US2547470A - Ink fountain interrupter for rotary printing machines - Google Patents

Description

7 Sheets-Sheet 1 llllglgq a U y l. (I-

INVENTOR.

E. J. JANKE INK FOUNTAIN INTERRUPTER FOR ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES April 3, 1951 Filed Jan. 1'7, 1945 IIIIIII in I,

April 3, 1951 E. J. JANKE 2,547,470

INK FOUNTAIN INTERRUPTER FOR ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 17, 1945 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

W wjm, *Qm; MMME E. J. JANKE April 3, 1951 INK FOUNTAIN INTERRUPTER FOR ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 17, 1945 INVENTOR.

April 3, 1951 E. J. JANKE 2,547,470

- INK FOUNTAIN INTERRUPTER FOR ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 17, 1945 .7 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

E. J. JANKE April 3, 1951 INK FOUNTAIN INTERRUPTER FOR ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 17, 1945 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENT OR.

April 3, 1951 E. J. JANKE 2,547,470

INK FOUNTAIN INTERRUPTER FOR ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 17, 1945 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 April 3, 1951 E. J. JANKE 2,

INK FOUNTAIN INTERRUPTER FOR ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 17, 1945 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 an office printing machine of the Patented Apr. 3, 1951 25min INK FOUNTAIN IN TERRUPTER FQR ROTARY PRINTING MACHINES Edward J. Janke, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a. corporation of Delaware Application January 17, 1945, Serial No.573,280

3 Claims. 1 The invention relates to a rotary printing machine operating on the planographic principle. The general object of the invention is to provide such a machine in a compact and efficient form which shall have provision for the rapid building up and continuous maintenance of the inked image and which shall effectively transfer the same to sheets fed to the machine.

More specifically, it is an object of the inven tion to provide for the interruption of the passage of ink from the ink supply to the image when a sheet fails to pass between the platen and its coacting printing member so that the image will not become unduly heavy for subsequent sheets.

Another object is to provide for adjustment of the printing pressure between the platen, against which the back of the sheet passes, and the coacting printing member, to facilitate the use of the machine with sheets of various thicknesses, and at the. same time prevent offsetting of the image on the platen. This is effected by causing a separation of such parts whenever a sheet fails to be fed during the cycle of operation of the machine, and thereafter restoring such, parts automatically for the next cycle of operation.

A further object of my invention is to provide a printing machine of the planographic type in which the printing plate maybe quickly and easily applied to the machine and prepared for the printing operation.

My invention is particularly well adapted for offset type, and it is an object of the invention to provide such a machine in a simple and compact form which may be hand fed at one end thereof, under control of suitable timin mechanism, to cause the sheets to pass one at a time between the offset drum and platen to a suitable receiving tray.

My machine carries all of the different parts mounted on a frame comprising a pair of spaced upright plates which may be supported on a suitable stand, and such stand may house a' motor,

making the machine entirely self-contained.

The drawing illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention. Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the machine, the offset blanket being illustrated merely in conventional form; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation, with the cover removed and certain parts omitted; Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation looking in the same direction as Fig. 3, but taken just in front of the opposite frame 7 plate and being sectioned through the cover; Fig.

2 I 5 is a section, intermediately broken away, through the offset drum and platen on the offset plane indicated by the line 55 on Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a detail illustrating the support for the platen, being a vertical section on the line 6-6 on Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the mechanism and linkage controlling the release of the platen whenever a sheet fails to be fed, together with the means for automatically restoring the platen to active position, and illustrates the parts in position for detecting the presenceor absence of a work sheet; Fig. 8 is a view of the same parts at a later period in their cycle of operation and illustrates the platen in an idle or released position due to the absence of a work sheet in the machine; Fig. 9 is a view taken at the same period in the cycle of operation as Fig. 8, but with the platen active due to the presence of a Work sheet in the machine; Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the latching mechanism for retaining the offset drum in coaction with the master drumand platen but allowing its immediate separation from both of such members, this View showing the drums in their separated or inactive positions; Fig. 11 is a viewof the same parts with the latch in its other position and the drum in their coactin positions; and Fig. 12 is a detail in Vertical cross section in front of the paper feed mechanism, showing the paper guide, the plane of the section being indicated by the line l2l2 on Fig. 1.

