Anti-marking coverings for printing presses

• US 7,270,873 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2004
• Issued: 09/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Brite Ideas Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Brite Ideas Incorporated
• Inventors: Litman, Gary, Llanes, Joseph, Rizika, Daniel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Hai
• Application Number:
  US10/968,231
• Publication Number:
  US 20050106968A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• Field of Search: 428/316.6, 428/909, 428/543, 428/319.3, 428/319.7, 101/415.1, 101/401.4, 442/221
• US Class Current: 428/316.6
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/06 as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material next to a layer of a particular substance B32B9/045; next to a bituminous or tarry layer B32B11/046; next to a water setting substance layer B32B13/12; next to a metal layer B32B15/08; next to a glass layer B32B17/10; next to a layer formed of natural mineral fibres or particles B32B19/045; next to a wood layer B32B21/08; next to a cellulosic plastic layer B32B23/08; next to a natural or synthetic rubber layer B32B25/08
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/18 characterised by features of a layer of foamed material
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 22/00 Means preventing smudging of machine parts or printed articles B41F23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 3/00 Cylinder presses, i.e. presses essentially comprising at least one cylinder co-operating with at least one flat type-bed
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/14 Multicolour printing
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 1/18 Printing one ink over another
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/909 Resilient layer, e.g. printer's blanket
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24273 including aperture
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24496 Foamed or cellular component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249953 Composite having voids in a component [e.g., porous, cellular, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249958 Void-containing component is synthetic resin or natural rubbers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249959 Void-containing component is wood or paper
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249962 Void-containing component has a continuous matrix of fibers only [e.g., porous paper, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249964 Fibers of defined composition
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249981 Plural void-containing components
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24999 Inorganic
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249991 Synthetic resin or natural rubbers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249992 Linear or thermoplastic
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/8305 Miscellaneous [e.g., treated surfaces, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/2164 Coating or impregnation specified as water repellent
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/2213 : Coating or impregnation is specified as weather proof, water vapor resistant, or moisture resistant
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/2221 : Coating or impregnation is specified as water proof
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/2418 : Coating or impregnation increases electrical conductivity or anti-static quality
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/3325 : Including a foamed layer or component

Abstract

In a printing press and attached onto the transfer cylinders, an anti-marking system that uniformly supports the transport and the release of the wet printed sheet from one station to the next. The anti-marking sheet consists of a two plus layer system, the outer layer being a textured surface and the inner layer being a microcellular material that is both compressible and resilient. The outer textured layer may be treated with either conductive/anti-static layers or an ink repellent layer or both. The two plus layer system is easily attached to both transfer cylinders and tracking/skeleton wheels using any combination of fixtures from Velcro™, magnetic, metallic, and pressure sensitive double sided tape to elastic loops.

Claims

1. A transfer element for uniformly supporting a freshly printed sheet material without marking, the transfer element comprising:

a transfer cylinder configured for transporting the freshly printed sheet material from one printing station to the next, the transfer cylinder having a uniform radius extending from a first longitudinal edge to a second longitudinal edge; and

an anti-marking covering having;

an inner flexible material that is resilient to compressive forces, wherein the inner flexible material comprises a microcellular layer; and

an outer flexible substrate layer provided on the inner flexible material and having a textured surface protruding from a first side in a direction away from the inner flexible material for supporting the freshly printed sheet material;

wherein the anti-marking covering is disposed on the transfer cylinder so that the inner flexible material faces in the direction of the transfer cylinder and the outer flexible substrate layer faces away from the transfer cylinder.

2. The element of claim 1, wherein the textured surface comprises a fabric.

3. The element of claim 1, wherein the textured surface comprises a plurality of partially exposed spheroidal shaped elements having exposed convex portions ranging from about 0.1-20 thousandths of an inch.

4. The element of claim 1, wherein the outer flexible substrate layer is fixed to the inner flexible layer so that there is no relative movement therebetween.

5. The element of claim 1, wherein the textured surface is fixed to the outer flexible substrate layer so that there is no relative movement therebetween.

6. The element of claim 1, wherein the textured surface is treated for at least one selected from the group consisting of ink-repellency, anti-static properties, and conductive properties.

7. A transfer element for uniformly supporting a freshly printed sheet material as the freshly printed sheet material is conveyed from a first print station to a next station without marking, the transfer element comprising:

a transfer cylinder having an outer face configured to convey a freshly printed sheet from a first printing station to a next printing station, the transfer cylinder having a uniform radius extending from a first longitudinal edge to a second longitudinal edge;

an inner flexible microcellular material that is resilient to compressive forces provided on the outer face of the transfer cylinder;

an outer flexible substrate layer provided on the flexible microcellular material; and

a textured surface element provided on the outer flexible substrate layer and having a textured surface protruding from a first side in a direction away from the outer flexible substrate layer for supporting the freshly printed sheet material;

wherein the textured surface element is a fabric.

8. The element of claim 7, wherein the inner flexible material comprises a microcellular foam.

9. The element of claim 7, wherein the outer flexible substrate layer comprises a textured surface comprising a plurality of partially exposed spheroidal shaped elements having exposed convex portions ranging from about 0.1-20 thousandths of an inch.

10. The element of claim 7, wherein the textured surface comprises a woven fabric.

11. The element of claim 7, wherein the textured surface comprises a non-woven fabric.

12. The element of claim 7, wherein the outer flexible substrate layer is fixed to the inner flexible layer so that there is no relative movement therebetween.

13. The element of claim 7, wherein the textured surface is fixed to the outer flexible substrate layer so that there is no relative movement therebetween.

14. The element of claim 7, wherein the fabric is treated for at least one selected from the group consisting of ink-repellency, anti-static properties, and conductive properties.

15. A transfer element for uniformly supporting a freshly printed sheet material as the freshly printed sheet material is conveyed from a first print station to a next station without marking, the transfer element comprising:

a transfer cylinder having an outer face configured to convey a freshly printed sheet from a first printing station to a next printing station, the transfer cylinder having a uniform radius extending from a first longitudinal edge to a second longitudinal edge; and

an anti-marking covering having;

an inner flexible material that is resilient to compressive forces, wherein the inner flexible material comprises a microcellular layer; and

an outer flexible substrate layer provided on the inner flexible material and having a textured surface protruding from a first side in a direction away from the inner flexible material for supporting the freshly printed sheet material;

wherein the anti-marking covering is provided on the transfer cylinder in a spiral fashion to cover the transfer cylinder uniformly.

16. The element of claim 15, wherein the inner flexible material is applied to the transfer cylinder under tension so as to compress slightly.

17. The element of claim 16, wherein the inner flexible material is adhered to the outer face by a pressure sensitive adhesive.