Inker Assembly Including Oscillation Rollers For A Can Body Decorator

• US 20200130347A1
• Filed: 10/31/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Crown Packaging Technology Incorporated (Crown Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Crown Packaging Technology Incorporated (Crown Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Egerton, Daniel, Coates, Michael Jonathan, Blake, Daren, Halstead, Michael, Bailey, Damien
• Application Number:
  US16/670,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20200130347A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 13/0008 Driving devices B41F13/004 and B41F13/008 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 13/008 Mechanical features of drives, e.g. gears, clutches
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 13/025 Registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 13/14 with means for displacing the cylinders
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/002 Supports of workpieces in machines for printing on hollow articles
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/22 by rolling contact
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 31/002 Heating or cooling of ink or ink rollers
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 31/004 Driving means for ink rollers
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 31/13 Means for driving fountain rollers B41F13/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41P 2213/202 Helical gears
• CPC Class Codes: B41P 2213/734 each printing unit being driven by its own electric motor, i.e. electric shaft
• CPC Class Codes: B41P 2213/90 Register control
• CPC Class Codes: B41P 2227/11 in axial direction
• CPC Class Codes: B41P 2227/21 Means facilitating exchange of sleeves mounted on cylinders without removing the cylinder from the press

Abstract

An oscillating roller system for a beverage can decorator is driven back and forth by a cam follower. A cam body having a cam is mounted to a frame of the inker system. Three oscillating cam roller assemblies are positioned about the cam body. Rotation of the cam oscillates the cam followers for each one of the oscillating rollers. Bearings of the oscillating roller assemblies includes an inlet gallery and outlet gallery for a closed loop lubrication system. The rollers are water cooled.

Claims

1. An inker assembly of a can decorator, comprising:

an ink well;

plural laterally-fixed roller assemblies;

plural oscillating roller assemblies, each oscillating roller assembly including an oscillator body, an oscillator shaft supporting the oscillator body, and a cam follower coupled to the oscillator shaft;

the oscillating roller assemblies and the laterally-fixed roller assemblies adapted for cooperation to transmit ink from the ink well to a plate cylinder of the can decorator;

a cam body having a cam that is engaged with at least one of the cam followers of the oscillating roller assemblies; and

a cam drive transmission for rotating the cam body and cam;

whereby rotation of the cam body moves the cam followers fore and aft, thereby moving the oscillating roller fore and aft.

2. The inker assembly of claim 1, wherein the oscillating roller assemblies include an upper oscillating roller assembly, a left oscillating roller assembly, and a right oscillating roller assembly that are oriented circumferentially about the cam body;

and each one of the upper, left, and right oscillating roller assemblies is engaged with the cam.

3. The inker assembly of claim 2 wherein the oscillating roller assemblies are equally spaced about a pitch circle diameter having a center that is coincident with a longitudinal axis of the cam body.

4. The inker assembly of claim 3 wherein the cam drive transmission includes a cam drive gear mounted on the cam body and a gear train adapted for transmitting torque to the cam drive gear.

5. The inker assembly of claim 3 wherein the cam body includes a cam body idler gear coupled to the cam body;

and each one of the upper, left, and right oscillating roller assemblies includes an oscillating roller drive gear engaged with the cam body idler gear.

6. The inker assembly of claim 5 wherein each one of the cam follower supports is slidably coupled to the inker assembly frame such that the cam follower is restricted to rotation about a oscillating roller assembly longitudinal axis and translation along the oscillating roller assembly longitudinal axis.

7. The inker assembly of claim 6 wherein the laterally-fixed roller assemblies include a left distributor roller assembly and a right distributor roller assembly, the left distributor roller assembly engaged with the upper oscillating roller assembly and the left oscillating roller assembly, the right distributor roller assembly engaged with the upper oscillating roller assembly and the right oscillating roller assembly.

8. The inker assembly of claim 7 wherein the laterally-fixed roller assemblies include a left form roller assembly and a right form roller assembly, the left form roller assembly is engaged with the left oscillating roller assembly, the right form roller assembly is engage with the right oscillating roller assembly, and each one of the left and right form roller assemblies engage the plate cylinder.

9. The inker assembly of claim 3 wherein each one of the oscillating roller assemblies includes at least one support bearing mounted to an inker assembly frame.

10. The inker assembly of claim 9 wherein each oscillating roller assembly support bearings includes a lubricant supply gallery, a lubricant recovery housing, and a lubricant return gallery.

11. The inker assembly claim 10 further comprising a closed loop lubrication system adapted for supplying lubricant to the oscillating roller assembly support bearings and receiving lubricant from the oscillating roller assembly support bearings.

12. The inker assembly of claim 3 wherein a body of the oscillating roller assemblies have internal passages adapted for water cooling.

13. An ink cooling system for inker assemblies of a can decorating machine, the ink cooling system comprising:

a recirculating chiller adapted for transferring heat from the ink to a coolant;

a temperature sensor in a coolant outlet from the inker; and

a valve adapted to control coolant flow rate in response to data from the temperature sensor to regulate ink temperature to a target temperature.

14. The ink cooling system of claim 13 wherein the temperature sensor is a single temperature sensor at an outlet of one of the inker assemblies such that a signal from the temperature sensor represents the coolant outlet temperature of the one inker assembly.

15. The ink cooling system of claim 13 wherein the inker assemblies include plural inker assemblies, and the temperature sensor is a single temperature sensor in a common flow of all or a portion of the inker assemblies.

16. The ink cooling system of claim 13 wherein the inker assemblies include plural inker assemblies, and the temperature sensor is plural temperature sensors, such that each inker assembly includes one temperature sensor, and each one of the inker assemblies has its own control valve, thereby enabling coolant temperature control of ink to each inker assembly independent of coolant temperature control of ink to the other inker assemblies.

17. The ink cooling system of claim 13 wherein each one of the inker assemblies include at least one roller through which the coolant flows to indirectly cool the ink in contact with the at least one roller.