In Figs. 2 and 5, I have shown two spaced vertical frame plates I 0 and II parallel with each other which together with bracing cross rods hereinafter mentioned, constitute the main frame of the machine. Plate It also appears in Figs. 1 and 3 and the plate 5 I in Fig. 4. Ordinarily these frame plates and the machine carried thereby rest on a suitable base or stand indicated at E5 in Fig. 1. This stand may house a driving motor it connected by a belt H with a pulley l8 of the printing machine.

The printing machine includes a master sheet carrying drum 20, an ofifset drum and a platen 49 all suitably mounted between the two plates i ll andi i. Between these plates also is an inking mechanism 58 adapted to deliver ink to the master sheet 22 on the drum 2D, and a normally act- ;ing ink repellent applying mechanism 60 acting on a region of the master sheet in advance of theinkin mechanism- Also between the frame plates is mounted a special applicator mechanism 9B for initially treating the master sheet preliminary to the inking or printing operation.

Between the frame plates in and H, I also .nut 49.

mount the control mechanism Hill for the manual paper feed and a projecting paper support 86, and behind the platen I provide means for holding a removable receiving tray l2il. Various mechanisms hereinafter described are mounted on the exterior of the two frame plates iii and ii and are shielded by side cover plates l2. Substantially all of the parts of the machine between the frame plates may be covered by a suitable cover which is removed when the machine is operated. Such removable cover is indicated at it as extending over the entire top of the machine and downwardly beyond each end thereof to regions a short distance above the paper support and the inking fountain.

The master drum Ell is provided with an axially extending recess 23 in which is mounted an attaching means, generally indicated at 2B, for attaching a printing plate to the drum. The attaching means shown is substantially that shown in Patent No. 2,165,233 issued July 11, 1939 to Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation, as assignee of F. E. Curtis.

The master drum 22'; is rigidly mounted on a shaft 2I, the ends of which are preferably journalled in eccentric bushings 26 mounted in the frame plates I0 and II, to allow accurate alignment. The offset drum 3% is rotatably mounted on an eccentric central portion of a shaft 3i which is mounted in the two frame plates in a manner capable of a partial rotation, by which the position of the offset blanket 33 is adjusted with reference to both the master sheet and the platen as hereinafter described.

The platen it is rotatably mounted on an eccentric intermediate portion of a shaft 4|, the axial end portions of which are mounted in bearings carried by a yoke d2 pivoted to the plates ill andI I at 43 and spring pressed upwardly by a pair of spring units 35 which act against the transverse portion of the yoke distant from the pivot, as hereinafter more fully explained. These spring units maintain proper yielding pressure between the platen and the offset cylinder during the operation of the machine.

The. spring units 45 are identical in construction and are both indicated in Fig. 2, and one is shown in detail in Figs. 1 and 5. Each unit includes a spring 44 which bears at its lower end against a fixed cross bar it carried by the two frame plates I3 and l I. At their upper ends each spring acts against an adjustable stop 4? on a screw $3, the upper end of which is anchored to the yoke and the lower end of which passes through the cross bar 46, and is provided with a These nuts provide adjustable limits for the upward movement of the platen yoke.

The offset drum may be released from both the master drum and the platen by turning the eccentric shaft 3I on which the offset drum is mounted. This shaft is normally in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 11. As illustrated in Fig. 11, a cam 34 is secured to the shaft 3i and a spring 39 is connected between this cam and the frame plate ID to swing the shaft in a counterclockwise direction and thereby move the offset drum away from both the platen and the master drum. Normally the swinging of the shaft is prevented by a latch 31 which is retained in engagement with a tooth 35 on the cam by a spring 35.

