SHEET HANDLING APPARATUS FOR A MULTI-COLOR PERFECTOR PRESS
United States Patent 3796154
A nonrotatable tumbler cam mechanism is positioned coaxially with the transfer cylinder on the operator's side of the press and is movable axially thereto. A cam actuated device is provided on the transfer cylinder for tumbling the perfector and two color grippers inwardly to transfer the trailing edge of the sheet from the perfector grippers to the two color grippers. A cam follower on the cam actuated device is actuated by the tumbler cam mechanism. A pair of gripper actuating cams are coaxially and nonrotatably mounted relative to the transfer cylinder on the drive side of the press. One of the pair of cams, referred to as a two color cam, is arranged to open and close the two color grippers for two color printing and the other of the pair of cams is arranged to open and close the perfector grippers and the two color grippers for perfector printing. The pair of cams, i.e., the two color cam and perfector cam, are secured to each other and movable axially relative to the transfer cylinder. The perfector grippers and two color grippers have a cam follower associated therewith that is actuated by either the two color cam or the perfector cam. The two color and perfector cams are connected through a lever mechanism to an actuator device that is arranged to move the pair of cams axially relative to the transfer cylinder. The tumbler is also connected to the actuator device located on an exterior portion of the press so that the actuator device simultaneously moves the pair of gripper actuating cams and the tumbler cam to adjust the transfer cylinder for either the two color or perfector printing.
US Patent References:
DRIVE MECHANISM FOR SHEET TURNING DEVICE IN MULTICOLOR PRINTING MACHINES
Rudolph - July 1969 - 3455547
SHEET GRIPPING CONTROL MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES
Rudolph - August 1969 - 3463484
Rotary sheet transfer mechanism
Dudley - January 1939 - 2144752
Sheet handling mechanism and method for multi-color perfector press
Gegenheimer - August 1956 - 2757610
Impression control mechanism automatically selecting one of a plurality of cams
Voit - March 1966 - 3239049
DRIVE MECHANISM FOR SHEET TURNING DEVICE IN MULTICOLOR PRINTING MACHINES
Rudolph - July 1969 - 3455547
SHEET GRIPPING CONTROL MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES
Rudolph - August 1969 - 3463484
Rotary sheet transfer mechanism
Dudley - January 1939 - 2144752
Sheet handling mechanism and method for multi-color perfector press
Gegenheimer - August 1956 - 2757610
Impression control mechanism automatically selecting one of a plurality of cams
Voit - March 1966 - 3239049
Application Number:
05/257006
Publication Date:
03/12/1974
Filing Date:
05/25/1972
View Patent Images:
Export Citation:
Assignee:
Miller Printing Machinery Co. (Pittsburgh, PA)
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
101/409, 101/230, 271/277, 101/183
International Classes:
B41F21/10; B41F21/00; B41F21/04
Field of Search:
101/174,183,184,229-231,232 271/82,53
US Patent References:
Primary Examiner:
Pulfrey, Robert E.
Assistant Examiner:
Pieprz, William
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Price Jr., Stanley J.
Claims:
I claim
1. A sheet fed rotary press comprising,
2. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 1 which includes,
3. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 2 which includes,
4. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 1 in which,
5. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 1 in which said second actuating means includes,
6. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 2 in which said adjusting means includes,
7. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 6 in which said means connecting said shaft member includes,
8. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 6 which includes,
9. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 6 which includes,
10. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 9 in which,
1. A sheet fed rotary press comprising,
2. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 1 which includes,
3. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 2 which includes,
4. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 1 in which,
5. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 1 in which said second actuating means includes,
6. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 2 in which said adjusting means includes,
7. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 6 in which said means connecting said shaft member includes,
8. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 6 which includes,
9. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 6 which includes,
10. A sheet fed rotary press as set forth in claim 9 in which,
Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sheet handling apparatus for a multi-color perfector press in which two or more printing units are connected whereby sheets may be printed on one side or both sides and more particularly to the apparatus for converting the sheet handling apparatus from multi-color printing to perfector printing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,610 illustrates and describes a sheet fed printing press that is arranged to print sheets on one or both sides, i.e., the press may be adjusted to be used as either a multi-color press or as a perfector press. The press described in the above patent includes a first printing unit and a second printing unit with three transfer cylinders therebetween. The first transfer cylinder has grippers that engage the front edge of the sheet as the sheet is being printed in the first printing unit. The sheet is thereafter transferred to the second transfer cylinder by engaging the front edge of the sheet by grippers on the second transfer cylinder. When the printing machine is adjusted for multi-color printing on the same side of the sheet, the sheet is transferred from the second transfer cylinder to the third transfer cylinder engaging the front edge of the sheet as the grippers on the second transfer cylinder release the front edge of the sheet. The third transfer cylinder thereafter transfers the sheet into the second printing unit by transferring the front edge of the sheet from the two color grippers to grippers on the impression cylinder in the second printing unit.
When the printing press is adjusted for perfector printing the sheet is similarly transferred from the first printing unit to the first transfer cylinder and from the first transfer cylinder to the second transfer cylinder. For perfector printing of the sheet the grippers on the second transfer cylinder continue to engage the front edge of the sheet until the trailing edge of the sheet, while on the second transfer cylinder, is tangent to the third transfer cylinder. The perfector grippers on the third transfer cylinder engage the trailing edge of the sheet as the gripper devices on the second transfer cylinder open and release the leading edge of the sheet. The perfector grippers and two color grippers on the third transfer cylinder tumble or rotate inwardly during rotation of the third transfer cylinder and the trailing edge of the sheet is transferred from the perfector grippers to the two color grippers by timed opening and closing of the perfector grippers and two color grippers while both grippers are tumbled inwardly toward the axis of the third transfer cylinder. After the trailing edge of the sheet has been transferred to the two color grippers the grippers tumble outwardly and the trailing edge of the sheet is transferred to grippers on the impression cylinder in the second printing unit so that the reverse side of the sheet is printed in the second printing unit.
The tumbling of the two color and perfector grippers inwardly and outwardly is controlled by a cam member coaxially positioned relative to the transfer cylinder and secured to the press frame. When the press is adjusted for two color printing the tumbling of the perfector grippers and two color grippers is unnecessary. Therefore, the tumbler cam mechanism is removed from the press when the press is adjusted for two color printing and is replaced when the press is adjusted for perfector printing. The opening and closing of the two color and perfector grippers is controlled by a cam member positioned coaxially on the drive side of the press and is secured to the press frame.
When the press is adjusted for two color printing it is necessary to only open and close the two color grippers. When the press is adjusted for perfector printing it is necessary to open and close both the two color and perfector grippers. The cam for the opening and closing of the two color and perfector grippers is constructed in halves and one half of the cam is replaced to convert the press from two color printing to perfector printing.
