Planetary inker for offset printing press

• US 4,223,603 A
• Filed: 01/10/1979
• Issued: 09/23/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Didde Web Press Corporation
• Original Assignee: Didde-Glaser Incorporated
• Inventors: Faddis, Terry N., Clifton, Kenneth C., Sweet, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fisher, J. Reed
• Application Number:
  US06/002,342
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• Field of Search: 101/349, 101/350, 101/351, 101/352, 101/363, 101/206, 101/207, 101/208, 101/209, 101/210, 101/148, 101/137, 101/136, 101/138, 101/139, 101/142, 101/143, 101/177, 101/179 , 101/180, 101/181, 101/217, 101/220, 101/221
• US Class Current: 101/138
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 31/004 Driving means for ink rollers

Abstract

A planetary inker for an offset printing press which uses only a single ink form roller but is substantially ghost free. A unique arrangement of distributor rollers operably associated with the form roller are present in sufficient number and of relative diameters with respect to each other and to the form roller to assure complete smoothing out of ink supplied to the form roller in conjunction with total elimination of all plate-derived latent images on the surface of the form roller before recontacting the plate on the plate cylinder. Especially efficient transfer of ink from the supply fountain to a drum roller in rolling contact with the form roller ahead of the distributor rollers is obtained in a preferred embodiment by the use of a pair of ink transfer ductors which are alternately intermittently shifted into engagement with the fountain ink ball and then the form roller vibrator. The relative time of engagement of the ductors with the ball and the vibrator may be selectively varied by the operator.

Claims

1. In an offset printing press having a blanket cylinder, a plate cylinder rotating in contact with the blanket cylinder, and ink fountain means, the combination therewith of a planetary inker for supplying ink to a plate on the plate cylinder from the ink fountain means without significant ghosting and comprising:

a single rubber coated ink form roller positioned to rotate in rolling contact with the plate on said plate cylinder,

said ink form roller being of greater diameter than said plate cylinder,

a first gear coupled to said ink form roller at one end thereof in axial relationship thereto for effecting rotation of the ink form roller,

said first gear having an effective diameter approximately equal to that of the ink form roller;

a second gear secured to said plate cylinder axially thereof, of approximately equal diameter to that of the plate cylinder and in operable intermeshing relationship to the first gear to effect rotation of the ink form roller at the same surface speed as that of the plate cylinder;

a series of metal distributor rollers of varisized diameters around and in rolling contact with the form roller, one of the distributor rollers being operably associated with

the ink fountain means for receiving ink therefrom and supplying such ink to the form roller at a controlled rate,

there being at least six distributor rollers of which at least two form a pair that are longitudinally oscillatable vibrator rollers in circumferentially spaced relationship about the periphery of the form roller and at least one non-oscillatable distributor roller between each adjacent pair of oscillatable vibrator rolls;

a planetary gear secured to an end of each of the vibrator rolls, of approximately the same diameter as a respective vibrator roller and located to intermesh with said first gear on the ink form roller to cause all of the vibrator rollers to rotate at the same surface speed as the ink form roller and said plate cylinder; and

gear drive means for positively driving at least one of said first and second gears.

2. In an offset press as set forth in claim 1 wherein said distributor rollers include at least a pair of non-oscillatable first rider rollers in rolling contact with the form roller, each of said first rider rollers being disposed in spaced relationship from a respective one of said two vibrator rollers, there being at least two more non-oscillatable second rider rollers each of which is between and in rolling engagement with one of said first rider rollers and an adjacent one of said vibrator rollers and out of rolling contact with the form roller.

3. In an offset press as set forth in claim 2 wherein each vibrator roller, each first rider roller, and each second rider roller have different diameters relative to one another and smaller diameters than said form roller.

4. In an offset press as set forth in claim 2 wherein said distributor rollers include another rider roller in rolling engagement with said form roller in spaced relationship from the remainder of the distributor rollers.

5. In an offset press as set forth in claim 2 wherein said distributor rollers include a plurality of additional rider rollers in rolling engagement with said form roller in spaced relationship from one another and the remainder of the distributor rollers.

6. In an offset press as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pair of vibrator rollers are located against the ink form roller between the distributor roller receiving ink from the fountain means and the contact line between the ink form roller and the plate cylinder.