The latch 3! has a suitable lateral extension 38 projecting through an opening in the cover on that side, so that whenever desired the latch maybe withdrawn from the cam 3d by manual pressure against the extension 38. This releases the cam 34 and permits the spring 39 to swing the offset drum shaft and bring the offset drum to its inactive position, shown in Fig. 10. When it is desired to restore the offset drum to its active position, the operator grasps a handle or knob 3-2 which is secured to the shaft 3I, and turns the same in a clockwise direction until the cam 3 is reengaged by the latch 31. The knob or handle 32 is indicated in broken lines on Fig. 3, and its hub is shown at 32 in Fig. 5.

I find it very desirable to bring the offset drum into coaction with the master drum only at a time when the gap in the master drum is juxtaposed to the offset blanket because this avoids any blow or impact on the image, which might tend to blur the reproduction. By starting the coaction when the gap on the master drum is opposite the offset drum the image is never submitted to other pressure than a rolling action.

To accomplish the result above noted I provide mechanism shown in Figs. 10 and 11. It will be there seen that the cam 34 is provided with a shoulder E55 and pivoted to the frame plate I0 is a dog I56 normally held in the path of the shoulder by the spring 35. This spring, as heretofore stated, acts on the latch lever 31' and is anchored at one end of that lever and at the other end to the dog I55 and tends to hold each of these members against suitable stops secured to the frame plate. I mount on the lever '12 a pawl I51 normally held in the position shown in Fig. 10 by a spring 158, which tends to retain a pin I53 on the pawl against a portion of the lever 12.

The lever 12 is so timed with relation to the drums that it is swinging in a counterclockwise direction when the gap of the master drum is passing the blanket drum. In the latter portion of this movement the pawl I5! acts on the dog I53 and swings the lower end thereof out of the path of the shoulder 555, allowing the hand lever 32 to turn the eccentric shaft into the position shown in Fig. 11, before the gap has passed the blanket, so that the blanket is in position to enage the master sheet as the rotation continues and brings the master'sheet by rollin action into juxtaposition with the blanket.

In the operation of the machine, when the operator desires to cause the engagement of the master with the blanket he grasps the handle 32 and starts to turn it in the clockwise direction. If the gap in the master drum happens to be opposite the blanket at this time the dog I56 will leave the cam 34 free to move into position shown in Fig. 11. However, usually some other portion of the master sheet will be opposite the blanket when the operator starts to turn the handle 32 and hence the shoulder I55 will engage the dog I56 and the turning will be stopped before the blanket i contacting with the master. The operator then continues his manual pressure in the clockwise direction, against the action of the spring 38, until the dog I55 is freed from the shoulder, whereupon the completion of the movement of the hand lever actively positions the blanket ready to receive imprint of the image by rolling contact.

On the back stroke of the lever I2 the pawl I51 clicks idly across the end of the dog I56, as allowed by the spring I58.

It will be noted that the arrangement is such that the pawl I51 will engage the dog I56 for a relatively short period of time, quickl sliding from the end of the dog and permitting the dog to swing into the active position shown in'Fig.

5. 10, before the gap in the drum has passed the point of contact of the two drums.

As shown, the inking mechanism 58 comprises a fountain 55 adapted to contain ink, a fountain roller 52 therein, a swinging'ductor roller 53, a longitudinally reciprc'cable distributing roller and a form roller The latter coacts with the master sheet 22 on the drum 2% and with the distributing roll 5 The ductor roll swings back and forth between the fountain roller and the distributing roll.

The form roll 55 may be manually separated from the master sheet 22 to facilitate the initial application of ink repellent thereto, as well as to facilitate the subsitution of one master sheet for another. As illustrated the form roll 55 is mounted between a pair of plates lit pivoted to the respective frame plates it and ii and drawn by springs 5'! toward the master sheet under the control of an adjustable stop screw 58. A suitable cam rodfifl rotatively mounted in the frame plates is adapted to be turned by the operation of a hand lever (Figs. 2 and 3) to cam the plates 58 in a direction to separate the form roll from the drum.