In order to eliminate the burdensome replacement of the tumbler cam, the tumbler cam has been arranged in the past to be moved axially into and out of operative relation with the cam follower associated therewith. Even with this arrangement the conversion from multi-color to perfector printing is complicated and time consuming. The conversion requires turning the cylinders of the printing machine into several positions for removing a half of the gripper actuator cam and replacing it with another cam half. Further, the cylinders must be again rotated to another position for moving the tumbler cam either into or out of operative position. The adjustment of the tumbler cam must be made from the operator's side of the machine and the removal and replacement of the gripper actuator cam must be made from the drive side of the machine. Thus, the conversion from multi-color to perfector printing requires considerable time and is relatively complicated. In addition, electrical security installations are necessary to protect the operator and the machine from damage due to inadvertent rotation of the cylinders while the conversion is being made. There is a need for apparatus for converting a sheet fed rotary press from a multi-color press to a perfector press in a rapid and simple manner and particularly from a location exterior of the press.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improved sheet fed rotary press that includes a transfer cylinder with first sheet engaging means arranged to receive the leading edge of the sheet from an adjacent cylinder and a second sheet engaging means arranged to receive the trailing edge of the sheet from the adjacent cylinder. A first operating means is provided on the transfer cylinder to rotate the first and second sheet engaging means inwardly toward the axis of the transfer cylinder and outwardly away from the axis of the transfer cylinder. A second operating means is provided on the transfer cylinder to engage the sheet to the first sheet engaging means and to the second sheet engaging means. A first actuating means is mounted adjacent to the transfer cylinder and arranged to periodically contact the first operating means upon rotation of the transfer cylinder and rotate the first and second sheet engaging means. A second actuating means is mounted adjacent to the transfer cylinder and arranged to periodically contact the second operating means upon rotation of the transfer cylinder and actuate the first sheet engaging means. A third actuating means is mounted adjacent to the transfer cylinder and arranged to periodically contact the second operating means upon rotation of the transfer cylinder and actuate the first and second sheet engaging means. An adjusting means is connected to the first and third actuating means. The adjusting means is arranged to move the first and third actuating means into and out of operative position with the first and second operating means to thereby control the operation of the first and second operating means during rotation of the transfer cylinder.
The sheet fed rotary press further includes means connecting the second actuating means to the third actuating means so that the second actuating means moves into operative position with the second operating means when the third actuating means moves out of operative position with the second operating means. The first actuating means is mounted on the press frame and is arranged to move toward and away from the transfer cylinder. Similarly, the second and third actuating means are mounted on the press frame and are arranged to move toward and away from the transfer cylinder. The actuating means are cam discs mounted coaxially relative to the transfer cylinder and are suitably connected to each other by a connecting means to permit simultaneous movement of all of the actuating means. The connector device extends outwardly beyond the press frame and has a two-position lever to permit the actuating means to be positioned for either multi-color or perfector printing.
Accordingly, the principal object of this invention is to provide a multi-color perfector press in which the press can be converted from a multi-color press to a perfector press by an actuator positioned adjacent the press frame.
Another object of this invention is to provide an adjusting mechanism for converting a sheet fed press from a multi-color press to a perfector press by the simultaneous movement of the gripper actuator devices and the gripper tumbler devices.
These and other objects of this invention will be more completely disclosed and described in the following specification, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a multi-color perfector press adjusted for multi-color printing.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view, illustrating the press adjusted for perfector printing.
FIG. 3 is a view in end elevation of the tumbler apparatus arranged to rotate or tumble the two color and perfector grippers on the transfer cylinder.
FIG. 4 is a view in end elevation of the apparatus for opening and closing the two color and perfector grippers on the transfer cylinder.
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in side elevation and partially in section illustrating the transfer cylinder mounted in the press frame and various cams for tumbling and actuating the grippers.
FIG. 6 is a view in end elevation of the transfer cylinder taken on the drive side of the press and along the Lines VI--VI of FIG. 5, illustrating the lever mechanism for axially moving the two color and perfector gripper actuator cams.
FIG. 7 is a view in end elevation of the transfer cylinder on the operator's side of the press and taken along the Lines VII--VII of FIG. 5, illustrating the lever mechanism for axially moving both the tumbler cam and the two color and perfector gripper actuator cams.
FIG. 8 is a composite view of the cam surfaces of the tumbler cam and the two color and two color perfector gripper actuator cams illustrating the neutral position on the cams where the cam followers can be moved into and out of engagement with the respective cam surfaces.
FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 1, illustrating another embodiment of the invention in which there is a single transfer cylinder between the first printing unit and second printing unit that includes diametrically opposed pairs of two color and perfector grippers.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
For purposes of this specification, the designation "multi-color press" refers to a printing press that prints successive colors on one side of a sheet of paper. The term two color is intended to designate elements of the press utilized to print different colors on one side of a sheet of paper and is not intended to limit the press to printing two colors since additional printing units may be provided to sequentially print more than two colors as, for example, five colors on the same side of the sheet of paper. The designation "perfector press" refers to a printing press that prints one or more colors on two sides of a sheet of paper. For convenience, one side of the sheet of paper will be referred to as the "obverse side" and the other as the "reverse side." The cylinder having both two color grippers and perfector grippers thereon will be referred to as either a transfer cylinder or a perfector cylinder.
Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1 and 2 in which like reference characters indicate similar parts, the printing press illustrated has two printing units or couples generally designated by the numerals 10 and 12, and will also be referred to as first printing unit 10 and second printing unit 12. A suitable sheet feed mechanism (not shown) delivers sheets from a pile on the feedboard 14 in timed relation with the speed of the press.
The printing units 10 and 12 each include an impression cylinder 16, a form or plate cylinder 18 and a blanket cylinder 20. The sheet designated by the letter S is fed down feedboard 14 and has its leading edge engaged by a gripper device 22 on the impression cylinder 16. As the impression cylinder 16 rotates the sheet S is printed in the first printing unit 10 on the obverse side.
Between the printing units 10 and 12 there are three transfer cylinders 24, 26 and 28 that will be designated as first transfer cylinder 24, second transfer cylinder 26 and third transfer cylinder or prefector cylinder 28. The first transfer cylinder 24 has a gripper device 30 thereon that is arranged to engage the front edge of the sheet S at the tangent point T 1 of impression cylinder 16 and first transfer cylinder 24. The second transfer cylinder 26 has a diameter twice the diameter of the first and third transfer cylinders 24 and 28. There are pairs of diametrically opposed gripper devices 32 and 34 mounted on the second transfer cylinder 26. The gripper device 30 on the first transfer cylinder 24 is arranged to deliver the front edge of the sheet at tangent point T 2 between the first transfer cylinder 24 and the second transfer cylinder 26 to one of the gripper devices 32 or 34 on the second transfer cylinder 26. The gripper device, as for example, gripper 32 illustrated in FIG. 1 engages the front edge of sheet S at tangent point T 2 and upon rotation in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 is arranged to deliver the front edge of the sheet to the third transfer cylinder 28. Suitable suction devices 36 are provided on the second transfer cylinder 26 to engage the trailing edge of the sheet and to stretch the sheet on the second transfer cylinder 26 and remove the wrinkles therefrom.
