US3408934A - Blanket cleaning attachment for offset presses - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 5, 1968 s. M. CLAUSEN 3,408,934

BLANKET CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR OFFSET PRESSES Filed March 7, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG] R Bl 7 75 5Q \u 49 77 6| 57 47 39 INVENTOR SHELBY M. CLAUSEN ATTORNEY Nov. 5, 1968 s. M. CLAUSEN 3,408,934

BLANKET CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR OFFSET PRESSES Filed March 7, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 -49 INVENTOR SHELBY M. CLAUSEN ATTORNEYS Nov. 5, 1968 s. M. CLAUSEN 3,408,934

BLANKET CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR OFFSET PRESSES Filed March 7, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 SHELBY M. CLAUSEN I23 1 7|79l77 '75 BY FIG.|5 WW 7 AT TORNEYS Nov. 5, 1968 s. M. CLAUSEN 3,408,934

BLANKET CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR OFFSET PRESSES 4 SheetsSheet 4 Filed March INVENTOR SHELBY M. CLAUSEN MW E m SN ATTORNEYS 3,408,934 BLANKET CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR OFFSET PRESSES Shelby M. Clausen, 1407 E. Richwood Blvd., Peoria, Ill. 61603 Continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 496,567, Oct. 15, 1965. This application Mar. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 634,398 21 Claims. (Cl. 101-425) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An attachment for cleaning cylindrical surfaces, such as the surface of an offset printing press blanket cylinder, comprising a tray arranged for stationary mounting adjacent the surface, a cleansing fluid pan in the tray, and containing a wick elongated parallel to the axis of the surface and having an edge engageable with the surface for distributing the cleansing fiuid thereto, and a similarly elongated wiper blade mounted in the tray and having an edge engageable with the surface for wiping cleansing fluid and accumulated foreign matter from the surface and depositing the same in the tray.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 496,567 filed Oct. 15, 1965 now abandoned.

The invention relates to cleaning apparatus for offset printing presses and consists particularly in an attachment for cleaning the blanket cylinders of such presses.

Conventional offset presses have three cylinders-a plate cylinder, to which the plate carrying the image is secured, a blanket cylinder covered with a rubber sheet or blanket and in tangential engagement with the plate to receive from the plate the inked portions of the image, and an impression cylinder between which and the blanket cylinder the paper passes to receive an impression from the blanket cylinder.

During operation of an offset press the blanket cylinder accumulates foreign matter including coating and lint from the paper which forms piling on the cylinder. Static electricity is also produced on the blanket cylinder. This results in poor transference of the inked image from the plate cylinder to the blanket cylinder, and from the blanket cylinder to the paper. Excess water on the blanket cylinder from the dampening rollers which dampen the plate cylinder is also troublesome.

Accordingly it is the object of the invention to provide simple yet effective means for preventing the accumulation of foreign matter, excess water and static electricity on the surfaces of offset press blanket cylinders.

The foregoing and additional more detailed objects and advantages of the invention are achieved by the device described hereinafter and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an offset press to which my invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view of my blanket cylinder cleaning attachment along line 2-2 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of my blanket cylinder cleaning attachment.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view of my blanket cylinder cleaning attachment along line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view of my attachment showing a modified wiper blade construction.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of another form of blanket cylinder cleaning attachment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cleaning attachment illustrated in FIG. 6.

United States Patent 0 3,408,934 Patented Nov. 5, 1968 FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are transverse vertical sectional views along lines 8-8, 9-9 and 10-10 respectively of FIG. 6. In FIG. 8 the adjustment bracket web is eliminated to improve clarity.

FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are transverse vertical sectional views corresponding to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 but showing the parts in the roll-engaging position.

FIG. 14 illustrates schematically the flow of fluid in the system.

FIG. 15 is an elevation view of the end of the tray remote from that shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12.

The numeral 1 indicates an offset press having ink form rollers 5 and damping form rollers 7 engaging plate cylinder 9, which in turn is in tangential engagement with blanket cylinder 11. Paper 13 is urged into impressiontransferring engagement with blanket cylinder 11 by impression cylinder 15.