The normal ink repellent applicator mechanism which acts on the master sheet during each revolution of the master drum, as illustrated in Fig. 1, comprises a trough 65 adapted to contain a liquid ink repellent, a fountain roll 62 immersed therein, a swinging ductor roll 63 and an absorbent form roll '64. The form roll is mounted in a pair of pivoted end bars 65 which are drawn toward the master drum 28 by springs tit under the control of adjustable stop screws iii. The ductor roll 63 oscillates between the fountain roll 62 and the form roll (i l to deliver repellent to the master sheet. V

The two ductor rolls 53 and 53, as well as the fountain rolls 52 and 52, for the ink and repellent respeciively are operated at the same time by a single cam 16 secured to the offset drum 3%,

which is driven by uitable gearing as hereinafter explained. This cam it acts against a roller ll (Fig. 3) on a lever 29 secured to a stub shaft 73 journalled in the frame Iii. A second lever 12 is secured intermediate its ends to the stub shaft 53 and is connected by a link it with a lever 15 pivoted about the axis of the ink fountain roll 52. This fountain roll carries on its end a ratchet wheel 76 which is acted on by apawl T1 pivotally mounted on the lever 75 and urged toward the ratchet by a spring '18. The lever l5 operates the ductor roll 53 in the manner described in Patent No. 2,165,235, issued July 11, 1939, to Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation, as assignee of F. E. Curtis.

The lever 72 also actuates the repellent ductor and fountain rolls. The upper end of this lever is connected by the link 82 to a lever ii on the axis of the repellent fountain roll 62. On the shaft of this fountain roll is a ratchet wheel 83 which is periodically advanced by a pawl operated b the lever 31. The lever '52 carries a cam 8t which acts on the frame 53 of the repellent ductor roll 63 to shift it between the repellent fountain roll 62 and the repellent form roll 55, after the manner of the Curtis Patent 2,165,235.

In the present machine, I have provided above the inking mechanism a special applying mechanism 90, which may be operated to apply a treating liquid in proper quantity and of the proper strength to the master sheet. before the inking of the image thereon for initial operation of the machine. -This special. app-lying mechanism com-- 6 prises a trough 9| shown as located above the inking mechanism and supported by the two frame plates l0 and l I. In this trough is a block $2 of a liquid storage material such as sponge rubber, The block extends the length of the trough and its lower portion extends into the liquid therein, while the upper portion reaches above the liquid, receiving capillary attraction. Between the upper portion of the block 92 and the master sheet, and normally out of contact with either of them, is an absorbent member as carried on a bar 96 which is secured to pivotally mounted arms 93. Suitable manual means may rock these arms. Fig. 1 indicates for this purpose a hand lever 95 which may be a continuation of one of these arms.

At the start of the operation of building up the image on the master sheet, the upper end of the hand lever 95 is pressed toward the left in Fig. 1, which presses the absorbent material 95 into engagement with the sponge rubber. This absorbent material, which is thus moistened throughout by. capillary action, extends around the bar 96 toward the drum 26 that when it. is swung by movement of the lever 95 toward the right in Fig. 1, the absorbent material bears or rubs against the master sheet on the rotating drum 2D and applies treating solution or preliminary repellent thereto. By furnishing repellent of proper strength and composition to the trough 9| and manipulating the roller 94 a few times between the sponge rubber reservoir and the master sheet, one can supply repellent of proper composition and sumcient strength to the master sheet to make an effective preliminary treatment in a brief time interval. If desired, this special repellent may be a concentrated form of such repellent as is applied normally on each cycle from the trough El.