The third transfer cylinder 28, also referred to as the perfector cylinder, has a pair of grippers 38 and 40 thereon. The grippers 38 are referred to either as a first sheet engaging means or as two color grippers and the other grippers 40 are referred to either as a second sheet engaging means or as perfector grippers. When the press is arranged for multi-color printing the front edge of the sheet S, as is illustrated in FIG. 1, is delivered to the two color grippers 38 on transfer cylinder 28 and is engaged by the two-color grippers 38. Rotation of the transfer cylinder 28 then delivers the front edge of the sheet to the grippers 22 on the impression cylinder 16 in second printing unit 12 and the sheet is thereafter printed with a second color on the obverse side in the second printing unit 12 and transferred to a gripper device 42 in the printing press delivery section 44.
When the press is arranged for perfector printing, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the second transfer cylinder 26 delivers the trailing edge of the sheet to the perfector grippers 40 on the third transfer cylinder 28 at tangent point T 3 . The perfector grippers 40 engage the trailing edge of the sheet and the front edge of the sheet is released by the grippers on the second transfer cylinder 26, as for example, gripper 34, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Both the perfector grippers 40 and two color grippers 38 tumble or rotate inwardly, as is illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 2, toward the axis of the third transfer cylinder 28 while the sheet is engaged by the perfector grippers 40. The two color grippers 38 while tumbled inwardly are open and are then closed to engage the trailing edge of the sheet. Thereafter, the perfector grippers 40 are opened to release the trailing edge of the sheet so that the trailing edge of the sheet is now engaged by the two color grippers 38. The two color and perfector grippers 38 and 40 thereafter rotate or tumble outwardly and the two color grippers deliver the trailing edge of the sheet to the grippers 22 on the impression cylinder 16 of the second printing unit 12 at tangent point T 4 with the reverse side of the sheet facing outwardly on the second printing unit impression cylinder 16. Thereafter, the reverse side of the sheet is printed in the second printing unit 12 and the sheet is delivered to grippers 42 in the sheet delivery section 44.
It will be apparent when the press is arranged for two color printing the two color grippers 38 and perfector grippers 40 do not tumble inwardly during rotation of the perfector cylinder 28 nor do the perfector grippers open and close. For multi-color printing the two color grippers 38 simply open and close in timed relation with the other portions of the press. When the press is arranged for perfector printing during each revolution of the transfer or perfector cylinder 28 both the two color and perfector grippers tumble inwardly and outwardly and the perfector grippers open and close to engage the trailing edge of the sheet and open to transfer the sheet to the two color grippers. The two color grippers also open and close to engage the sheet and thereafter open to deliver the sheet to the grippers 22 on the second printing unit impression cylinder 16.
On the third transfer cylinder the apparatus for tumbling the two color grippers 38 and perfector grippers 40 and the apparatus for opening and closing the respective two color and perfector grippers is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,610 and will be described herein only to the extent necessary for an understanding of the improved apparatus for converting the press from multi-color printing to perfector printing. It should be understood however, the apparatus illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,610 on the third transfer cylinder is incorporated herein by reference.
The apparatus mounted on the transfer cylinder 28 for tumbling the two color and perfector grippers toward and away from the axis of the transfer cylinder is illustrated in FIG. 3 and is generally designated by the numeral 45. The tumbling apparatus will also be referred to as a first operating means to rotate the grippers toward and away from the transfer cylinder axis. The apparatus 45 includes a pair of L-shaped levers 46 and 48 pivotally connected to the cylinder 28 by pins 50 and 52. The levers 46 and 48 have cam followers 54 and 56 rotatably mounted on one end thereof and the other ends of the levers 46 and 48 have gear segments 58 and 60. The two color grippers 38 have a gripper tumbler shaft 62 rotatably mounted in the cylinder 28. Similarly, the perfector grippers 40 have a tumbler shaft 64 rotatably mounted in the third transfer cylinder 28. The shafts 62 and 64 have gears 66 and 68 thereon that mesh with the respective gear segments 58 and 60 on levers 46 and 48 so that the shafts 62 and 64 are rotated by the pivotal movement of levers 46 and 48. The two color grippers 38 also have a gripper pad 70 fixedly secured to the tumbler shaft 62 for rotation therewith. The two color grippers have a gripper shaft 72 suitably mounted within the cylinder 28 and arranged to rotate about the tumbler shaft 62 upon rotation of tumbler shaft 62. The two color grippers have gripper fingers 74 that are nonrotatably mounted on the two color gripper shaft 72 for rotation therewith. Thus, the rotation of two color gripper shaft 72 moves the gripper fingers 74 toward and away from the gripper pad 70 to engage an edge of the sheet between the gripper pad 70 and the gripper fingers 74.
Similarly, the perfector grippers have a gripper pad 76 secured to the tumbler shaft 64 for rotation therewith. A perfector gripper shaft 78 is mounted within the transfer cylinder 28 and is arranged to rotate about the tumbler shaft 64 upon rotation of tumbler shaft 64. The perfector grippers 40 have gripper fingers 80 nonrotatably secured to the gripper shaft 78 so that rotation of the shaft 78 moves the gripper fingers 80 toward and away from the gripper pad 76. Springs 82 and 84 are arranged to urge the respective gripper fingers 74 and 80 into closed position against the respective gripper pads 70 and 76.
Thus, to tumble the respective two color grippers 38 and the perfector grippers 40 toward and away from the axis of transfer cylinder 28 the levers 46 and 48 are pivoted about pins 50 and 52 by means of cam followers 54 and 56. The levers 46 and 48 are mounted on the transfer cylinder 28 adjacent the operator's side of the press, which is generally designated by the numeral 86 in FIG. 5.
The apparatus for opening and closing the gripper fingers 74 and 80 on the respective two color and perfector grippers 38 and 40 is illustrated in FIG. 4 and is generally designated by the numeral 101. The apparatus for opening and closing the grippers will also be referred to as second operating means 101 and is mounted on the transfer cylinder 28 adjacent the drive side of the press generally designated by the numeral 88 in FIG. 5. The gripper shafts 72 and 78 have arms 90 and 92 extending laterally therefrom with cam followers 94 and 96 mounted on the ends thereof. A lever 98 is pivotally mounted on the end of cylinder 28 on pin 100 and has a cam follower or roller 102 rotatably mounted thereon. A spring 104 is connected to the other end of the lever 98 and is arranged to urge the cam follower 102 against a cam surface. A second lever 106 extends from lever 98 and is connected to an anchor shapped element 108 that has cam surfaces 110 and 112. The anchor shaped member 108 is pivotally secured to the end of transfer cylinder 28 on pin 114. The anchor shaped member 108 in a neutral position maintains both of the grippers 38 and 40 closed. When the anchor shaped member 108 is pivoted in one direction from this neutral position, as for example in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4, the cam portion 110 on the anchor shaped member 108 will open the two-color grippers 38 while the perfector grippers 40 remain closed. When the anchor shaped member 108 is pivoted in the opposite direction, i.e., in a counterclockwise direction beyond the neutral position, the cam surface 112 opens the perfector grippers 40. Thus, the direction the lever 98 is pivoted by a cam surface against which the cam follower 102 abuts determines if both grippers 38 and 40 are closed or the selected gripper that is open. With this arrangement, preselected motion imparted to the lever 98 will actuate the respective two color grippers 38 and perfector grippers 40 by rotating the respective two color or perfector gripper shafts 72 and 78. The apparatus for opening and closing the gripper fingers 74 and 80 is similar to the apparatus described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,610.