My cleaning attachment, generally indicated at 17, is mounted on bracket 19 on the press beneath the blanket cylinder 11, posterior along the direction of rotation of the blanket cylinder from the line of engagement between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder and anterior to the line of engagement between the blanket cylinder and the plate cylinder, and has a base 21 connected to bracket 19 by bolts 23. Base 21 is secured to the flat bottom of an elongated tray having outwardly sloping sides 29 and upright ends 31.

Pins 33 projecting longitudinally from the opposite ends of base 21 form pivot bearings for the curved end portions 35 and 37 of C- shaped arms 39 and 41 which extend transversely outwardly below the bottom of tray 31 in opposite directions from pins 33 and then upwardly and outwardly as at 43 and 45 after which they are bent transversely inwardly as at 47 and 49 to terminate above the interior of tray 31. At its upper terminal 47, arms 39 support outer sloping side wall 51 of a pan having a fiat bottom wall 53, an opposite upright Side wall 55 and end walls 57, the slope of pan side wall 51 being similar to that of the adjacent tray side wall 29. Intermediate their ends, arm portions 43 and 45 at each side are connected by an elongated bar 58 to keep the arms in alignment with each other.

A fiat elongated wick or strip 59 of capillary material is mounted by means of U-shaped clips 61 against the upright wall 55 of the pan, with its upper margin projecting upward from the pan and its lower portion extending well into the pan.

For adjusting the pressure of strip 59 against blanket cylinder 11, thumb screws 63 threadably extend through alignment bar 58 with their inner ends 65, of reduced diameter, extending through small holes 67 in channel brackets 69 on the outer surfaces of tray side walls 29, the shoulder thus formed on screws 63 being held against the outer surfaces of brackets 69 by U-washers 71 seated in suitable annular grooves in the reduced ends 65 of screws 63. By turning screws 63, arms 39, and with them, pan 51, 53, 55 and wick 59, can be adjusted to any'desired position with respect to the surface of cylinder 11. The pan is filled with water or solvent, as desired, and thumb screws 63 are adjusted so that the upper edge of wick 59 will engage the surface of blanket cylinder 11 uniformly throughout the width of the former.

For removing foreign matter softened or dissolved by the water or solvent, and excess liquid from the surface of the blanket cylinder, arms 41, 45, 49 support a flat wiper blade 75, preferably of rubber or rubber-like material, which may be mounted on a block 77, grooved along its upper and lower surfaces as at 79 for clamping attachment between opposed projections 81 on the channelshaped extensions 82 of arms 49.

By means of thumb screws 63, the upper edge of wiper blade can be brought into light or heavy wiping en- .gagement as desired, with the surface of blanket cylinder vfiectslightly in the event any thickened accumulation on the blanket cylinder. strikes the wick or the wiper blade,

thus preventing damage to .the structure.

Periodically, a blade 83 of abrasive material, such as pumice, may be substituted for the rubberblade 75, for the purpose of removing glaze from the blanket cylinder. Operation of the device is as follows: With the tray drained, adjustments of wick 59 and wiper to bring them into uniform engagement with the blanket cylinder can be made by thumb screws 63. Pan 51-57 is then filled with water, and after the press is started, further adjustments can be made in the position of wick 59 and wiper 75 relative to the blanket cylinder surface to assure the necessary cleansing and wiping action. As the blanket cylinder rotates clockwise as viewed in all the figures, water or solvent from pan 5157 is applied to its surface by capillary action of wick 59 to dampen the surface of the blanket cylinder and soften the accumulation thereon. The water, excess gum, excess acid and other impurities on the cylinder are then wiped from the surface of the blanket cylinder when the latter passes wiper 75 and are discharged from wiper 75 into tray 27, 29, 31, so that when the surface of the blanket cylinder again engages the plate cylinder, all impurities and excess fluid have been removed and the inked image will transfer properly from the plate cylinder to the blanket cylinder.

Periodically, when the blanket becomes glazed, pumice blade 83 may be substituted for blade 75 and brought into engagement with the blanket cylinder surface by adjustment of screws 63. As the blanket cylinder is rotated, it is moistened by water or solvent from wick 59, the glaze being removed by the abrasive action of the pumice.

