US3691956A

US3691956A - Flat adjusting and throw-off arrangement for form roller in printing press

Info

Publication number: US3691956A
Application number: US91362A
Authority: US
Inventors: Cyril P James; Bohdan Washchynsky
Original assignee: North American Rockwell Corp
Current assignee: Boeing North American Inc
Priority date: 1970-11-20
Filing date: 1970-11-20
Publication date: 1972-09-19
Anticipated expiration: 1989-09-19
Also published as: CA936749A; DE2155496A1; JPS5516832B1; DE2155496C2; GB1313066A; CH538936A

Abstract

A mechanism for achieving adjustment and throw-off of the cylinders and rollers of a printing press which includes eccentric collars for mounting the plate cylinder and which includes sockets with adjustable stops for mounting the form rollers, the sockets being inwardly biased. A cam ring which is generally concentric with the plate cylinder provides sloping stop surfaces, or cams, in the path of biased movement of the stops on the form roller sockets to position the sockets so that the form rollers have a desired width of flat with respect to the plate on the plate cylinder. An adjusting screw on the frame of the press, and which is coupled to the ring, serves to rock the ring through a limited angle thereby to cam the roller sockets outwardly or inwardly with respect to the plate cylinder to vary the width of flat while the press is in motion. In the preferred embodiment the cam ring axis is made slightly eccentric with respect to the axis of the plate cylinder so that when the eccentric collars which mount the plate cylinder are rotated to achieve throw-off between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder, the relative rocking of the cam ring causes the stop surfaces thereon to move radially outward of the plate cylinder for simultaneous and automatic throw-off of the form rollers from the plate cylinder. Each form roller socket assembly has an arm, a bearing mount pivoted thereon, and an adjustable stop member. A first adjusting screw with an associated spring is interposed between the arm and the bearing mount for adjusting the roller with respect to the ink drum. A second adjusting screw, with a spring is interposed between the arm and the stop member for adjusting the roller with respect to the plate cylinder. Each adjusting screw has a deeply detented seating member for shifting the screw endwise against its spring for achieving independent throw-off without affecting the adjusted condition of the screw.

Description

United States Patent James et a1.

[72] Inventors: Cyril P. James, La Grange; Bohdan Washchynsky, Westchester, both of 111.

731 Assignee: North American Rockwell Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: Nov. 20, 1970 [211 Appl. No.: 91,362

Primary Examiner-J. Reed Fisher 4tt0rney-J0hn R Bronaugh et al.

[451 Sept. 19, 1972 57 ABSTRACT A mechanism for achieving adjustment and throwoff of the cylinders and rollers of a printing press which includes eccentric collars for mounting the plate cylinder and which includes sockets with adjustable stops for mounting the form rollers, the sockets being inwardly biased. A cam ring which is generally concentric with the plate cylinder provides sloping stop surfaces, or cams, in the path of biased movement of the stops on the form roller sockets to position the sockets so that the form rollers have a desired width of flat with respect to the plate on the plate cylinder. An

adjusting screw on the frame of the press, and which is coupled to the ring, serves to rock the ring through a limited angle thereby to cam the roller sockets outwardly or inwardly with respect to the plate cylinder to vary the width of flat while the press is in motion. In the preferred embodiment the cam ring axis is made slightly eccentric with respect to the axis of the plate cylinder so that when the eccentric collars which mount the plate cylinder are rotated to achieve throwoff between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder, the relative rocking of the cam ring causes the stop surfaces thereon to move radially outward of the plate cylinder for simultaneous and automatic throw-off of the form rollers from the plate cylinder. Each form roller socket assembly has an arm, a bearing mount pivoted thereon, and an adjustable stop member. A first adjusting screw with an associated s rin i inte osed between the arm and the bearin 0115: i or ad ji tsting the roller with respect to the in drum. A second adjusting screw, with a spring is interposed between the arm and the stop member for adjusting the roller with respect to the plate cylinder. Each adjusting screw has a deeply detented seating member for shifting the screw endwise against its spring for achieving independent throw-off without affecting the adjusted condition of the screw.

ll Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEB SEP 19 1912 sum 5 or 5 PNENTED 3.691.956

- sum 6 or 6 I FLAT ADJUSTING-AND THROW-OFF ARRANGEMENT FOR FORMROLLER' IN PRINTING PRESS A conventional letterpress' used in the; printing of .newspapers-and the like employsa,-printing couple consistingof a plate cylinder to which a printing plate is secured and an impression cylinder, with the web to be printed running between the two cylinders. A film of .inkisconveyed tothe surface of the printing pla'teby -means of resiliently surfaced form rollers which run in contactwith the printing plate and also in contact'with thesurface of an ink drum to whichink is supplied by a series of rollers from an ink fountain To insure that all printing areas of the plate are adequately inked, the-form roller is preferably pressed in the direction of the plate cylinder to form a flat.at the region of engagement with the plate. The amount of pressure, as evidenced by width of flat; is not critical in the case of stereotype plates in whichthe printing areas are in high relief. However in the case of chemically etched plates the relief is considerably less and there is 'ment. It is a moredetailed object in this connection to provide an inkroller socket assemblywhich not only permits precise adjustment of pressure and position but.

which includes 'means for independent throw-off of eachform roller with respect to the plate cylinder and ink drum respectively.