Now referring to FIG. 5, the manner in which the transfer cylinder is converted from a multi-color transfer cylinder to a perfector cylinder will be described. The press has an operator's side frame member 116 and a drive side frame member 118 in which the transfer cylinder is rotatably journaled. The transfer cylinder 28 has an operator's side shaft end portion 120 rotatably mounted in a cylindrical bearing housing 122. The bearing housing is, in turn, secured to the press frame 116 by suitable bolts 124.
The transfer cylinder 28 has a drive side shaft end portion 126 journaled in the press side frame 118. The transfer cylinder drive side shaft end portion 126 extends through a bearing housing 128, which is fixedly secured to the side frame 118 by bolts 130. A drive gear 132 is secured to the end of the shaft 126 and is connected in the drive train for the press so that the transfer cylinder 28 rotates in timed relation with the remainder of the press.
A gripper tumbler cam member 136 also referred to as a first actuating means is positioned coaxially to the perfector cylinder 28 and has an internal cam surface 138 which the cam rollers 54 and 56 contact as the cylinder 28 rotates. The cam rollers 54 and 56 are illustrated in detail in FIG. 5 and are arranged to pivot the respective levers 46 and 48 and thus tumble the two color grippers 38 and perfector grippers 40 toward and away from the axis of cylinder 28. The tumbler cam member 136 has a central bore with an inner cylindrical surface 140 that is slidably positioned on the outer surface of the bearing support 122 and is movable axially thereon.
The tumbler cam member 136 has a pair of radially spaced bores 142 and 144 that are aligned with similar bores 146 and 148 in the side frame 116. Rods 150 and 152 extend through the respective aligned bores in the cam member 136 and side frame 116 and are secured by pins 154 in the tumbler cam member bores 142 and 144. A vertical bar 156 has bores 158 and 160 therethrough and the end portions of rods 150 and 152 extend through the bores and nuts 162 and 164 and secure the threaded ends or rods 150 and 152 to the vertical bar 156. With this arrangement, movement of bar 156 toward and away from the cylinder shaft end portion 120 moves the tumbler cam member 136 into and out of operative position with the cam rollers 54 and 56. In FIG. 5 the tumbler cam member 136 is illustrated in operative position arranged to actuate the tumbler mechanism illustrated in FIG. 3 to tumble the two color and perfector grippers.
The vertical bar 156 has a rearwardly extending protuberance 166 with a vertical recess 168 therein. As is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7, a cap member 170 is secured to the end of bearing housing 122 by means of bolts 172 and has a pair of rearwardly extending ear portions 174 and 176. The bar 156 is positioned in overlying relation with the cap member 170 with the ears 174 and 176 on opposite sides thereof. The ears 174 and 176 have aligned apertures 178 and 180 therein. A connector shaft generally designated by the numeral 182 has a pair of disc-like intermediate portions 184 and 186 with a cylindrical offset or eccentric central portion 188 therebetween. The central portion 188 is offset from the axis of the disc-like intermediate portions 184 and 186 and is positioned in the vertical recess 168 of the rearwardly extending protuberance 166 on bar 156. The connector shaft disc-like intermediate portions 184 and 186 are positioned in the apertures 178 and 180 of the plate member rearwardly extending ears 174 and 176 and are rotatable therein.
A handle member 190 has a pair of depending arms 192 and 194 with apertures 196 and 198 therein. The connector shaft 182 has circular end portions 200 and 210 that extend into the respective apertures 196 and 198 of the handle arms 192 and 194 to thus connect the handle member 190 to the shaft 182. With this arrangement, movement of the handle 190 from the upper position illustrated in FIG. 5 to a lower position moves the eccentric central portion 188 in the recess 168 to thus move the bar 156 and the tumbler cam member 136 connected thereto outwardly away from the cam rollers 54 and 56. A suitable spring loaded locking device 212 is mounted on the handle arm 194 and is arranged to engage a recess in the ear 176 of cover plate 170 to lock the handle in the upper position illustrated in FIG. 5.
On the drive side of the press 88 the bearing support 128 has a central bore 214 in which sleeve 216 is positioned. The sleeve 216 has a first cam member 218 which will be referred to as the perfector cam or third actuating means secured thereto. The perfector cam 218 has a cam surface 220 thereon that is arranged to move the cam follower 102 to open and close the two color and perfector grippers 38 and 40 when the cylinder 28 is adjusted to operate as a perfector cylinder. The perfector cam 218 is secured to the sleeve 216 by bolts 222. A second cam 224 is coaxially positioned on the sleeve 216 in abutting relation with the perfector cam 218 and is secured to the perfector cam and the sleeve 216 by bolts 226. The two color cam 224 also referred to as a second actuating means has a cam surface thereon that is arranged to move the cam follower 102 to open and close the two color grippers 38 when the cylinder 28 is adjusted to operate as a multi-color transfer cylinder.
The sleeve 216 has a recessed opening 228 with a transversely extending pin 230 therein. A lever member 232 is pivotally connected to the bearing housing 18 by a pin member 234 and has a bottom forked portion 236 that engages pin 230. The press side frames 116 and 118 have aligned bores 238 and 240 therein with a rod 242 extending therethrough. One end of the rod 242 is secured to the vertical bar 156 by means of nut 244 threadedly secured to the threaded end portion of rod 242. The lever 232 is connected to the opposite end of the rod 242 on the drive side of the press by pin member 246. With this arrangement, movement of vertical bar 156 by means of handle 190 moves the rod 242 which, in turn, through lever 232 moves the sleeve 216 on the cylinder shaft end portion 126 to position either the perfector cam 218 or two color cam 224 in underlying relation with the cam roller 102. As is illustrated in FIG. 5, the cam roller 102 is in overlying relation with the perfector cam 218 so that the tumbler cam 136 and the perfector cam 218 are in operative position and arranged to actuate the respective rollers for both tumbling and opening and closing the two color and perfector grippers 38 and 40. When it is desired to convert the cylinder 28 from a perfector transfer cylinder to a multi-color transfer cylinder, the locking mechanism 212 is released and the handle 190 is rotated through 180° to simultaneously move the tumbler cam 136 away from the cam rollers 54 and 56 to disengage the cam rollers from the cam surface 138 amd move the cam roller 102 out of engagement with the perfector cam 218 and into operative position with the two color cam 224.
Before the handle 190 is rotated to move the respective cams into and out of operative relation with the cam followers the transfer cylinder 28 is rotated to a position where the rollers 54 and 56 are free of the cam surface 138 so that the tumbler cam member 136 may be moved axially without interference from the cam followers 54 and 56. When the cylinder is in this adjusted position the perfector and two color cams 218 and 224 have the same radius at a location beneath the cam follower 102 so that both cams 218 and 224 can be moved in an axial direction without interference from the cam roller 102. The relative position of the cams with the different cam surfaces is illustrated in FIG. 8. the angular segment designated by the letter A in FIG. 8 illustrates the opening in the cam surface 138 of tumbler cam 136 that permits unhindered movement of the cam member 136 relative to the cam followers 54 and 56 so that the cam 136 may be shifted axially without the cam followers 54 and 56 obstructing axial movement of the cam 136. The angular segment designated by the letter B illustrates the areas of the perfector cam 218 and two color cam 224 that permit axial shifting of the cam follower 102 from one to the other of the cams. With this arrangement, when the cylinder 28 is rotated to an angular position where cam followers 54 and 56 are within the angular segment area A and the cam follower 102 is within the angular segment B the simultaneous axial shifting of the cam may be accomplished.