In the modified form of the invention shown in FIGS. 6-14 the press mount comprises a fiat bar 101 with its ends 103 turned downwardly for attachment to the press beneath the blanket cylinder by bolts 105 and its intermediate portion slightly otfset transversely of its length as at 107 and 109 to avoid interference with portions of the press structure. Bar 101 is transversely slotted at 111, 111, in alignment with the attaching studs 113 which, like bolts 23 in the previous embodiment, depend from base 115 of the modified attachment, and studs 113 pass K through these slots and are secured to bar 101 by nuts, the slots permitting some adjustment of the position of ,the attachment transversely of the press mount bar.

An elongacd tray, similar to tray 29, 31, and having sloping sides 117 and upright ends 119, is secured by means of its fiat bottom 121 to base 115 with its ends projecting lengthwise a slight distance from base 115. Pins 123 projecting longitudinally from the opposite ends of base 115 form pivot bearings for-the lower ends of generaly C- shaped arms 125 and 127 which extend transyersely outwardly in opposite directions from pins 123 below the bottom of tray 117, 119, 121 and then upwardly and outwardly at 128 and 129 respectively to a higher level than thesides of the tray after which they arebent inwardly to extend over the interior of the tray. The upwardly extending portions 128 of arms 125 are connected by a fiat bar 131 which is preferably integral with both arms 125, to assure their movement in unison. An elongated pan having a sloping side wall 133, a bottom wall 135, upright side wall 137 and upright end walls 139 is supported within the tray by the upper ends of arms 125 which are secured to the upper margin of pan sloping side wall 133. An upright divider 141 is m'ountedwithin thepan and extends the full length thereof, but is spaced a slight distance from bottom'wall 135, and a wick 143 of capillary material is positioned against the sloping side wall 133, with its bottom edge engaging the bottombf the pan and its upper margin projecting upwardly from the upper edge of sloping side wall 133 for engagement with the blanket cylinder. With this arrangement a positive angle of engagement of the wick with blanket cylinder 11 is provided, as distinguished from the substantially right angle engagement of the previous embodiment. For supporting the wickand rigidifying it, an elongated block 145, witha thin plate 147 secured to it, is interposed between divider 141 and wick 143, and the latter is secured, as by stapling, to these members. For holding block in position, generally S-shaped clips are mounted on divider 141 with their opposite end engaging wick mounting block 145.

For adjusting the inclination of the wick and its pressure against blanket cylinder 11, arms 125 are formed with outwardly extending ears 151, which are grooved at 153 along their surfaces facing the tray, and elongated thumb screws 155 are threadably mounted in brackets 157 on the end walls 119 of the tray, with their threaded ends seated in grooves 153 and their handle portions extending transversely outwardly from the tray to facilitate manual adjustment of the wick from the left side of the tray. Arms 125 and with them wick 143 are resiliently biased in a counterclockwise direction, i.e., toward screws 155, by a coil spring 154 connected to ear 151 at the forward end of the tray as viewed in the drawings.

A fiat wiper blade 161 of rubber or rubber-like material is supported from portions 129 of arms 127. Arms 127 are each formed with extensions 163 depending within the tray from the upper extremities of portions 129. Extensions 163 are formed with upturned end portions 165, and blade 161 is secured along its lower margin to an elongated bar 167 slotted at 169 to receive arm extension end portions 165. To provide for pivotal movement of both arms in unison, they are rigidly connected by an angle bar 171. The outer surfaces of arms 127 are ver-' tically grooved as at 173 to abuttingly receive the ends of short thumb screws 175, which are threadably mounted at 176 on an elongated bar 177 extending parallel to the adjacent tray side wall. Bar 177 is formed withcylindrical ends 178 projecting from its upper corners nearest the tray and ends 178 are rotatably journaled in brackets 179 afiixed to tray end walls 119. Thumb screw mountings 176 are located on the bar at a higher level than and more remote from the tray than cylindrical ends 178 whereby to maximize movements of thumb screws toward and away from arms 127 responsive to pivotal movements of the bar about ends 178. Springs 181, connected at their opposite ends to arms 127 and brackets 17 9 respectively, act in tension to bias the arms into engagement with screws 175. From the foregoing it will be apparent that both the wiper blade and the wick can be adjusted from the same side of the tray by use of thumb screws 175 and 155 respectively.