I have found that in building up the image, it is quite effective to give the master drum about two revolutions with the saturated absorbent material 94 in contact therewith and while the offset blanket is held out of contact with the master sheet, and before the ink is applied to the master sheet. -Then I may rotate the master drum about four revolutions, retaining it still out of contact with the offset blanket, but with the ink form roll in contact with the master sheet to build up the inked image on the master sheet without further application of repellent. Then by rotating the master drum about four more revolutions, with the ink and normal repellent mechanism 511 and 63 respectively in active engagement with the master sheet, and with the offset blanket in contact with the master sheet, a proper inked image will be produced on the offset blanket. These preliminary rotations of the master drum 20 may be produced by power, by turning the motor switch off and on, or the drums may be manually rotated by a hand wheel 21 on the shaft of the master drum. The application of ink or repellent or both may be readily controlled by a hand lever 25 (Figs. 2 and 3) having four positions as shown in Patent No. 2,165,234 issued July 11, 1939 to Addressograph- Multigraph Corporation as assignee of F. E. Curtis.

After the image has been properly built up on the blanket cylinder, and the motor is running 'to drive the various parts, it is only necessary to feed sheets to the bite of the blanket and platen drums to eifect printing. The sheets to be printed are fed from a suitable tray 88 carried by the its liquid supply by frame of the machine and projecting at the forward end thereof and adapted to carry a number of sheets with their edges fanned out so that they can be manually shoved one after another toward the printing machine.

To control the feed, I provide a lower feed roller 50 I, and a coasting upper roller 32. Each of these rollers is made in two longitudinally spaced sections mounted on suitable shafts. Behind the line of contact of the two feed rollers is a stop finger I33 mounted on a pivoted bar and counterweighted by a forwardly extending plate I05. The shaft of the upper feed roller I02 is journalled in a yoke frame I which is pivoted at I01 and carries a roller I00 which coacts with a cam I09 secured to the offset drum (Figs. 1 and 5). This cam for the most part is concentric as shown in Fig. l and by acting on the roller I08 maintains the upper feed roller out of contact with the lower feed roller and allows the counterweighted stop fingers to stand in the position shown in Fig. 1, thus preventing the shoving of the paper to printing position.

The paper is shoved forwardly manually during the period of separation of the upper and lower feed rollers under a suitable downwardly inclined guide us until it abuts the fingers Hi3. Now when the flattened portion of the cam I68- comes opposite the roller iSS this frees that roller and the upper feed roller E02 descends by gravity into engagement, with the lower feed roller. At the same time, a pin iii depending from the front portion of the pivoted yoke engages a lever IE2 on the bar I0 3 carrying the stop fingers. This swings the stop fingers down to idle position, out of the path of the sheet.

The lowering of the upper feed roll not only removes the stop fingers from the path of the sheet but also because of the rotation of thelower feed roller, as will hereinafter be explained, causes the sheet to be fed forward between suitable guides indicated at H4 and H6 in Fig. 1 into the bite of the offset blanket and platen. For simplicity, I. have not shown any gripper on the offset .drum for engaging the sheets. However, if desired 1 may employ a gripper, such as is shown in the Patent No. 2,165,331, issued July 11, 1939 to .Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation as assigness of F. E. Curtis. In that case the guides I I4 and I it will preferably be of the form shown in that patent to allow a change in the direction of the sheet adjacent the forward end, enabling it to buckle as the forward end passes into the gripper so that it is not injured by being shoved against a definitev stop on the gripper but when it reaches that stop excess of this movement is taken up in buckling, as set out in that patent.

After passing through the bite of the offset blanket and platen the printed sheet is delivered to a suitable tray for removal from the machine. I have indicated in Fig. i a tray l ZEi occupying the lower portion of forward space between the frame plates, this tray resting on a suitable cross rod I2I of the frame and heldthereto by a downward hook I22. Wheneverdesired the tray may be simply lifted free from the rod and drawn out with its contents at the far end of the machine.

The paper feed rolls are held separated while the master sheet is being prepared for the print ingoperation. To accomplish this I prefer to use the latch mechanism 34, 35, 3E, 31- which is used to separate the offset and master drums during the period of pr paration. heretofore described. A roller E50 is mounted on the yoke 10!; which cm'ries the upperfeed roll I62. When Lin the offset drum shaft is in its idle position (Fig. 10) this roller is engaged by the cam 34 in such manner as to swing the yoke to raise the upper feed roll I02.