Referring to FIG. 9 there is illustrated another embodiment of this invention wherein a single transfer cylinder designated by the numeral 250 is positioned between the pairs of printing units 10 and 12 and the sheet is transferred from the impression cylinder 16 of printing unit 10 to the impression cylinder 16 of printing unit 12 by means of pairs of perfecting and two color grippers wherein the two color grippers are designated by the numerals 252 and 254 and the perfector grippers by the numerals 256 and 258. A cam similar to the tumbler cam 136 is provided to tumble the respective pairs of grippers 252 - 256 and 254 - 258 toward and away from the axis of cylinder 250 during the transfer of the trailing edge of the sheet from the perfector grippers to the two color grippers when the transfer cylinder 250 is adjusted for perfector printing. A perfector cam similar to cam 218, previously described, is arranged to open and close both the two color and perfector grippers during the transfer of the trailing edge of the sheet from one printing unit 10 to the other printing unit 12 on the transfer cylinder 250. Also, a cam member similar to cam 224 is provided to open and close the two color grippers 252 and 254 when the press is adjusted for two color printing and the front edge of the sheet is transferred from the first printing unit 10 to the second printing unit 12 by the transfer cylinder 250. The conversion from multi-color printing to perfector printing may be accomplished with apparatus similar to that illustrated in FIG. 5 for the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9.
According to the provisions of the patents statutes, I have explained the principle, preferred construction and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiments. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sheet handling apparatus for a multi-color perfector press in which two or more printing units are connected whereby sheets may be printed on one side or both sides and more particularly to the apparatus for converting the sheet handling apparatus from multi-color printing to perfector printing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,610 illustrates and describes a sheet fed printing press that is arranged to print sheets on one or both sides, i.e., the press may be adjusted to be used as either a multi-color press or as a perfector press. The press described in the above patent includes a first printing unit and a second printing unit with three transfer cylinders therebetween. The first transfer cylinder has grippers that engage the front edge of the sheet as the sheet is being printed in the first printing unit. The sheet is thereafter transferred to the second transfer cylinder by engaging the front edge of the sheet by grippers on the second transfer cylinder. When the printing machine is adjusted for multi-color printing on the same side of the sheet, the sheet is transferred from the second transfer cylinder to the third transfer cylinder engaging the front edge of the sheet as the grippers on the second transfer cylinder release the front edge of the sheet. The third transfer cylinder thereafter transfers the sheet into the second printing unit by transferring the front edge of the sheet from the two color grippers to grippers on the impression cylinder in the second printing unit.
When the printing press is adjusted for perfector printing the sheet is similarly transferred from the first printing unit to the first transfer cylinder and from the first transfer cylinder to the second transfer cylinder. For perfector printing of the sheet the grippers on the second transfer cylinder continue to engage the front edge of the sheet until the trailing edge of the sheet, while on the second transfer cylinder, is tangent to the third transfer cylinder. The perfector grippers on the third transfer cylinder engage the trailing edge of the sheet as the gripper devices on the second transfer cylinder open and release the leading edge of the sheet. The perfector grippers and two color grippers on the third transfer cylinder tumble or rotate inwardly during rotation of the third transfer cylinder and the trailing edge of the sheet is transferred from the perfector grippers to the two color grippers by timed opening and closing of the perfector grippers and two color grippers while both grippers are tumbled inwardly toward the axis of the third transfer cylinder. After the trailing edge of the sheet has been transferred to the two color grippers the grippers tumble outwardly and the trailing edge of the sheet is transferred to grippers on the impression cylinder in the second printing unit so that the reverse side of the sheet is printed in the second printing unit.
The tumbling of the two color and perfector grippers inwardly and outwardly is controlled by a cam member coaxially positioned relative to the transfer cylinder and secured to the press frame. When the press is adjusted for two color printing the tumbling of the perfector grippers and two color grippers is unnecessary. Therefore, the tumbler cam mechanism is removed from the press when the press is adjusted for two color printing and is replaced when the press is adjusted for perfector printing. The opening and closing of the two color and perfector grippers is controlled by a cam member positioned coaxially on the drive side of the press and is secured to the press frame.
When the press is adjusted for two color printing it is necessary to only open and close the two color grippers. When the press is adjusted for perfector printing it is necessary to open and close both the two color and perfector grippers. The cam for the opening and closing of the two color and perfector grippers is constructed in halves and one half of the cam is replaced to convert the press from two color printing to perfector printing.
In order to eliminate the burdensome replacement of the tumbler cam, the tumbler cam has been arranged in the past to be moved axially into and out of operative relation with the cam follower associated therewith. Even with this arrangement the conversion from multi-color to perfector printing is complicated and time consuming. The conversion requires turning the cylinders of the printing machine into several positions for removing a half of the gripper actuator cam and replacing it with another cam half. Further, the cylinders must be again rotated to another position for moving the tumbler cam either into or out of operative position. The adjustment of the tumbler cam must be made from the operator's side of the machine and the removal and replacement of the gripper actuator cam must be made from the drive side of the machine. Thus, the conversion from multi-color to perfector printing requires considerable time and is relatively complicated. In addition, electrical security installations are necessary to protect the operator and the machine from damage due to inadvertent rotation of the cylinders while the conversion is being made. There is a need for apparatus for converting a sheet fed rotary press from a multi-color press to a perfector press in a rapid and simple manner and particularly from a location exterior of the press.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improved sheet fed rotary press that includes a transfer cylinder with first sheet engaging means arranged to receive the leading edge of the sheet from an adjacent cylinder and a second sheet engaging means arranged to receive the trailing edge of the sheet from the adjacent cylinder. A first operating means is provided on the transfer cylinder to rotate the first and second sheet engaging means inwardly toward the axis of the transfer cylinder and outwardly away from the axis of the transfer cylinder. A second operating means is provided on the transfer cylinder to engage the sheet to the first sheet engaging means and to the second sheet engaging means. A first actuating means is mounted adjacent to the transfer cylinder and arranged to periodically contact the first operating means upon rotation of the transfer cylinder and rotate the first and second sheet engaging means. A second actuating means is mounted adjacent to the transfer cylinder and arranged to periodically contact the second operating means upon rotation of the transfer cylinder and actuate the first sheet engaging means. A third actuating means is mounted adjacent to the transfer cylinder and arranged to periodically contact the second operating means upon rotation of the transfer cylinder and actuate the first and second sheet engaging means. An adjusting means is connected to the first and third actuating means. The adjusting means is arranged to move the first and third actuating means into and out of operative position with the first and second operating means to thereby control the operation of the first and second operating means during rotation of the transfer cylinder.
