US3521514A - Cutting cylinder - Google Patents

Description

J. F. FIEZELL 3,521,514

CUTTING CYLINDER July 21, 1970 Filed Jan. 22, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

k/arz/w/f 0:21:24

y 1970 J. F. FIEZELL 3,521,514

CUTTING CYLINDER Filed Jan. 22, 1968 V 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR.

United States Patent Oflice 3,521,514 Patented July 21, 1970 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cutting cylinder having the knife boxes therein offset from the centerline by approximately one-half the width of the knife box.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a cutting and folding mechanism for a printing machine folder unit and more particularly to the design of the cutting cylinder, sometimes referred to as the male cutting cylinder.

In the typical folding and cutting arrangements as shown for example in the Dietrich Pat. No. 2,985,449 and in the Jordhoy Pat. No. 1,977,283, there is provided a cutting cylinder having at least one knife box on its periphery which carries a cutting blade sandwiched between cheekwoods for cutting the web as it is carried around the folding cylinder sometimes referred to as the female cutting cylinder. The longitudinal axis of the cutting blade has always been aligned with a centerline of both cutting cylinders when the cutting action is complete.

This arrangement of aligning the cutting blades along the centerline has been found to be ineflicient and has presented difficulties in cutting heavier webs or thicker layers of webs. With the blade on the centerline the webs are cut by a crushing action, resulting in what amounts to a breaking of the webs. Consequently, as the cutting cylinders rotate, a sideways pressure is exerted on the cheekwoods contributing to the noise problem caused by the cheekwoods banging against the inside wall of the knife box. Further, the breaking and crushing of the paper generates dust which is undesirable as this has a tendency to contaminate both the printing ink and the atmosphere. As the thickness of the webs or the number of layers increases the amount of resistance to the crushing action is increased and as a result the sideways pressure on the cheekwoods is increased. As a result of the increased sideward pressure the cheekwoods are caused to operate sluggishly and cannot therefore perform their function of holding the paper taut.

A further disadvantage of the centerline cutting is that the first layers of webs are out before the axis of the cutting blade is aligned with a centerline of the folding or female cutting cylinder and the last layers are cut either at the same time the axis of the blade is aligned with the female cutting cylinder or after it has passed. This type of action results in an angular cut and might cause the thick wad of paper to fan.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned disadvantages by providing a male cutting cylinder having a construction which relieves the sideward pressures exerted on the cheekwoods of the knife boxes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved male cutting cylinder construction the result of which is a more direct cut thereby reducing the amount of paper dust.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved cutting cylinder construction which overcomes the difiiculties in cutting through heavier webs or thicker wads of webs.

Another object of this invention is to alleviate the noise caused by the action of the cheekwoods.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings.

. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic section of a folder arrangement in which the present invention is employed;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the folding and cutting couple presenting a preferred embodiment by which the present invention may be realized;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the cutting couple showing the relationship of the knife box with respect to the cylinder centerline at a point where cutting of the web begins to take place; and

FIG. 4 is the same view as in FIG. 3 showing the relationship of the knife box with respect to the cylinder centerline at a point where cutting is completed.

, DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THIS INVENTION The drawings show the present invention incorporated in a typical 3:2 folder arrangement as shown for example in Pat. No. 2,985,449. This invention however, may be used equally as well in standard 2:1 folder or any other folder arrangement requiring a cutting cylinder. The paper web W comes from a former folder 11, through entry rollers 12, pulled by pull-through rollers 13 and 14, and guided by pinch rollers to the folding and collecting mechanism comprising male cutting cylinder 17 and folding or female cutting cylinder 18.

The folding cylinder 18 is of the type shown and described in Pat. No. 1,900,288. This cylinder comprises a plurality of pins 19 which pierce the web and carry it around the periphery of the cylinder in the usual manner while the cutting blade 26 cuts the web and the folding blade 20 tucks the web into folded form which is then folded off by folding rollers 21 into its final folded form 22. A cutting rubber 28 is also provided to receive the blade 26 as it pierces through the web. The folded papers can then be carried by a delivery fan 23 onto the delivery table 24.