It is a-general object of the present invention to provide means to effect a running adjustment of Hart simple in construction and capable of operating risk that-some of the ink will be forced, by the resilient surface of the form roller, down into the non-printing hollows to cause undesired fill-in. Even where care' is exercised toprovide the desired width of flat on start- -u p, the expansion of the plate cylinder and form rollers maybe-sufficient to increase the pressure and width of flat to-an excessive degree as the press comes up'to operating temperature.

There is, therefore, a need for means for 'conveniently changing the width of flat on-the fonnroller to compensate for an increase in temperature'with the .press in-motion.

-It-is, accordingly, an object of the present invention toprovide means for precisely positioning a form roller with respect to its associated plate cylinderto establish a desired width of flat atthe region of engagementon start-up and to permit a fine adjustment of the position of the form roller to reestablish the desired width of flat after 'warm up and with the .press in motion. It is a re- ;lated object to provide a form roller adjusting means which permits simultaneous adjustment of flat width at two different form rollers using but a single, calibrated control at each end of the rollers.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide an adjusting arrangement for a pair of form rollers which utilizes a cam ring which is ro'ckably mounted at the end of the plate cylinder and which has on its periphery cam surfaces arranged blockingly in the path of movement of biased ink roller socket assemblies with means for manually rocking the ring through a limited arc to change the working position of the ink roller sockets.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an ink roller adjusting and-throw-off mechanism which not only permits throw-off, or separation, of the plate cylinder with respect to the impression cylinder, but which brings about a simultaneous, automatic throw-off of the form rollers from the surface of the plate on the plate cylinder.

It is an object of the invention in one of its aspects to provide a socket assembly and actuating mechanism which permits running adjustment of the flat on the form rollers and which includes means for precisely adjusting the initial condition of flat to establish a reference condition for the subsequent running adjustwithout care or maintenance over long periods of time. A Other objects and advantages of the invention will 'become'apparent upon reading the attached detailed description andu'pon reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. '1 is a diagramatic end view of a flat adjusting and throw-off mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1. FIG. 2a is a diagram showing independent controls for the cam rings and a unitary control for simultaneously rocking the eccentric collars for throwoff.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of one of the socket roller assemblies of FIG. -1.

FIG. 4'is a'fragmentary section looking along the line. 4-4inj FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section looking along the line 5-5 inFIG. 3.

FIG. 6'is' an exploded perspective of the socket assembly shown'in FIG. 3. r

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a typical running adjustment to correct excess flat width.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing simultaneous throw-off of the plate cylinder and form rollers.

FIG. '8a is a diagram on an enlarged scale showing the shifting of the'centers.

FIG. 9 shows independent throw-off of the form roller by'r'neans'on the ink roller socket.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective, in partial section, showing a deeply detented seating member interposed under thehead of the screw.

While the invention has been described in connection with certain embodiments, it will be understood that there is no intention to limit the invention to these embodiments and that we intend to cover the various alternative and equivalent constructions included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Turning now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a portion of a printing press of well-known type used for printing newspapers and the like having a printing couple which consists of a plate cylinder 11 and impression cylinder 12. The plate cylinder has a stubshaft l3 centered on its axis 14 and which is mounted in a suitable bearinglS.

For the purpose of shifting the plate cylinder away form the impression cylinder to achieve a condition of throw-off the bearing 15 is mounted in an eccentric collar 16 having an axis 17 and which is fitted in a circular bore 18 formed in the press side member or frame 20. For the purpose of holding the collar captive against endwise movement the collar is fitted with a retaining ring 21 on the left hand side and with a flange 22 on the right hand side which is secured to the collar by a series of cap screws 23. For rocking the collar 16, the flange 22 is fitted with a connection 24-which is engaged by a thrust rod 25 connected to a conventional throw-off control diagramatically indicated, in FIG. 2a, at 26. lt will be understood thatcorresponding structure including a stubshaft, bearing, collar and thrust rod are provided at the opposite end of the plate cylinder so that when the control 26 is operatedthe collars l6are rotated in the same direction and to equal degree.

For the sake of completeness, mention may be made of the fact that the impression cylinder 12 has a stubshaft 33 for rotation about an axis 34 in a bearing 35 which is mounted in a fixed collar 36 secured to the frame plate by a circle of machine screws 37. The

shafts

13, 33 are rotated in unison by suitable driving means.

It is oneof the features of the disclosed press that it is intended especially for printing plates havingonly limited relief on the order of a few hundredths of an inch or less as contrasted with stereotype plates in which the type is cast with high relief.,The'web, which is fed in a continuous length, is passed around the impression cylinder 12 to take the printed impression, the cylinder being covered with a blanket of paper or the like of a hardness appropriate to low relief.