The sheet fed rotary press further includes means connecting the second actuating means to the third actuating means so that the second actuating means moves into operative position with the second operating means when the third actuating means moves out of operative position with the second operating means. The first actuating means is mounted on the press frame and is arranged to move toward and away from the transfer cylinder. Similarly, the second and third actuating means are mounted on the press frame and are arranged to move toward and away from the transfer cylinder. The actuating means are cam discs mounted coaxially relative to the transfer cylinder and are suitably connected to each other by a connecting means to permit simultaneous movement of all of the actuating means. The connector device extends outwardly beyond the press frame and has a two-position lever to permit the actuating means to be positioned for either multi-color or perfector printing.
Accordingly, the principal object of this invention is to provide a multi-color perfector press in which the press can be converted from a multi-color press to a perfector press by an actuator positioned adjacent the press frame.
Another object of this invention is to provide an adjusting mechanism for converting a sheet fed press from a multi-color press to a perfector press by the simultaneous movement of the gripper actuator devices and the gripper tumbler devices.
These and other objects of this invention will be more completely disclosed and described in the following specification, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a multi-color perfector press adjusted for multi-color printing.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view, illustrating the press adjusted for perfector printing.
FIG. 3 is a view in end elevation of the tumbler apparatus arranged to rotate or tumble the two color and perfector grippers on the transfer cylinder.
FIG. 4 is a view in end elevation of the apparatus for opening and closing the two color and perfector grippers on the transfer cylinder.
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in side elevation and partially in section illustrating the transfer cylinder mounted in the press frame and various cams for tumbling and actuating the grippers.
FIG. 6 is a view in end elevation of the transfer cylinder taken on the drive side of the press and along the Lines VI--VI of FIG. 5, illustrating the lever mechanism for axially moving the two color and perfector gripper actuator cams.
FIG. 7 is a view in end elevation of the transfer cylinder on the operator's side of the press and taken along the Lines VII--VII of FIG. 5, illustrating the lever mechanism for axially moving both the tumbler cam and the two color and perfector gripper actuator cams.
FIG. 8 is a composite view of the cam surfaces of the tumbler cam and the two color and two color perfector gripper actuator cams illustrating the neutral position on the cams where the cam followers can be moved into and out of engagement with the respective cam surfaces.
FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 1, illustrating another embodiment of the invention in which there is a single transfer cylinder between the first printing unit and second printing unit that includes diametrically opposed pairs of two color and perfector grippers.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
For purposes of this specification, the designation "multi-color press" refers to a printing press that prints successive colors on one side of a sheet of paper. The term two color is intended to designate elements of the press utilized to print different colors on one side of a sheet of paper and is not intended to limit the press to printing two colors since additional printing units may be provided to sequentially print more than two colors as, for example, five colors on the same side of the sheet of paper. The designation "perfector press" refers to a printing press that prints one or more colors on two sides of a sheet of paper. For convenience, one side of the sheet of paper will be referred to as the "obverse side" and the other as the "reverse side." The cylinder having both two color grippers and perfector grippers thereon will be referred to as either a transfer cylinder or a perfector cylinder.
Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1 and 2 in which like reference characters indicate similar parts, the printing press illustrated has two printing units or couples generally designated by the numerals 10 and 12, and will also be referred to as first printing unit 10 and second printing unit 12. A suitable sheet feed mechanism (not shown) delivers sheets from a pile on the feedboard 14 in timed relation with the speed of the press.
The printing units 10 and 12 each include an impression cylinder 16, a form or plate cylinder 18 and a blanket cylinder 20. The sheet designated by the letter S is fed down feedboard 14 and has its leading edge engaged by a gripper device 22 on the impression cylinder 16. As the impression cylinder 16 rotates the sheet S is printed in the first printing unit 10 on the obverse side.
Between the printing units 10 and 12 there are three transfer cylinders 24, 26 and 28 that will be designated as first transfer cylinder 24, second transfer cylinder 26 and third transfer cylinder or prefector cylinder 28. The first transfer cylinder 24 has a gripper device 30 thereon that is arranged to engage the front edge of the sheet S at the tangent point T 1 of impression cylinder 16 and first transfer cylinder 24. The second transfer cylinder 26 has a diameter twice the diameter of the first and third transfer cylinders 24 and 28. There are pairs of diametrically opposed gripper devices 32 and 34 mounted on the second transfer cylinder 26. The gripper device 30 on the first transfer cylinder 24 is arranged to deliver the front edge of the sheet at tangent point T 2 between the first transfer cylinder 24 and the second transfer cylinder 26 to one of the gripper devices 32 or 34 on the second transfer cylinder 26. The gripper device, as for example, gripper 32 illustrated in FIG. 1 engages the front edge of sheet S at tangent point T 2 and upon rotation in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 is arranged to deliver the front edge of the sheet to the third transfer cylinder 28. Suitable suction devices 36 are provided on the second transfer cylinder 26 to engage the trailing edge of the sheet and to stretch the sheet on the second transfer cylinder 26 and remove the wrinkles therefrom.
The third transfer cylinder 28, also referred to as the perfector cylinder, has a pair of grippers 38 and 40 thereon. The grippers 38 are referred to either as a first sheet engaging means or as two color grippers and the other grippers 40 are referred to either as a second sheet engaging means or as perfector grippers. When the press is arranged for multi-color printing the front edge of the sheet S, as is illustrated in FIG. 1, is delivered to the two color grippers 38 on transfer cylinder 28 and is engaged by the two-color grippers 38. Rotation of the transfer cylinder 28 then delivers the front edge of the sheet to the grippers 22 on the impression cylinder 16 in second printing unit 12 and the sheet is thereafter printed with a second color on the obverse side in the second printing unit 12 and transferred to a gripper device 42 in the printing press delivery section 44.
When the press is arranged for perfector printing, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the second transfer cylinder 26 delivers the trailing edge of the sheet to the perfector grippers 40 on the third transfer cylinder 28 at tangent point T 3 . The perfector grippers 40 engage the trailing edge of the sheet and the front edge of the sheet is released by the grippers on the second transfer cylinder 26, as for example, gripper 34, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Both the perfector grippers 40 and two color grippers 38 tumble or rotate inwardly, as is illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 2, toward the axis of the third transfer cylinder 28 while the sheet is engaged by the perfector grippers 40. The two color grippers 38 while tumbled inwardly are open and are then closed to engage the trailing edge of the sheet. Thereafter, the perfector grippers 40 are opened to release the trailing edge of the sheet so that the trailing edge of the sheet is now engaged by the two color grippers 38. The two color and perfector grippers 38 and 40 thereafter rotate or tumble outwardly and the two color grippers deliver the trailing edge of the sheet to the grippers 22 on the impression cylinder 16 of the second printing unit 12 at tangent point T 4 with the reverse side of the sheet facing outwardly on the second printing unit impression cylinder 16. Thereafter, the reverse side of the sheet is printed in the second printing unit 12 and the sheet is delivered to grippers 42 in the sheet delivery section 44.