The present invention resides in the novel structure of male cutting cylinder 17. This cylinder has on its periphery at least one knife box 25 of the conventional design running the length of the cylinder comprising a cutting blade 26 sandwiched between a pair of cheekwoods 27. In the 3:2 folder a pair of knife boxes is required and other folder arrangements might require more. The axis of the cutting blade of the knife boxes has traditionally been aligned along a centerline of the male cutting cylinder. The present invention; however, provides for the axis of the cutting blades to be offset from the centerlineof the cutting cylinder by a distance of approximately onehalf the width of the knife box. The axes of the two blades on the 3:2 folders are consequently spaced apart from one another by a'distance of approximately the width of a knife box, are parallel to each other and are approximately equidistant from the center of the cylinder. It is possible that a male cutting cylinder might have more than two knife boxes on its periphery equally spaced apart. In these situations the blade axis of each knife box would be offset from the center of the cylinder by an equal amount. It is to be understood; however, that this is only one of many arrangements of offsetting the knife box and it is not here intended to limit the arrangement to the one described above.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 the knife box 25 is shown as being offset from the cutting cylinder centerline 29 by an exaggerated amount so that the operation may be more easily understood. It can be seen in FIG. 3 that when the cutting action begins, i.e. blade 26 begins to pierce the web W, the axis of the blade 30 does not pass through the center of the cylinder 17, but is parallel to the centerline 29 which passes through the centers of both the male cutting cylinder 17 and the female cutting cylinder 18. As the cylinders continue to rotate in the direction of the arrows carrying the web W with it the cutting action continues until ultimately the blade 26 has completely severed the web and pierces the cutting rubber 28 as shown in FIG. 4. At this point the axis 30 of the blade 26 is at an angle to the centerline 29 passing through the centers of both cylinders rather than being aligned therewith, as would be the case in the traditional cutting cylinders. If the axis 30 of the blade 26 were to pass through the center of the cylinder 17, as in traditional cutting cylinders, the result would be that the longitudinal axis of the blade would form an angle with the centerline 29 when the cutting begins and would be aligned with that centerline when cutting is complete. This results in an angular cut of the web and the crushing or breaking action causing many of the problems discussed above. The construction of the cylinder 17, as provided by the present invention, reverses the arrangement of relationship between the axis of blade and the centerline of the cylinders during the cutting action resulting in a square cut of the webs and a true cutting action thereby reducing the cutting forces and pressures on the cheekwoods reducing the noise problem. The square cut also helps solve the paper dust problems as well as increasing the efficiency of cutting thicker wads of paper.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a certain preferred embodiment which gives satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the purpose of the invention that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed is:

1. In the folder mechanism of a printing machine the combination of a female cutting cylinder having at least one cutting rubber with a male cutting cylinder having at least one knife box located on the periphery of the said male cutting cylinder, a pair of cheekwoods and a cutting blade sandwiched therebetween within said box and extending beyond the surface of the male cutting cylinder to coact with said rubber for severing layers of paper webs passing between said male and female cutting cylinders, the longitudinal axis of said cutting blade being offset from the center of said male cutting cylinder by a distance of approximately one-half the width of the knife box, whereby the knife engages the paper to commence the cut while the knife axis is spaced from and parallel to the common centerline of the cylinders, continues to approach the rubber while its said axis passes through a position radial to the female cylinder, and then completes its cutting movement toward the rubber with its said axis at an angle to said common centerline.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of knife boxes are provided on the periphery of said male cutting cylinder equally spaced apart and having their blade axis offset from the cylinder center by an equal amount.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the blade axes are parallel to each other when only a pair of knife boxes are provided.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,418,115 5/1922 Wheeler 83-346 X 1,685,532 9/1928 Bechman 83-345 X 3,086,416 4/1963 Minarik 83-345 FOREIGN PATENTS 423,871 2/1935 Great Britain.

WILLIAM S. LAWSON, Primary Examiner J. F. COAN, Assistant Examiner

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