For the purpose-of conveying an ink film to the printing surfaces of the plate, an ink feed system consisting of an ink fountain and a plurality of feed rollers (not shown) is provided terminating in a hard surfaced ink drum 40 having a shaft 41 which is journaled in the conventional way in the frame plates of the press. A film of ink is conveyed from the ink drum 40 to the plate by a pair of resilient form rollers 42, 42a which are located on the opposite sides of the ink drum,and which, under running conditions, bear upon both the drum and plate so that the ink film on the plate'is constantly renewed.

For supporting the form roller 42, the stubshaft 43 at the end of the roller is mounted in an ink roller socket generally indicated at 50 and shown in detail in FIGS. 3-6. The socket includes an arm 51 (see especially FIG. 6) which is pivoted to the frame on a screw 52 which serves as a pivot pin and which is located in the region of engagement 53 of the form roller with the ink drum. The remote end of the arm, indicated at 54, is biased in the direction of the plate cylinder by means of a spring 55 which is seated in a spring support 56 secured to'the frame by screws 57. Pivoted to the arm on a stud 60 is a bearing mount 61 carrying an anti-friction bearing 62 for journaling the stubshaft 43 at the end of the roller.

For thepurpose of adjusting the pressure between the form roller 42 and the ink drum 40, the stud 60 on which the bearing mount is pivoted is located in the region of engagement 63 between the form roller and plate cylinder, with an adjusting screw for holding the bearing mount in a desired angular position. The screw, indicated at 70, has a hexagonal head 71 in the form of a nut which is fixed to the screw by a pin 72. For supporting the screw in the arm 51, the arm is provided with an extension 73 which mounts a supporting member 74 having a projecting portion, or post,

through which the screw is freely telescoped. lnterposed between the support 74 and the head 7] of the screw is a detented seating member 75 to which more detailed reference will be made. It will suffice for the present to say that the screw head 71 is maintained seated with respect to the support 74 by a coil spring 76 which encircles the screw and which bears against a nut 77 fixed to the central portion of the screw by a pin 78.

To couple the adjusting screw 70 to the bearing mount 61 the screw is threadedinto a transversely threaded post 79 which carries a stud 80 extending through the bearing mount, the latter having at its end, a nut 81. Providing clearance for the stud 80 is an arcuately shaped clearance opening 82 formed in the portion 73 of the arm. It will be apparent, then, that when the screw 70 is rotated by a wrench engaging the'head 71, the post 79 and its stud 80 will be moved in one direction or the other to move the bearing mount 61 r and the form roller which it carries, either toward or away from the ink drum 40.

While the discussion has been centered upon the ink roller socket 50 associated with the form roller 42, it will be understood that a similarv construction isused in the socket 50a which supports the form roller 42a on he opposite side of the ink drum, except that all of the parts are constructed and arranged as a mirror image. Corresponding reference numerals, with addition of subscript a, are used'to denote corresponding parts. It will further be understood that socket structure corresponding to the sockets 50, 50a is employed at the opposite ends of the form rollers 42, 42a. In accordance with the present invention the arm 51 of the socket is mounted for swinging movement about a mounting post 52 which is located in the region of engagement between the form roller and the ink drum, and a cam ring is provided at the end of the plate cylinder presenting a sloping cam surface which acts as a variable stop for positively positioning the arm of the ink roller socket thereby to permit variation of the width of flat on the form roller while the press is in motion. In addition, to achieve an initial condition of flat adjustment, an adjustable stop member is provided on the arm 51 effectively interposed between the socket structure and the cam surface on the ring. Thus, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a cam ring is positioned at the end of the plate cylinder encircling the stubshaft l3 and seated in a groove 91 formed in the collar 16 which supports the cylinder bearing. For maintaining the ring captive, a retaining flange 92 is secured by a circle of screws 93 to the inner axial end face of the collar. To

facilitate assembly, the ring 90 is preferably formed in two half circles which are secured together by screws 94. Machined on the periphery of the ring 90 is a sloping cam surface 95 which serves as a variable stop surface for the socket. It will be noted that the cam surface 95 has a height hl at one end which is just slightly higher than the height h2 at the other end.

Returning attention to the socket structure, the arm 51 of the socket is held in working position by a stop member of arcuate shape having a stop 101 at the center portion thereof lying in the same plane as the cam surface 95 of the ring. The stop member 100 is member 114 and thehead 111 of the screw is a de-' tented seating member .1 15. The screw is maintained in its seated position by means of a coil spring .116 which seats on a nut 117 pinned to the central portion of the screwby a transversely extending pin .118. The tip of the screw is screwed into a transversely threaded pivot 119 of circular shape which is captive in the arrn-51. It will ,be apparent, then, that when the screw 1.10 is rotated by a wrench fitted to its head 11 l, with the stop 101 in bottoming contact with the cam surface 95 on the ring, the arm 51 and the form roller 42 which is secured to it will be moved radially inwardly or outwardly with respect to the plate cylinder 11 to permit initial adjustment of the width of flat at the region of engagement 63 between the form roller and plate cylinder.

in the case of the roller socket 50a, a second cam surface 95a is provided on the cam ring for engagement by a stop 101a on stop member 100a. An identical adjusting screw assembly is interposed between the stop member 100a and the arm 51a, with corresponding elements being indicated by corresponding reference numerals with the addition of letter subscript. it will be understood that the cam surfaces 95, 95a are so shaped that a given amount of rocking movement imparted to the cam ring produces an identical amount of radial movement at the axis of each of the form rollers.

