Printing apparatus

• US 9,682,545 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2014
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: I. Mer Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: I. Mer Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Izume, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Culler, Jill
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hinze, Leo T
• Application Number:
  US14/576,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20150174892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 17/22 by rolling contact
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 31/02 Ducts, containers, supply or metering devices
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 31/22 for inking from interior of cylinder
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 31/302 Devices for tripping inking devices as a whole

Abstract

An ink supply unit is a unitized member having a casing accommodating components therein. A plurality of plate cylinders are arranged in a circumferential direction at predetermined intervals. The ink supply unit corresponding to the plate cylinder is disposed on a radially outer side of the plate cylinder. The ink supply unit can move between an operation position in which ink can be supplied to the plate cylinder and a standby position located further to a radially outer side than the operation position.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus comprising:

a plurality of plate cylinders for printing different colors arranged in a circumferential direction at predetermined intervals in a state where the centers of the plate cylinders are located on the circumference of a circle whose center is located at the center of a blanket cylinder;

a plurality of ink supply units which respectively supply ink to the plate cylinders;

a machine frame which supports the plurality of plate cylinders and the plurality of ink supply units; and

an ink supply unit moving device that moves the ink supply unit between an operation position and a standby position, the ink supply unit being in contact with a respective plate cylinder when at the operation position, and the ink supply unit being out of contact with the respective plate cylinder when at the standby position,

wherein the ink supply unit is a unitized member having a casing accommodating components therein,

wherein the ink supply unit corresponding to the plate cylinder is disposed on a radially outer side of the plate cylinder,

wherein the ink supplying unit moving device moves the casing of the ink supply unit to move the ink supply unit between the operation position in which ink can be supplied to the plate cylinder and the standby position located further to an outer side in a radial direction of the blanket cylinder than the operation position,

wherein, when the ink supply unit is located at the standby position, a first gap is provided between the ink supply unit and the respective plate cylinder and a second gap is provided between the ink supply unit and adjacent ink supply units so that maintenance can be performed on the ink supply unit or the respective plate cylinder,

wherein, when the ink supply unit is located at the operation position, a significantly smaller gap than the second gap is provided between the ink supply unit and the adjacent ink supply units,

wherein an opening is provided in the casing to open to the circumferential side, and an intermediate sealing member is provided between the adjacent ink supply units in the operation positions,

wherein the intermediate sealing member is constituted of a front closing plate, a rear closing plate, a radially outer-side closing plate, and a radially inner-side closing plate, and the intermediate sealing member has a shape opened to both circumferential sides, and

wherein a first opening of the intermediate sealing member communicates with the opening of the casing of a first adjacent ink supply unit in the operation position and a second opening of the intermediate sealing member communicates with the opening of the casing of a second adjacent ink supply unit in the operation position.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the ink supply unit moving device includes

a pair of slide rails extending in the radial direction of the blanket cylinder,

a slider which is disposed on the pair of slide rails in a state where the slider can move in the radial direction of the blanket cylinder and is mounted on the casing of the ink supply unit, and

a driving device which is mounted on the machine frame and moves the slider in the radial direction.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the driving device is a ball screw feeding device driven by a motor,

wherein a protrusion portion is provided in a portion of the slider to protrude in the circumferential direction, and

wherein a screw shaft of the ball screw feeding device is screwed into a penetrating-internal thread that is formed in the protrusion portion and extends in the radial direction.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein ink scraping devices for cleaning are respectively provided in the ink supply units,

wherein a plurality of rollers constituting the ink supply unit are symmetrically arranged with respect to a central line extending in the radial direction of the blanket cylinder, except for an ink fountain roller, and

wherein the ink scraping devices for cleaning include the ink scraping device for cleaning disposed on a clockwise side of the ink supply unit and the ink scraping device for cleaning disposed on a counter-clockwise side of the ink supply unit.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the printing apparatus is a printing apparatus for a can which performs printing on a can supplied by a can feeding device,

wherein the printing apparatus includes

a plurality of motors for driving a blanket cylinder, the plate cylinder, and the rollers of the ink supply unit, and

a motor control device, and

wherein the motor control device has speed detecting means for detecting the feeding speed of the can feeding device and controls the respective motors to be matched with the can feeding speed of the can feeding device.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply unit includes, as the components, an ink feeding roller, an ink ducting roller, a plurality of ink distributing rollers, one or more ink applying rollers, an ink container, and an ink scraping device.

7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a dust collector,

wherein the dust collector includes

a plurality of intermediate sealing members, each of which seals a space between the adjacent ink supply units in the operation positions,

end-portion sealing members which seal spaces on circumferential outer-sides of the ink supply units in both circumferential ends, and

sucking means which is connected to at least one of the plurality of intermediate sealing members and the end-portion sealing members and sucks up mist in an internal space.