US1562716A - Lithograph-drying system - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 24, 1925'. 1,562,716

J. A.. NY

LITHOGRAPH DRYING SYSTEM Filed Jam 20, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet TQ 7, mi l WITNESS INI/ENTOR MQW@ Nov 24, 19Z5 J. A. NY

LITHOGRAPH DRYING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-$heet 2 INVENTOR Jyesfy.

BY MiG/.dw

Filed Jan. 20. 1922 WN WN RN WITNESS ATTORNEYS Patented Nev. se, 1925.

entre sr'rss PATENT orifice.

JULES A. NY, OF SAN FRANCISCO', CALFORNIA, ASSGNOR OF TXVO-TH1RDS TO "tillll'llH ERM GAN COMPANY, GF SAN FRANCSC, CALFQRNIA, A CGPARTNERSHP CON- SSTING OF STEM.

MAK Si. BRANDENSTEN, MANFRED BRASTEN, AND EDWARD 'BRAN- Application filed January i120, 19942.

To UH ymio/21. it rm//i/ concern.:

lie it known tl ify l, J'ULns A. NY, a citi- Zen oli the United States, and a resident ot the city and county ot San Francisco and State ot California, have invented a nenY and useitul Lithogrepli-Drying System, et which the following is a specitication.

This invention relates to apparatus Ator printing or lithographing and continuously drying sheets et material and particularly relates to a combined apparatus Y)for system including a printing or lithographing niachine and a drying or baking oven the latter designed to .receive the sheets or pieces ot material as they are printed and issued trom the printing or lithographing machine.

,in the art ot lithographing or printing (sz-specially sheets et tin or other metallic bodies the sheets nre continimusly :ted into a printing or lithtjigraphing machine and issued tliere'irona onto a related conveyor or apron troni which they are removed into an adjacent baking or drying apparatus through which the she-ts are continuously advanced for a predetermined length ot' time and subjected to a suitable degree oit temperature to facilitate the drying oit the material on the plates or sheets. As at present practiced there is no co-ordinate relation between the printing machine and the drying apliaratus and it necessary tor an attendant to stand at the machine to control. the discharge ot the sheets or plates into the drying apparatus to prevent them from becoming overlapped or injured as they are moved to a ifouievm' or drying rnc-.lr movable through the drying apparatus.

't is ther-etere one or" the. objects et the present .invention to provide an organi/led system including a lithographing or printing machine tor treating metallic sheets or other plates to produce thereon the desired surface matter as 'for jiiufttancer illustrations, labels and other data and to continuously leed the sheets as they are printed tr m the machine to a travelin rack movable through Serial No. 530,645.

chine and the drying ack or conveyor as is rendered necessary because ot a frequent interruption ot the operation ot the printing or lithographing machine which must be done Without interrupting the operation ot the traveling rack moving through the drying apparatus.

A further object of the present-invention is to provide a unitary system of control whereby power may be independently a)- plied to either ot the essential machines ot the organization, that is, to the printing or lithograp'hing machine, or to the drying apparatus.

A further object et the invention to provide for the etlicient control of the opcration concurrently ot the lithograpliing or printing machine and the drying apparatus and for the driving of the same 'from a comn mon motor and further to provide an independent motor for driving one of the elements ot the apparatus While the other mayfor continuously printing or lithographing.

a plate in combination with the drying apparatus and associated therewith by a common drive means 'for synchronizing the operation and to eliminate the requirement ot' an attendant Whose services are ordinarily utilized in watching the discharge ot the printed plate from the apron of the printing' press into the traveling conveyor or rect: which moves through the baking oven.

With these and other objects in view as will be rendered manifest :trom the :followm ing specification the invention consists ot the construction, the combination, and in details and the arrangement of the parts, an embodiment of which invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein;

Figure l is a side elevation. showing diagrammatic-allyA the organized system including a lithographing machine and a halting apparatus including a traveling conveyor or rack with a synchronizing mechanism connecting the same.

Figure 2 is a plan View showing diagrann matically the .system certain ot the part-s being broken away to illustrate more clearly the details of construction.

ln the illustrated embodiment of the inapparatus diagrammatically indicated as lOl) i es

Llo

including printing rollers orv cylinders 2--23 arranged upon a bearing conventionally shown at '-land in which is mounted a shatt that provided on its outer end with a )alley wheel G or other suitable means for deriving' power trom any appropriate motor, in this ease the pulley wheel being driven by a belt i' etxending to a pinion pulley wheel S on the shaft oi" a motor 9, in this case ot the electrical type. Such a form ot' litliogrraphing or printing machine is well known and is therefore only diagrannnatically illustrated herein.

rlhe plates or sheets that are to be printed er lithographed are successively introduced into the printing machine and, passing through the same, are discharged to the usual apron or conveying system or belt 10 from which they are transferred to a suitable torni ot carrier entering a baking oven or chamber 11 all oi which is ot well known construction and here diagrammatically shown.