For the purpose of rocking the cam ring 90 through a limited arc in one direction or the other, an adjusting screw is provided which is secured to the frame of the press and which is coupled at its end to the ring. Thus, referring to FIG. 1, the adjusting screw indicated at l0 is rotatable but axially captive in a mount 131 which is fixed with respect to the press frame 20. At its outer end the adjusting screw 130 carries an adjusting knob 132 while at its inner end the screw is threaded at 133 for engagement with a transversely threaded pivot pin which is mounted on an arm 135 integrally formed with the ring 90. To severely limit the amount of rocking throw of the ring 90, a stop 136 is provided on the frame in the path of movement of spaced stop surfaces defined by adjusting screws 137 138 mounted generally tangentially with respect to the ring.

The operation of the structure thus far described will be apparent upon referring to FIG. 7. Initially, adjusting screws 70, 70a are adjusted either backwardly or forwardly, so that the form rollers 42, 42a are in proper running engagement with respect to the ink drum 40. Similarly, with the ring 90 in a reference position, the screws 110, 110a are adjusted with the plate in place on the plate cylinder so that a desired amount of pressure is applied against the plate in the regions of engagement 63, 63a, the desired pressure being that which produces thedesired width of flat on the form rollers.

However when the press is rolling the temperature of the cylinders and rollers tends to increase, with the increase in the temperature of the plate cylinder bringing about an expansion in its radial dimension. 'As a result, when operating temperature is achievedthe degree of flat at the surfaces of the form rollers, and which is indicated at 63, 63a in FIG. 7 may become excessive.' lndeed the accompanying increase in pressure between the form rollers and the plate cylinder may be sufficient so that the resilient surfacingmaterial on the form roller is forced into the relieved spaces betweenzthe printing areas to cause fill-in.

To reduce the width of flat-and the pressure in the region of engagement, the screw130by its knob'l32,'is rotated in a. direction which will move the ring 90 clockwise, say, from the position indicated by the solid lines inFlG. 7 to the position indicated by the dotted lines. Thisrotates the cam surfaces 95, 95 a into a higher position'relative to the stops 101, 101a so that V the stops are forced radially outward with respect to the plate cylinder, thereby-to restore the 'flat to optimum width.

It will be understood that a cam ring corresponding to the ring and an adjusting screw corresponding to the adjusting screw are provided at the opposite endof the plate cylinder for adjusting the sockets at the opposite end and that the knobs 132 at each end are identically calibrated so that a given amount of angular advancement of the knobs produces a corresponding change in the width of fiat, thereby insuring that the flat is of constant width along the entire length of the plate cylinder. The width of flat may be monitored during the press run and corrective adjustment may be made by the knobs 132 from time to time. Or, as a result of experience in prior press runs, the adjusting knobs 132 may be rotated incrementally in accordance with a standard time schedule without necessity for monitoring.

in accordance with a further aspect of the present invention the cam rings 90 (one at each end) are mounted on the collars 16 for rocking movement about an axis which is eccentric with respect to the axis of the plate cylinder so that when the collars are rocked in alined bores 18 in a direction to achieve throw-off, or separation, of the plate cylinder with respect to the impression cylinder, the cam surfaces 95, 95a on the cam ring move radially outward with respect to the axis of the plate cylinder thereby to shift the stops 101, 101a on the sockets outwardly to achieve simultaneous and automatic throw-off of the form rollers from the plate on the plate cylinder. This is accomplished by machining the groove 91 in each collar 16 so that it is eccentric with respect to the axis 14 of the plate cylinder bearing, the ring axis being indicated at in FIGS. 1 and 2. in order to achieve the desired effect the ring axis 140 should be located remotely with respect to the collar or bore axis 17. In other words, the ring axis should lie beyond the plate axis 14 so that, for a given amount of rotation of the collar, the ring axis is displaced more than the axis of the plate cylinder. With the form rollers located below the plate cylinder, and with the impression cylinder at the upper right, the axes are horizontally arranged in the order of: bore (collar) axis 17, cylinder axis 14, and cam ring axis 140;

In order to understand how the automatic throw-off of the form rollers comes about, reference is made to FIGS. 8 and 8a. During rotation of the collars through an-angle a, the plate cylinder axis moves from the position 14 to the position 14a and the ring axis moves from the position 140 to the position 140a. Because the ring axis is remote from the bore axis and since it starts its movement at a more favorable level (more favorable asfar as downward component is concerned) the ring is displaced downwardly (see FIG. 8a) by a greater amount than the corresponding portion of the plate cylinder. This results in relative movement of the form roller sockets away from the plate cylinder. Thus, at the same time that separation, or throw-off, occurs at the region 141 between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder, throw-off occurs at the regions 63, 63a between the form roller and plate-cylinder.

- Referring more specifically to FIG. 8, it will be ap parent that the movement between the initial position 95 of the cam surface to the new position 95' exceeds the movement measured either downwardly or radially (which ever is taken as a reference) of the engaged porroller and ink drum. Thus, as shown in FIG. 10, the detion of the plate cylinder, which moves from position 11 to the new position 114, The difference in these two movements is evidenced, first, by a release of the pressure applied from the form roller 42 to the plate cylinder and, secondly, by the actual physical separation,or throw-off, of the form roller with respect to the plate cylinder.

Similarly in the case of the second form roller 42a, the cam surface 95a moves to a new position 95a while the corresponding engaged portion of the plate cylinder moves from position 11-to position 11a. While the components of the motion are somewhat different in the case of the second form roller since it occupies a different peripheral position, with respect to the cluster of axes, nevertheless it will be apparent that the displacement of the cam surface, 95a and hence displacement of the form roller, is greater than the displacement at the engaged portion of theplate cylinder so that there is a net outward shift of the form roller 42a resulting in separation or throw-off at the region 63a.

It is to be noted that during the simultaneous rocking of the collars the associated cam rings remain relatively stationary with respect to the press frame since each is held captive, against rotation, by its adjusting screw 130 which couples the ring to the press frame. Thus the portions of the cam surfaces 95, 95a presented to the roller sockets 50, 50a remain substantially unchanged during the throw-off step so that throw-off of the form rollers is not dependent upon relative movement resulting from the slope of the cam surfaces. The eccentric mounting of ring 90, it is true, causes a lateral swing of the axis of adjusting. screw 130 from the position shown dotted in FIG. 8 to the position indicated by the dotdash line, but such lateral swinging is readily taken care of by providing a universal joint at the upper end of the adjusting screw or by providing lateral play for accomodation of the angular movement.

It is one of the more detailed features of the present invention that the adjusting screw 70 which controls the pressure exerted between the form roller 42 and ink drum 40 incorporates a detented seating member, upon which the head of the screw is seated, which is rotatable between detents at different axial levels to bring about an endwise shifting movement of the adjusting screw accompanied by compression of the associated spring and independent throw-off between the form tented seating member upon which the screw heads 71 seats has a pair of

axial projections

151, 152 which normally mate with deeply

detented surfaces

153, 154. The latter surfaces are s ufficiently deep so that the seating member 75 remains stationarywhen the screw head 71 is rotated, notwithstanding the presence of projections 155 and cooperating detents 156 which provide a clickadjustment for the adjusting screw. in carrying out the invention the detented seating member 75 has the same profile as the head 71','both being hexagonal in the present instance, so that when the screw head 71 and the seating member 75 are both engaged by a deep socket wrench for simultaneous turning, the

projections

151, 152 on the member 75 are cammed upwardly out of the

deep detents

153, 154 into shallower detents 157, 158 which are at a higher level. Such outward camming causes the adjusting screw 70 to be retracted endwise, thus causing the bearing mount 61, which is coupled by post 79 to the tip of the adjusting screw, to be drawn backwardly. This swings the bearing mount 61 about the stud 60 so that the form roller 62 breaks contact with the surface of the ink drum as indicated at 159 in FIG. 9.

independent throw-ofi of the form roller 62 from the plate cylinder 11 is accomplished, in the same way, by the detented seating member 115 associated with the adjusting screw 110. Thus the seating member 115, interposed under the head 111 of the adjusting screw 110, has a pair of projections 161, 162 which are normally received in deep detents 163, 164. When a deep socket wrench is applied to members 111, 115 for rotation together, the projections 161, 162 are cammed upeardly out of the deep detents 163, 164 to detents 167, 168 located at a higher level, which is accompanied by axial retraction of the screw 110, compression of the spring 116, and swinging movement of the arm 51 in a direction away from the plate cylinder, thereby retracting the form roller 42 from the plate cylinder to achieve separation as indicated at 169 in H6. 9. Throw-off of the form roller 42a from the ink drum 40 and the plate cylinder 11 may be independently achieved in the same fashion since the construction of the socket 50a corresponds to that of the socket 50.

Regardless of whether the throw-off between the form rollers 42, 42a from the plate cylinder 11 is brought about automatically incident to the throw-off of the plate cylinder from the impression cylinder 12 or independently by means of the

detented seating members

75, 115 as just described, the surface of the plate cylinder is freed for servicing or changing of printing plates. The independent throw-off provided by the seating members 115, 115a is particularly advantageous in structures similar to the described but where the cam ring is concentric with the plate cylinder axis and which do not, therefore, have the feature of automatic throw-off of the form rollers. It is to be particularly noted that independent throwofl' provided by the seating members 75, and 75a, 115a, is achieved by bodily shifting of the adjusting screws without disturbing the condition of threaded adjustment. Also it may be noted that rotation of the'collars 16 at each end of the plate cylinder 11 through a predetermined angle from a running condition to the cooperating with each collar to precisely define collar positions for running and throw-off. Thus the press may be'ftemporarilyshut down and the, plate cylinder thrown off as required, for example, followingbreakage-of a web, and the press subsequently restarted without requiring any readjustment of the controls.

in the construction described above the adjusting screws"70,-l lon-the roller socket have-heads7l, 11 1 in the form of captive nuts, with relative adjustment beingbrought about turning the screws relative to the threaded

members

79, 119, respectively, into which the screwsare threaded, It will be apparent'to oneskilledin the art, however, that rigid captivity may beprovided at the

members

79, 119 and that the pins in'the nuts 71,

111 may be removedto make the latter tumably adv justable without departing from the present invention.