The cam 30, it will be seen, performs three functions; it holds the feed rollers separate when the drums are idle; it prevents the positioning of the blanket drum except when the gap of the master drum is opposite it, and it retains the blanket drum in its active position when it has been so placed until released by the actuation of the finger member 38 on the latch 31.

Whenever during each cycle of operation, at the proper time for a sheet to be gripped between the feed rollers IOI and E62, a test is made for the presence or absence of such sheet. If the sheet is present the operation proceeds in the normal manner as described. If the sheet is absent the platen shaft M is automatically turned to withdraw the platen from the offset blanket so that the image on the offset blanket is not transferred to the platen surface. This operation will now be described.

A plate I30 is secured to a sleeve I24 which embraces the end of the platen shaft II and which is drivingly connected to the shaft AI by a pin I25 (Figs. 5 and 6). The plate I30 is provided with a tooth ISI which is normally engaged by a latch or a strut lever I32 pivoted at I33 to the frame plate I0. To the lower end of the plate I30 is attached a link i35 drawn toward the right (Fig. 3) by a spring I36 anchored at its left hand end to the lever and at its right hand end to a pin IS? on the frame plate I0. This spring tends to swing the plate I30 and the platen shaft in a counter-clockwise direction which movement is normally prevented by the latch or strut lever I32.

Pivotally carried by two frame plates I and ESI (Figs. 2 and 12) which are secured to and lie adjacent respective frame plates I0 and II is a rod I40 carrying a feeler finger I lI extending between two sections of the roller IOI and beneath the annular gap in the roller I02. Rigid on the shaft I00 is a rocking lever I42 acted on by a spring I43 which tends to turn the shaft M0 to raise the stop finger. An extension of the lever I42 is connected by a link I44 with the latch I32. The connection as shown is yielding by reason of link I40 being slotted about a pin I45 carried by the latch I32, this pin being connected by a spring I45 with the link. The pin I45 is adjustably mounted in a slot in the latch I32 and extending lengthwise thereof. ustment of the position. of this pin enables the normal position of the feeler finger I iI to be nicely set.

When during the cycle of operation a sheet should be gripped between the two feed rollers IOI and I02 but before the sheet should reach the bite of the platen and offset drums, the plate E30 is acted on by a suitable mechanism about to be described, so that it is given a very slight turn in a clockwise direction, relieving the pressure of the tooth I3I on the strut lever or latch I32 as illustrated in Fig. '7. Thereupon the spring I43 tends to swing the feeler finger I lI upwardly and will do so if no paper is present, in which case the link I44 will withdraw the lever I32 from the path of the tooth ISI, and the spring 35 will swing the plate I30 counterclockwise thus turning the eccentric platen shaft and lowering the platen to idle position, as shown in Fig. 8. In this position the platen is free from the. blanket, as the downward movement,

caused by the eccentric shaft is greater than the slight upward movement allowed to the platen by the stop nuts 43 on the screws and caused by the springs 44.

However, if there is a sheet of paper between the two feed rollers at the time the feeler finger tends to move upwardly, this sheet will bridge the gap across the two sections of the upper feed roller and the finger cannot move up into the freeing position but will be held down by the sheet of paper. This will retain the strut lever in the path of the latch tooth IBi, with the result that when the means acting on the plate I relieves it so that it tends to turn in the counter-clockwise direction it can only turn a very slight distance, that is back to its normal position shown in Fig. 3.

The means for turning the plate I38 to relieve the pressure on the latch or strut lever I32 .is shown as a pawl I438 on the lower end of the lever I2 heretofore described. This pawl is acted on by a spring i 59 tending to maintain it in the position shown in Figs. 3, 3 and 9. When the lever 12 is swung bythe cam Iii, heretofore referred to, in the direction toward the right in Fig. 3, the pawl Hit bears downwardly on a roller I33 carried by the plate I38 while passing across it. The consequent movement of the plate I 36 is slight as indicated in Fig. 7. It is, however, suflicient to swing the tooth ital free from the strut lever, as shown in Fig. '7. This allows the feeler MI to test for the presence or absence of paper.

Assuming the paper is absent at the time when it should be present, then the paper detector swings the strut lever into the position shown in Fig. 8 and the spring :35 swings the plate I36 into the position there shown. As the lower end of the lever 12 is swinging toward the left by its spring 87 under'the control of the cam is, the pawl Hi3 encounters the roller I38 but by reason of the spring I49 may tip on its pivot and thus pass idly to the left side of the roller I38.

Now on thereturn stroke of the lever l2 the pawl in moving toward the right engages the roller I33 and carries it and the upper end of the plate I to the right, thus bringing the tooth It'I into position above the strut lever 32, and if a sheet of paper is present between the feel rollers, in position to hold the feeler finger down, the strut lever I32 will be swung into its active position, so that the platen remains restored.

It will be seen therefore that on every cycle of operation a test is made for the presence er absence of a sheet. The feeler and its linkage, which is normally held in idle position, is released for action by the slight turning of the plate I353 into the position of Fig. 7; then if the paper is absent the plate swings into the position of Fig. 8 turning the platen down. If the paper, however, is present the plate returns only a slight distance until its tooth i3i abuts the upper end of the strut lever, as shown in Fig. 9.

To prevent excess inking of the transfer blanket in case a sheet fails to be fed, I provide means whereby such failure causes the mechanism for turning the fountain roller heretofore described to be ineffective for such cycle of operation. I effect this in a very simple manner by linking the pawl i? to the plate I! in a manner holding the pawl idle whenever the platen is turned down, as shown in Fig. To accom plish this I prefer to utilize the same link I35 which is actuated by the spring I36, to turn the released platen down to idle position. I extend 10 the link I35 beyond the guiding pin I 3'! as shown at I 39 in Figs. 3 and 7 to 9. I pivot to such ex tension a link I59 which has a slot I5! extending about a pin "is on the lower end of the pawl T1,

In the normal position of the parts, with the platen up as shown in Figs. 3, 7 and 9, the link I is idle and the pawl is operated by the cam and link mechanism '12, l4, l5 heretofore described, the same as if the link E56 were absent, the pin is simply traveling idle in the slot I5I as shown in Figs. 7 and 9. However, when the platen is turned down, by reason of the withdrawal of the latch I 32 due to the absence of paper, the link I50 assumes the position shown in Fig. 8, which brings the left hand end of the slot I5! into position so that when the lever is rocks the pawl carrier 75, the pin I9 engages the end of the slot I5! and can move no further toward the left. Accordingly, as the pawl carrier swings the pivot of the pawl it tips the nose of the pawl to the left so that it cannot engage the ratchet it, the pawl thus moving to the position indicated in Fig. 8. The result is thatif during each cycle of operation a sheet is not fed between the feed rolls IflI and I82 the pawl becomes rendered inactive for such cycle of operation and no fresh ink is supplied to the ink ductor, 53 by the fountain roller 52.

The fountain roller 52 is tight on its shaft and this shaft carries a knob 552 on its end whereby the roller may be manually turned whenever desired to present additional ink to the ductor 53 or when initially placing the machine in operation.

While any suitable gearing may be used to rotate the various rotatable parts of the machine, I will, for completeness, describe the particular gearing shown in the drawings. This is best shown in Figs. 1 and 4, as there appears the motor It by its belt I! operates a large sheave I8 (shown in dotted lines in'Fig. 'l)- which is on a shaft 63 rigidly carrying a pinion I61. This pinion is shown as meshing with the gear 62 on a stub shaft I53 carrying the pinion I58. The rinion It?! meshes with a pinion ltd, which meshes with a gear 65 on the master drum 20. p The pinion I54 also is shown as meshing with a gear IE? on the shaft of the distributing roll 54 of the inking system.