It will be apparent when the press is arranged for two color printing the two color grippers 38 and perfector grippers 40 do not tumble inwardly during rotation of the perfector cylinder 28 nor do the perfector grippers open and close. For multi-color printing the two color grippers 38 simply open and close in timed relation with the other portions of the press. When the press is arranged for perfector printing during each revolution of the transfer or perfector cylinder 28 both the two color and perfector grippers tumble inwardly and outwardly and the perfector grippers open and close to engage the trailing edge of the sheet and open to transfer the sheet to the two color grippers. The two color grippers also open and close to engage the sheet and thereafter open to deliver the sheet to the grippers 22 on the second printing unit impression cylinder 16.
On the third transfer cylinder the apparatus for tumbling the two color grippers 38 and perfector grippers 40 and the apparatus for opening and closing the respective two color and perfector grippers is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,610 and will be described herein only to the extent necessary for an understanding of the improved apparatus for converting the press from multi-color printing to perfector printing. It should be understood however, the apparatus illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,610 on the third transfer cylinder is incorporated herein by reference.
The apparatus mounted on the transfer cylinder 28 for tumbling the two color and perfector grippers toward and away from the axis of the transfer cylinder is illustrated in FIG. 3 and is generally designated by the numeral 45. The tumbling apparatus will also be referred to as a first operating means to rotate the grippers toward and away from the transfer cylinder axis. The apparatus 45 includes a pair of L-shaped levers 46 and 48 pivotally connected to the cylinder 28 by pins 50 and 52. The levers 46 and 48 have cam followers 54 and 56 rotatably mounted on one end thereof and the other ends of the levers 46 and 48 have gear segments 58 and 60. The two color grippers 38 have a gripper tumbler shaft 62 rotatably mounted in the cylinder 28. Similarly, the perfector grippers 40 have a tumbler shaft 64 rotatably mounted in the third transfer cylinder 28. The shafts 62 and 64 have gears 66 and 68 thereon that mesh with the respective gear segments 58 and 60 on levers 46 and 48 so that the shafts 62 and 64 are rotated by the pivotal movement of levers 46 and 48. The two color grippers 38 also have a gripper pad 70 fixedly secured to the tumbler shaft 62 for rotation therewith. The two color grippers have a gripper shaft 72 suitably mounted within the cylinder 28 and arranged to rotate about the tumbler shaft 62 upon rotation of tumbler shaft 62. The two color grippers have gripper fingers 74 that are nonrotatably mounted on the two color gripper shaft 72 for rotation therewith. Thus, the rotation of two color gripper shaft 72 moves the gripper fingers 74 toward and away from the gripper pad 70 to engage an edge of the sheet between the gripper pad 70 and the gripper fingers 74.
Similarly, the perfector grippers have a gripper pad 76 secured to the tumbler shaft 64 for rotation therewith. A perfector gripper shaft 78 is mounted within the transfer cylinder 28 and is arranged to rotate about the tumbler shaft 64 upon rotation of tumbler shaft 64. The perfector grippers 40 have gripper fingers 80 nonrotatably secured to the gripper shaft 78 so that rotation of the shaft 78 moves the gripper fingers 80 toward and away from the gripper pad 76. Springs 82 and 84 are arranged to urge the respective gripper fingers 74 and 80 into closed position against the respective gripper pads 70 and 76.
Thus, to tumble the respective two color grippers 38 and the perfector grippers 40 toward and away from the axis of transfer cylinder 28 the levers 46 and 48 are pivoted about pins 50 and 52 by means of cam followers 54 and 56. The levers 46 and 48 are mounted on the transfer cylinder 28 adjacent the operator's side of the press, which is generally designated by the numeral 86 in FIG. 5.
The apparatus for opening and closing the gripper fingers 74 and 80 on the respective two color and perfector grippers 38 and 40 is illustrated in FIG. 4 and is generally designated by the numeral 101. The apparatus for opening and closing the grippers will also be referred to as second operating means 101 and is mounted on the transfer cylinder 28 adjacent the drive side of the press generally designated by the numeral 88 in FIG. 5. The gripper shafts 72 and 78 have arms 90 and 92 extending laterally therefrom with cam followers 94 and 96 mounted on the ends thereof. A lever 98 is pivotally mounted on the end of cylinder 28 on pin 100 and has a cam follower or roller 102 rotatably mounted thereon. A spring 104 is connected to the other end of the lever 98 and is arranged to urge the cam follower 102 against a cam surface. A second lever 106 extends from lever 98 and is connected to an anchor shapped element 108 that has cam surfaces 110 and 112. The anchor shaped member 108 is pivotally secured to the end of transfer cylinder 28 on pin 114. The anchor shaped member 108 in a neutral position maintains both of the grippers 38 and 40 closed. When the anchor shaped member 108 is pivoted in one direction from this neutral position, as for example in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4, the cam portion 110 on the anchor shaped member 108 will open the two-color grippers 38 while the perfector grippers 40 remain closed. When the anchor shaped member 108 is pivoted in the opposite direction, i.e., in a counterclockwise direction beyond the neutral position, the cam surface 112 opens the perfector grippers 40. Thus, the direction the lever 98 is pivoted by a cam surface against which the cam follower 102 abuts determines if both grippers 38 and 40 are closed or the selected gripper that is open. With this arrangement, preselected motion imparted to the lever 98 will actuate the respective two color grippers 38 and perfector grippers 40 by rotating the respective two color or perfector gripper shafts 72 and 78. The apparatus for opening and closing the gripper fingers 74 and 80 is similar to the apparatus described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,610.
Now referring to FIG. 5, the manner in which the transfer cylinder is converted from a multi-color transfer cylinder to a perfector cylinder will be described. The press has an operator's side frame member 116 and a drive side frame member 118 in which the transfer cylinder is rotatably journaled. The transfer cylinder 28 has an operator's side shaft end portion 120 rotatably mounted in a cylindrical bearing housing 122. The bearing housing is, in turn, secured to the press frame 116 by suitable bolts 124.
The transfer cylinder 28 has a drive side shaft end portion 126 journaled in the press side frame 118. The transfer cylinder drive side shaft end portion 126 extends through a bearing housing 128, which is fixedly secured to the side frame 118 by bolts 130. A drive gear 132 is secured to the end of the shaft 126 and is connected in the drive train for the press so that the transfer cylinder 28 rotates in timed relation with the remainder of the press.
A gripper tumbler cam member 136 also referred to as a first actuating means is positioned coaxially to the perfector cylinder 28 and has an internal cam surface 138 which the cam rollers 54 and 56 contact as the cylinder 28 rotates. The cam rollers 54 and 56 are illustrated in detail in FIG. 5 and are arranged to pivot the respective levers 46 and 48 and thus tumble the two color grippers 38 and perfector grippers 40 toward and away from the axis of cylinder 28. The tumbler cam member 136 has a central bore with an inner cylindrical surface 140 that is slidably positioned on the outer surface of the bearing support 122 and is movable axially thereon.