-As stated, the invention is particularly applicable to plates having only a shallow relief surrounding the printing areas, referred to as low relief plates. It will beunderstood, however, that use of the inventionis not necessarily limited thereto and that the invention may be employed advantageously for flat adjustment under running conditions even in the case of plates having an intermediate or high degree of relief.

What we claim is:

1. In a web fed printing press using low relief printing plates, the combination comprising a frame, a plate cylinder having stubshafts, eccentric collars interposed between the frame and the stubshafts, a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating with the plate cylinder, means for rocking the collars thereby to'change the spacing between the axis of the plate cylinder and the axis of the impression cylinder, an ink drum spaced from the plate cylinder and carrying a film of ink, a pair of resilient form rollers on opposite sides of the ink drum and running in engagement with the ink drum and the plate on the plate cylinder for conveying a film of ink to the plate, the form roller having sockets mounted on the frame and guided for movement toward and away from the plate cylinder, means for biasing the sockets toward the plate cylinder, cam rings mounted in the respective collars, the cam rings presenting sloping stop surfaces respectively interposed in the paths of movement of the sockets to establish a working position corresponding to the desired width of flat at the ink rollers, control members secured to the frame and coupled to the rings for rocking the rings to permit adjustment of the width of flat while the press is in motion, the axis of the rings being eccentric with respect to the axis of the plate cylinder so that when the collars are rotated to achieve throw-off between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder the cam surfaces on the ring move radially outward relative to the plate cylinder in lifting engagement with the ink roller sockets for throwing off the ink rollers with respect to the plate cylinder.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the control member is in the form of an adjusting screw mounted generally at right angles to the ring radius for rocking the ring through a small are when the plate cylinder is in running position and serving to restrain the ring against rocking movement when the collars are rocked for throw-off.

3. In a web' fed printingpress using low relief printing plates, the combination comprising a frame, a plate cylinder'having stubshafts, eccentric collars interposed between'the frame and the stubshafts for journaling the latter, .a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating with the plate cylinder, an'ink drum spaced from the plate cylinder and carrying a film of ink, a pair of resilient form rollers running'in engagement withthe ink drum and with the plate on the plate cylinder forconveying a film of ink to the-plate,- the form rollers having sockets mounted on the frame and guided for movement toward and away from the-plate'cylinder, means 'for separately biasing the sockets toward the plate cylinder, cam rings mounted in the respective collars for relative rocking movement, each of the cam rings presenting a pair of sloping stop surfaces interposed in v the path of movement of the sockets to establish a working position for the sockets corresponding to a desired width of-flatat the ink rollers, each of said'cam rings having an adjusting screw engaging the cam ring at one end and the frame at the other and arranged generally perpendicularly to the cam ring radius so that when the adjusting screws are rotated different portions of the sloping stop surfaces are presented to the roller sockets thereby to change width of the flats at the form'rollers simultaneously while the press is in motion, means for simultaneously rocking the eccentric collars to separate .the' plate cylinder from the impression cylinder, the rings being rotatable about a common axis which is slightly eccentric with respect to the rocking axis of the collars and with respect to the axis of the plate cylinder so that when the collars are rotated the sloping stop surfaces move radially outward with respect to the plate cylinder thereby to achieve separa-' tion between the form rollers and the plate on the plate cylinder.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the axis of the plate cylinder lies between the axis of rocking of the collars and the ring axis.

5. In a web fed printing press using low relief printing plates, the combination comprising a frame, a plate cylinder having stubshafts journaled with respect to the frame, a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating with the plate cylinder, an ink drum spaced from the plate cylinder and carrying a film of ink, a resilient form roller running in engagement with the ink drum and with the plate on the plate cylinder for conveying a film of ink to the plate, the form roller having a socket including an arm pivoted to the frame and a bearing mount pivoted to the am, the point of pivoting of the arm being located in the region of engagement between the fonn roller and the ink drum and the point of pivoting of the bearing mount being located in the region of engagement between the form roller and the plate cylinder, means for biasing the arm toward the plate cylinder, said arm having an adjustable stop mounted thereon, a cam ring rockably mounted with respect to the frame at the end of the plate cylinder and presenting a sloping stop surface interposed in the path of movement of the stop on the arm thereby to hold the arm in a position corresponding to a desired amount of flat between the form roller and plate, and a control member secured to the frame and coupled to the ring for rocking the ring thereby to present a different portion of the sloping stop surface to the stop to permit adll I justment of the width of flat while the press is in motion. v

6. The combination as claimed in claim including a second form roller and form roller socket symmetrically arranged on the opposite side of the ink drum and cylinder having stubshafts journale d with respect to the frame, a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating with the plate cylinder, an ink drum spaced from the plate cylinder and carrying afilm' of ink,'a resilient form roller running in engagement with the ink drum and with the plate on the plate cylinder for conveying a film of .ink to the plate, the form roller having a socket, the socket including an arm pivoted to the frame in the region of engagement between the form roller and the ink drum, a bearing mount for journaling the end of the form roller, said'bearing' mount being pivoted to the arm in the region of engagement between the form roller and the plate cylinder, first positioning means for holding the bearing mount in adjusted position with respect to the arm, a stop member on the arm, second positioning means for holding the stop member in adjusted position with respect to the arm, a spring mounted on the frame for urging the arm in the direction of the plate cylinder, a cam interposed in the path of movement of the stop member on the arm for positioning the arm thereby to determine the width of flat between the form roller and the plate on the plate cylinder, and means mounted on the frame for changing the position of the cam and thereby changing the radial position of the stop member for bringing about an adjustment of the width of flat while the press is in motion.

8. The combination as claimed in claim'7 in which the first and second positioning means each includes a rotatable adjusting screw for adjusting the distance between the axis of the form roller and the axes of the ink drum and plate cylinder respectively.

9. The combination as claimed in claim 8 in which I each adjusting screw has a spring together with detent means for shifting the screw endwise with simultaneous compression of the spring to achieve independent throw-off of the form roller from the ink drum and plate cylinder respectively.

[0, in a web fed printing press, the combination comprising a frame, a plate cylinder and a cooperating impression cylinder joumaled in theframe and having means for driving in synchronism, an ink drum spaced from the plate cylinder and carrying a film of ink, a resilient form roller running in engagement with the ink drum and with the plate on the plate cylinder for conveying a film of ink to the plate, socket assemblies at the ends of the form roller, each socket assembly including an arm pivoted to the frame in the region of engagement between the form roller and the ink drum, a bearing mount for journaling the end of the form roller, said bearing mount being pivoted to the arm in the region of engagement between-the form roller and the plate cylinder, means including a first adjusting screw and spring for holdin the bearing mount in adjusted position with respect 0 the arm, a stop member on the arm, means including a second adjusting screw and a spring for holding the stop member in adjusted position with respect to the arm, a spring mounted on the frame for urging the arm in the direction of the plate cylinder, a shallow cam movably mounted with respect to the frame and in the path of movement of the stop member on the arm for positioningthe arm thereby to determine the width of flat between the form roller and the plate on the plate cylinder, each screw having a head engageable by a wrench for adjusting the screw and an adjacent deeply detented seating member engageable by a wrench for the purpose of shifting the screw endwise with simultaneous compression of the spring to achieve independent throw-off of the form roller from the ink drum and plate cylinder respectively.

11. The combination as claimed in claim 10 in which the deeply detented seating member lies immediately adjacent the head of the screw and is of corresponding profile for simultaneous deep engagement of both of them by a socket wrench to achieve throw-off.

Claims

1. In a web fed printing press using low relief printing plates, the combination comprising a frame, a plate cylinder having stubshafts, eccentric collars interposed between the frame and the stubshafts, a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating with the plate cylinder, means for rocking the collars thereby to change the spacing between the axis of the plate cylinder and the axis of the impression cylinder, an ink drum spaced from the plate cYlinder and carrying a film of ink, a pair of resilient form rollers on opposite sides of the ink drum and running in engagement with the ink drum and the plate on the plate cylinder for conveying a film of ink to the plate, the form roller having sockets mounted on the frame and guided for movement toward and away from the plate cylinder, means for biasing the sockets toward the plate cylinder, cam rings mounted in the respective collars, the cam rings presenting sloping stop surfaces respectively interposed in the paths of movement of the sockets to establish a working position corresponding to the desired width of flat at the ink rollers, control members secured to the frame and coupled to the rings for rocking the rings to permit adjustment of the width of flat while the press is in motion, the axis of the rings being eccentric with respect to the axis of the plate cylinder so that when the collars are rotated to achieve throw-off between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder the cam surfaces on the ring move radially outward relative to the plate cylinder in lifting engagement with the ink roller sockets for throwing off the ink rollers with respect to the plate cylinder.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the control member is in the form of an adjusting screw mounted generally at right angles to the ring radius for rocking the ring through a small arc when the plate cylinder is in running position and serving to restrain the ring against rocking movement when the collars are rocked for throw-off.