The Hi5 on the master drum, which a pitch circle corresponding to the periphery of the mounted master sheet, is shown as meshing with an equal size gear I on the offset drum. This latter gear meshes with a gear I?! on the platen shaft, and also meshes with an idler gear I72 which meshes with a pinion I13 on a stub shaft H4 carried by the frame plate I88. On this shaft is a gear E15 meshing with a gear I16 on the shaft IIl of the lower feed roller :ez.

Reference is made to my pending application No. 578,288, filed February 16, 1945, now matured into Patent No. 2,443,458, June 15, 1948, for claims relating to the manually movable member adapted to transfer material from an absorbent reservoir to the master sheet and to my application No. 652,262, filed March 6, 1946, for claims relating to the means for controlling the starting of contact between the master sheet and the offset blanket.

I claim:

in a printing machine, rotary-printing an ink'ug therefor including a form 1 the drum, a fountain roll, transfer means operating timed relation with the drum to transfer ink from the fountain roll to the form roll, a ratchet on the fountain roll, a pawl carrier carried by the axis of the ratchet and having a pawl to engage the ratchet, means operating in timed relation to the drum to oscillate the pawl carrier to propel the ratchet and turn the fountain roller, a paper detector, a platen roll, means controlled. by said detector to shift the platen roll to an idle position consequent upon the absence of paper, linkage directly inter connecting said last named means with said pawl to move the pawl to an idle position without disturbing the swinging movement of the pawl carrier whereby the supply of ink to the fountain roll is interrupted without disturbing the operation of the form roll or the ink transfer means' and means to automatically restore the platen and said pawl consequent upon the presence of paper at the detecting position.

2. In a printing machine having a frame, a rotary printing drum rotata'ply mounted in said frame, an inking system for such drum including an ink fountain, a fountain roll to remove ink from said fountain, a form roll coacting with the dr m o apply in reto, means to transfer ink from the fountain roll to the form roll, driving means to rotate the drum, means to operate said fountain roll and said transfer means and said form roll in timed relation to said drum, said means including a pivoted arm mounted for rotation about the axis of said fountain roll, a ratchet 3 drivingly connected With said fountain roll, a pawl mounted on said arm and adapted to he moved into and out of cooperative engagement with said ratchet, resilient means normally acting to move said pawl into engagement with said ratchet, an arm pivoted on said frame, a cam mounted for rotation in timed relation with said printing drum to swing said last named arm, a link interconnecting said arms, means carried by said link to actuate said transfer means, a paper detector, means controlled by said paper detector and connected with said first named arm to swing said arm to move said pawl away from said ratchet wheel consequent upon the absence of paper in said machine and thereby i2 stop the operation of said fountain roll without affecting the operation of said form roll and said transfer means.

3. In a printing machine, a rotary printing drum, an inking system therefor including a form roll coacting with the drum, a fountain roll, transfer means operating in timed relation with thedrum to transfer ink from the fountain roll to the form roll, a drive mechanism for the fountain roll, a paper detector, a platen roll, means controlled by said detector to shift the platen roll to an idle position consequent upon the absence of paper, linkage directly connecting the platen shifting means with the drive mechanism for the fountain roll whereby the supply of ink to the fountain roll is interrupted without disturbing the operation of the form roll relative to either the drum or the ink transfer means.

EDWARD J. JANKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 770,488 White Sept. 20, 19 4 951,217 Parker Mar. 8, 1910 956,256 Smith Aug. 2, 1910 971,765 Main Oct. 4, 1910 998,340 Hunting July 18, 1911 1,058,017 Scott Apr. 1, 1913 1,114,020 Niles Oct. 20, 1914 1,159,860 Niles Nov. 9, 1915 1,397,881 Schmidt Nov. 22, 1921 1,647,566 Chisholm et al Nov. 1, 1927 1,683,718 Gegenheimer Sept. 11, 1928 1,718,960 Fischer June 25, 1929 2,166,732 Goedike Feb. 1, 1938 2,126,768 Goedike Aug. 16, 1938 2,162,812 Harrold .et al June 20, 1939 2,165,231 Curtis July 11, 1939 2,349,634 Neal May 23, 1944 2,387,750 Davidson Oct. 30, 1945

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