The tumbler cam member 136 has a pair of radially spaced bores 142 and 144 that are aligned with similar bores 146 and 148 in the side frame 116. Rods 150 and 152 extend through the respective aligned bores in the cam member 136 and side frame 116 and are secured by pins 154 in the tumbler cam member bores 142 and 144. A vertical bar 156 has bores 158 and 160 therethrough and the end portions of rods 150 and 152 extend through the bores and nuts 162 and 164 and secure the threaded ends or rods 150 and 152 to the vertical bar 156. With this arrangement, movement of bar 156 toward and away from the cylinder shaft end portion 120 moves the tumbler cam member 136 into and out of operative position with the cam rollers 54 and 56. In FIG. 5 the tumbler cam member 136 is illustrated in operative position arranged to actuate the tumbler mechanism illustrated in FIG. 3 to tumble the two color and perfector grippers.
The vertical bar 156 has a rearwardly extending protuberance 166 with a vertical recess 168 therein. As is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7, a cap member 170 is secured to the end of bearing housing 122 by means of bolts 172 and has a pair of rearwardly extending ear portions 174 and 176. The bar 156 is positioned in overlying relation with the cap member 170 with the ears 174 and 176 on opposite sides thereof. The ears 174 and 176 have aligned apertures 178 and 180 therein. A connector shaft generally designated by the numeral 182 has a pair of disc-like intermediate portions 184 and 186 with a cylindrical offset or eccentric central portion 188 therebetween. The central portion 188 is offset from the axis of the disc-like intermediate portions 184 and 186 and is positioned in the vertical recess 168 of the rearwardly extending protuberance 166 on bar 156. The connector shaft disc-like intermediate portions 184 and 186 are positioned in the apertures 178 and 180 of the plate member rearwardly extending ears 174 and 176 and are rotatable therein.
A handle member 190 has a pair of depending arms 192 and 194 with apertures 196 and 198 therein. The connector shaft 182 has circular end portions 200 and 210 that extend into the respective apertures 196 and 198 of the handle arms 192 and 194 to thus connect the handle member 190 to the shaft 182. With this arrangement, movement of the handle 190 from the upper position illustrated in FIG. 5 to a lower position moves the eccentric central portion 188 in the recess 168 to thus move the bar 156 and the tumbler cam member 136 connected thereto outwardly away from the cam rollers 54 and 56. A suitable spring loaded locking device 212 is mounted on the handle arm 194 and is arranged to engage a recess in the ear 176 of cover plate 170 to lock the handle in the upper position illustrated in FIG. 5.
On the drive side of the press 88 the bearing support 128 has a central bore 214 in which sleeve 216 is positioned. The sleeve 216 has a first cam member 218 which will be referred to as the perfector cam or third actuating means secured thereto. The perfector cam 218 has a cam surface 220 thereon that is arranged to move the cam follower 102 to open and close the two color and perfector grippers 38 and 40 when the cylinder 28 is adjusted to operate as a perfector cylinder. The perfector cam 218 is secured to the sleeve 216 by bolts 222. A second cam 224 is coaxially positioned on the sleeve 216 in abutting relation with the perfector cam 218 and is secured to the perfector cam and the sleeve 216 by bolts 226. The two color cam 224 also referred to as a second actuating means has a cam surface thereon that is arranged to move the cam follower 102 to open and close the two color grippers 38 when the cylinder 28 is adjusted to operate as a multi-color transfer cylinder.
The sleeve 216 has a recessed opening 228 with a transversely extending pin 230 therein. A lever member 232 is pivotally connected to the bearing housing 18 by a pin member 234 and has a bottom forked portion 236 that engages pin 230. The press side frames 116 and 118 have aligned bores 238 and 240 therein with a rod 242 extending therethrough. One end of the rod 242 is secured to the vertical bar 156 by means of nut 244 threadedly secured to the threaded end portion of rod 242. The lever 232 is connected to the opposite end of the rod 242 on the drive side of the press by pin member 246. With this arrangement, movement of vertical bar 156 by means of handle 190 moves the rod 242 which, in turn, through lever 232 moves the sleeve 216 on the cylinder shaft end portion 126 to position either the perfector cam 218 or two color cam 224 in underlying relation with the cam roller 102. As is illustrated in FIG. 5, the cam roller 102 is in overlying relation with the perfector cam 218 so that the tumbler cam 136 and the perfector cam 218 are in operative position and arranged to actuate the respective rollers for both tumbling and opening and closing the two color and perfector grippers 38 and 40. When it is desired to convert the cylinder 28 from a perfector transfer cylinder to a multi-color transfer cylinder, the locking mechanism 212 is released and the handle 190 is rotated through 180° to simultaneously move the tumbler cam 136 away from the cam rollers 54 and 56 to disengage the cam rollers from the cam surface 138 amd move the cam roller 102 out of engagement with the perfector cam 218 and into operative position with the two color cam 224.
Before the handle 190 is rotated to move the respective cams into and out of operative relation with the cam followers the transfer cylinder 28 is rotated to a position where the rollers 54 and 56 are free of the cam surface 138 so that the tumbler cam member 136 may be moved axially without interference from the cam followers 54 and 56. When the cylinder is in this adjusted position the perfector and two color cams 218 and 224 have the same radius at a location beneath the cam follower 102 so that both cams 218 and 224 can be moved in an axial direction without interference from the cam roller 102. The relative position of the cams with the different cam surfaces is illustrated in FIG. 8. the angular segment designated by the letter A in FIG. 8 illustrates the opening in the cam surface 138 of tumbler cam 136 that permits unhindered movement of the cam member 136 relative to the cam followers 54 and 56 so that the cam 136 may be shifted axially without the cam followers 54 and 56 obstructing axial movement of the cam 136. The angular segment designated by the letter B illustrates the areas of the perfector cam 218 and two color cam 224 that permit axial shifting of the cam follower 102 from one to the other of the cams. With this arrangement, when the cylinder 28 is rotated to an angular position where cam followers 54 and 56 are within the angular segment area A and the cam follower 102 is within the angular segment B the simultaneous axial shifting of the cam may be accomplished.
Referring to FIG. 9 there is illustrated another embodiment of this invention wherein a single transfer cylinder designated by the numeral 250 is positioned between the pairs of printing units 10 and 12 and the sheet is transferred from the impression cylinder 16 of printing unit 10 to the impression cylinder 16 of printing unit 12 by means of pairs of perfecting and two color grippers wherein the two color grippers are designated by the numerals 252 and 254 and the perfector grippers by the numerals 256 and 258. A cam similar to the tumbler cam 136 is provided to tumble the respective pairs of grippers 252 - 256 and 254 - 258 toward and away from the axis of cylinder 250 during the transfer of the trailing edge of the sheet from the perfector grippers to the two color grippers when the transfer cylinder 250 is adjusted for perfector printing. A perfector cam similar to cam 218, previously described, is arranged to open and close both the two color and perfector grippers during the transfer of the trailing edge of the sheet from one printing unit 10 to the other printing unit 12 on the transfer cylinder 250. Also, a cam member similar to cam 224 is provided to open and close the two color grippers 252 and 254 when the press is adjusted for two color printing and the front edge of the sheet is transferred from the first printing unit 10 to the second printing unit 12 by the transfer cylinder 250. The conversion from multi-color printing to perfector printing may be accomplished with apparatus similar to that illustrated in FIG. 5 for the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9.
According to the provisions of the patents statutes, I have explained the principle, preferred construction and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiments. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise