints (11) in the differ- ent outlets being different from each other.

17. A method according to claim 16, characterized in that the containers (1) leaving the plant are pre-printed, and that, in the outlets outside the plant, a complementing printing of the containers is carried out.