3. In a web fed printing press using low relief printing plates, the combination comprising a frame, a plate cylinder having stubshafts, eccentric collars interposed between the frame and the stubshafts for journaling the latter, a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating with the plate cylinder, an ink drum spaced from the plate cylinder and carrying a film of ink, a pair of resilient form rollers running in engagement with the ink drum and with the plate on the plate cylinder for conveying a film of ink to the plate, the form rollers having sockets mounted on the frame and guided for movement toward and away from the plate cylinder, means for separately biasing the sockets toward the plate cylinder, cam rings mounted in the respective collars for relative rocking movement, each of the cam rings presenting a pair of sloping stop surfaces interposed in the path of movement of the sockets to establish a working position for the sockets corresponding to a desired width of flat at the ink rollers, each of said cam rings having an adjusting screw engaging the cam ring at one end and the frame at the other and arranged generally perpendicularly to the cam ring radius so that when the adjusting screws are rotated different portions of the sloping stop surfaces are presented to the roller sockets thereby to change width of the flats at the form rollers simultaneously while the press is in motion, means for simultaneously rocking the eccentric collars to separate the plate cylinder from the impression cylinder, the rings being rotatable about a common axis which is slightly eccentric with respect to the rocking axis of the collars and with respect to the axis of the plate cylinder so that when the collars are rotated the sloping stop surfaces move radially outward with respect to the plate cylinder thereby to achieve separation between the form rollers and the plate on the plate cylinder.

5. In a web fed printing press using low relief printing plates, the combination comprising a frame, a plate cylinder having stubshafts journaled with respect to the frame, a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating with the plate cylinder, an ink drum spaced from the plate cylinder and carrying a film of ink, a resilient form roller running in engagement with the ink drum and with the plate on the plate cylinDer for conveying a film of ink to the plate, the form roller having a socket including an arm pivoted to the frame and a bearing mount pivoted to the arm, the point of pivoting of the arm being located in the region of engagement between the form roller and the ink drum and the point of pivoting of the bearing mount being located in the region of engagement between the form roller and the plate cylinder, means for biasing the arm toward the plate cylinder, said arm having an adjustable stop mounted thereon, a cam ring rockably mounted with respect to the frame at the end of the plate cylinder and presenting a sloping stop surface interposed in the path of movement of the stop on the arm thereby to hold the arm in a position corresponding to a desired amount of flat between the form roller and plate, and a control member secured to the frame and coupled to the ring for rocking the ring thereby to present a different portion of the sloping stop surface to the stop to permit adjustment of the width of flat while the press is in motion.

6. The combination as claimed in claim 5 including a second form roller and form roller socket symmetrically arranged on the opposite side of the ink drum and in which the cam ring has a second sloping stop surface for simultaneously positioning the second roller socket for simultaneous adjustment of the flats at both of the form rollers.

7. In a web fed printing press using low relief printing plates, the combination comprising a frame, a plate cylinder having stubshafts journaled with respect to the frame, a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating with the plate cylinder, an ink drum spaced from the plate cylinder and carrying a film of ink, a resilient form roller running in engagement with the ink drum and with the plate on the plate cylinder for conveying a film of ink to the plate, the form roller having a socket, the socket including an arm pivoted to the frame in the region of engagement between the form roller and the ink drum, a bearing mount for journaling the end of the form roller, said bearing mount being pivoted to the arm in the region of engagement between the form roller and the plate cylinder, first positioning means for holding the bearing mount in adjusted position with respect to the arm, a stop member on the arm, second positioning means for holding the stop member in adjusted position with respect to the arm, a spring mounted on the frame for urging the arm in the direction of the plate cylinder, a cam interposed in the path of movement of the stop member on the arm for positioning the arm thereby to determine the width of flat between the form roller and the plate on the plate cylinder, and means mounted on the frame for changing the position of the cam and thereby changing the radial position of the stop member for bringing about an adjustment of the width of flat while the press is in motion.

8. The combination as claimed in claim 7 in which the first and second positioning means each includes a rotatable adjusting screw for adjusting the distance between the axis of the form roller and the axes of the ink drum and plate cylinder respectively.

9. The combination as claimed in claim 8 in which each adjusting screw has a spring together with detent means for shifting the screw endwise with simultaneous compression of the spring to achieve independent throw-off of the form roller from the ink drum and plate cylinder respectively. 10, In a web fed printing press, the combination comprising a frame, a plate cylinder and a cooperating impression cylinder journaled in the frame and having means for driving in synchronism, an ink drum spaced from the plate cylinder and carrying a film of ink, a resilient form roller running in engagement with the ink drum and with the plate on the plate cylinder for conveying a film of ink to the plate, socket assemblies at the ends of the form roller, each socket assembly including an arm pivoted to the frame in the region of engagement between the form roller and the ink druM, a bearing mount for journaling the end of the form roller, said bearing mount being pivoted to the arm in the region of engagement between the form roller and the plate cylinder, means including a first adjusting screw and spring for holding the bearing mount in adjusted position with respect to the arm, a stop member on the arm, means including a second adjusting screw and spring for holding the stop member in adjusted position with respect to the arm, a spring mounted on the frame for urging the arm in the direction of the plate cylinder, a shallow cam movably mounted with respect to the frame and in the path of movement of the stop member on the arm for positioning the arm thereby to determine the width of flat between the form roller and the plate on the plate cylinder, each screw having a head engageable by a wrench for adjusting the screw and an adjacent deeply detented seating member engageable by a wrench for the purpose of shifting the screw endwise with simultaneous compression of the spring to achieve independent throw-off of the form roller from the ink drum and plate cylinder respectively.