ll`he conveyor or rack7 to which the plates pa from the apron leelt ot the press, generally comprises a set ot sprocket chains operative over sprocket wheels secured on a shatt extending across one end of the baking oven 11; these sprocket chains being arrane'ed in parallel relation and having attached in transverse position at suitable regular intervals receiving racks or trames of any suitable torni of construction and shape and here indicated as U-shaped members 18, vthe ends ot which are so secured to the respective sprocket chains 14 that those ot the carrier frames 13 passing over the upper parts or" the sprocket wheels 15 incline slightly rearwardly with respect to the direction ot travel so that the plates P thereon will remain in an upright and stable condition so as to prevent the marring ot the printed or litliog'raphedl surface.

lieretotore there has been co-ordinate relation or eo-artion between a time oi doliver)l oil the printed plates or sheets from the press and the rate oi movement ot Vthe converor carrying; the printed sheets through the oven and tor' that r "ison the presence oi an attendant halsI been necessary so as to properly transfer' the printed plates to the rack trames 13 and to prevent them t'roin overlapping and piling' upon one another on the trames.

'io overcome this necessity one ot the purposes ot the present invention is to eo'- ordinate and synchronize the motion or time ot operation ot the press and the rack .i rier so as to obviate the necessity ot the attendant and to that end a driving connection is introduced between the press and the com'eyor or carrier moving inthe oven. One 'torni ot such `transmitting` connection is shown as inclndinpl a `gear wheel 16 secured Y on the shalt 12 and which. niay be secured 1,5ca71e ate section sli-att 22 that is universally jointed at 23 to the adjacent end of a short shaft 24 journalled in a box or bearing 25 and on which shaft 24- is termed or provided a gear 2G. The gear 26 meshes with a complementary gea-r or pinion 27 that is provided on o a shaft 28 mounted in suitable bearings 29 and 30 and which 4is here shown extending transversely of the a pp'aratus as a whole and as parallel to the driving shaft 5 of the lithographing machine. and to the shaft 12 of the conveyor of the bakingl oven 11. Itlowever7 it is to be understood that this airrangeinent ot driving connectionsis but illustrative ot an embodiment ot the invention and is not intended to be limi-tation as to the arrangement or organization oit the parts.

On shaft 28 is loosely but non-slidably mounted a sprocket wheel 31 engaginga sprocket chain 32 extendingto the shat't 5 ot the printing machine and engaging a sprocket pinion 323 secured thereon so that power is transmitted trom the shaft 5 through the sprocket connections to` the shatt- 28 it the sprocket wheel 31 be clutched to the shaft 28 as will now be described.

The sprocket wheel 31 has at one side a projecting` hub portion provided with a clutch face 35 adjacent to a clutch sleeve S6 thaty is splined on shaft 2S and which may be thrown into and ont of mesh with the clutchv tace at will by the operator as through the manipulation ot a control lever il? having' suitable refr-operation with the sleeve or clutch member Btl.

From the above. it will be seen that there is provided a driving connection between the main shat't 5 oit the print-ing' or lithographing machine and the end shaft 12 ot the carrier which carries the plates into the oven 1l and that by means of the clutch S6 the operation ot the shatt 12 through the transmitting sprocket chains 32 and its wheel 31 may bel interrupted so that the printing' or lithographing machine canl be operated without driving' the carrier or rack passing-r into the oven 11.

But it is desirable that means be provided tor continuously operating' the rack or conif'eyor which is carryingl plates into the bak- 1 ing' or drying' oven independently of the .tact whether or not the lithographing or printing' machine may be in operation and to that end a feature ot the present invention resides' in the combination ol'l a supplelil-Ll mentary or auxiliary motor or other suitable power applying means that can be connected at will to operate the carrier passing into `the oven.

This independent drive is accomplished preferably through the utilization of a driving means connectible at will to the intermediate shaft 28 and a form of such means is shown as .including a transn'iission of mechanism between the shaft 28 and an auxiliary driver, as for instance a, motor 40, that may have secured on its shaft a sprocket pinion 4l engaging a sprocket chain 42 which is extended to and engages a sprocket wheel 43 loosely but nonslidably mounted on the intermediate shaft 2S so that this shaft may be driven by the connectingl means, for instance sprocket chain 32 from, the main shaft 5, or it may be driven from the motor 40 if the sprocket wheel bc locked to the shaft 28 which may be done by throwing the clutch 36 into interlock with the adjacent clutch face 44 formed on the adjacent end of the wheel 43.

From this it will be seen that the invention ln'ovides a single clutch member having the dual function of selectively connecting` the intern'iediate shaft 28 either to the main shaft to be driven by the same or to the transmission means of the motor 40 in which latter case the plate rack er conveyor may be continuously operated through the oven ll irrespective of whether the press is in operation or not.

ln the operation of the present system the pressman or other person in charge of the apparatus when starting;l the press watches the discharge of the plates P therefrom and the passage of the same onto the intermediate apron or belt so that at the moment that a plate passes from the intermediate apron to one of the frames 13 of the rack conveyor. the main clutch 3G can be thrown into mesh with the clutch face of the sproclzet wheel ill at the instant that a space is presented, at the discharge cud ot the apron means l0, between a pair of the frames 13 with the result that the plates will be properly introduced into the interveningl space and thereafter the successive discharge of the plates from the press and their discharge by the apron conveyors 10 will be synchronized to feed the plates snccessively into the intervening;` spaces between the successive frames 13 forming' the oven conveyor.

It is obvious that since the press and oven carrier are now synchronized by the connecting" drive means the speed of the press may be increased and coincident with this the speed of movement of the oven carrier will be increased in proper time and synchronously because of the positive drive connections between the two machines, that is, the press and the dryingl apparatus.

the

lt is therefore possible for the pressman or operator to interrupt the operation of the lithographing or printing,r machine at any time throwing in the conn ction between the auxiliary drivingmeans or motor and the intermediate shaft 28 sothat the operation of the plate cariyingci,l rack may be continued independently of the drive of the press.

A further advantage of the present organization is that the co-related pressand the oven mechanism may be concurrently driven by power derived from a single source as for instance the main motor 9 as contra-distinguished from the now common system `of drivingl the press and the oven shaft conveyor by independent means operative without.co-ordination or synchronism.

It is understood of course that the present disclosure is but one embodiment of the apparatus parts of which may be reconstructed and varied in organization and arrangement of the parts and that may be adapted te different types of machines and bakingl `ovens or systems as expediency may require,

and further it is understood that any suitable. form of connecting` means as between the press drive and the conveyor drive may be designed and organized within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

lVhat is claimed is:

l. A system for continuously.printing and drying bodies, comprising, in combination, a printing` machine; a drying apparatus including, a traveling conveyor to receive the bodies successively from the machine, means for synchronizingthe action of the machine and the conveyor and means for interrnptingl the operation of the synchronizingg` means so that the machine and the conveyor may be independently driven or stopped.

' 2. A combined printing or lithographing machine and drying apparatus including a conveyor with synchronizing drive means connecting the san'ie to secure timed discha rge of printed bodies from the one to the other and for eliminating interference of transferred, printed bodies, separate drive means for the machine and the conveyor, and selective means for connecting one of the drive means to the synchronizing means.

3. A combined printing or lithographing machine and drying,- apparatus including a conveyor with synchronizing` drive means connecting` the same to secure timed discharge of printed bodies from the one to the other and for eliminating interference of transferred, printed bodies, separate drive means for the machine and the conveyor, and selective means for connecting one of the driving means to the synchronizingv means and disconnecting' the separate drive means for the machine.

b f sto J )ine its motor f) and then i lill AA combined printing` or lithographing machine rand dr-ying apparatus including a conveyor with synchronizing drive means ycoinrecting the same to secure timed discharge ot printed bodies treni the one to the other and for eliminating vinterference ot' transferred, printed bodies, vvseparate drive means for lthe machine and the -conveyor, and selective means for vconnecting one rot Vthe driving means to the synchronizing means and-disconnecting the 4other-so that leach drivemeans may heoperated irrespeciive y ot the l other.

5. A combined `:printing or lithographing machine and a drying apparatus, vincluding :a 4coni-*eyor to freceive the printed bodies I'iiron'ithe latter .anditale them through :the :apparatus-g a .drive shai't for the :machine g 'a 4shaft for Lthe conveyor, -an intermediate shaft; driving :mechanism hetweenthe said drive shafft'andtheintermediate shaft; an a uxilia'ry driver for the intermediate shatt g l'means :for selectively connecting anddisconne'cting said mechanism and lsaid intermediate shaft so that the former can operate independently, land for connecting and dis- L'conn'ecting thea-'auxiliary driVertothe intermediate shaft alternately lto the drive shaft; Iand means -connecting theintermedi- :fate shattto the drive shaft ofthe conveyor to drive the latter with or independently of the drive of the printing machine.

(3. A combinedprinting orllithographing inachine,and.a drying machine; two independent :sources of power, `means for providingsynchronous operation of both `ma- -chines r'from-onesourceof power, and means for dri-vingl said drying machine from said other source of power independent o1u said last mentioned means.

fr'. A combined printing oivlithographing machine, and a drying machine; two independent sources o't power, synchronizing dri-ving mechanism vconnecting ithe ytwo ma-y `conveyor, and means for ydisrupting said synchronizing mechanism-*andato connect-the driver .tor :the conveycr,-or conversely for disconnecting Lthe driver tor vthe conveyor and operatively connecting said synchroniz- .ing -mechanism 9. A combined sprinting or lithographing machine and drying` apparatus; driving means for said machine, drive i gear, connect-- ed'to said drying apparatus, clutch means for positively connecting said driving means avith said drive gear, and indepeinlently operable idrivin'g means lfor said vdrying :apparatus.

In testimony whereof, I 'have y"hereunto 'set my'yhand.

.JULES n. Nv.

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