To permit selective engagement and disengagement of the wick and wiper blade with the surface of the blanket cylinder without disturbing the thumb screw adjustment, a first plate-like control lever 183 is fixed intermediate its ends to one cylindrical end 178 of square bar 177 whereby rotation of lever 183 causes a corresponding rotation of bar 177 to move thumb screws 175 toward and away from the tray and thus either force wiper blade 161 into engagement with the blanket cylinder or permit springs 181 to retract it.

At its inner end lever 183 is formed with vertically spaced bifurcations 187 and 189, the opposing faces of which are alternately engageablewith stop pin 191 projecting from tray end wall 119 adjacent the tray side nearest the wiper blade. 1

A second plate-like lever 193, coplanar with lever 183, is fulcrumed on pin projecting from the middle of tray end wall 119. The end of lever 193 adjacent the bifurcated end of lever 183 is provided with a pair of ver tically spaced bifurcations 197 and 199, somewhat more closely spaced than bifurcations 187 and 189 of lever 183, with bifurcation 199 projecting above bifurcation 189 so as to be underlyingly engaged by the latter upon counterclockwise movement of lever 183 and thus produce clockwise movement of lever 193, lever 193 being biased counterclockwise by torsion spring 201 on pin 195 so as to maintain bifurcation 197 against stop pin 191. The outer end 203 of lever 1 93 engages ear 151 of blanket roll arm 125 so that when lever 193 is tilted clockwise, by counterclockwise tilting of lever 183, car 151, wick arms 125, the wick pan and wick 143 will be moved clockwise, with the wick moved away from engagement with the blanket cylinder.

For fixing the levers in the on and off positions, an adjustment bracket comprising an upright web 205 and flange 207 is rigidly supported from tray end 119 outwardly of levers 183 and 193 by stop pin 191 and pin 178. The outer end portion 209 of flange 207 extends arcuately upward and is pierced with two arcuately spaced radial holes 210 corresponding to the limit positions of lever 183. The outer end portion 211 of lever 183 protrudes outwardly beyond arcuate fiange portion 209 and is of box-like shape, the radially spaced ends 213 of which are pierced to slidably accommodate radial plunger 217, which is biased radially inwardly by a spring 219 seated on outer end 213 and acting against a shoulder 221 on the plunger. For retracting plunger 217, it is formed with a V-shaped handle 223. With this arrangement, the levers may be locked in the on position, with the wiper blade and wick in engagement with cylinder 11, by insertion of plunger 217 in the upper hole, and conversely in the ofi position, by insertion of the plunger in the lower hole, removal of the plunger from the holes for rotation of the levers being accomplished by pulling on plunger handle 223.

Adjustment bracket flange 207 is also formed with an upstanding rear end 225 to which is secured the forward end of wick spring 154.

In order to facilitate draining of the tray, the end wall 119 remote from the on-off adjustment mechanism, best seen in FIG. 15, is provided with a petcock 227 having an elongated stem 229 extending forwardly therefrom and terminating in a handle portion. With this arrangement, after the attachment has been used, the used water and impurities dissolved therein may be drained from the tray from the same position forward of the tray as the wick'adjustments are made.

Operation of the modified attachment is as follows: With the on-off control in the position shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, with plunger 217 in lower hole 210 of control bracket arcuate flange 209, bottom bifurcation 189 on wiper control lever 183 underlyingly engages bottom projection 199 on wick control lever 193, causing end 203 of the latter to engage car 151 of wick arm 125 and hold the latter against the tension of spring 154 in the extreme clockwise position with wick pan sloping wall 133 nearly engaging the adjacent tray side wall 117, as best seen in FIG. 10, and the wick out of engagement with cylinder 11. Because of the rigid connection of end portions 178 of square bar 177 to control lever 183, bar 177 is tilted counterclockwise, causing a corresponding movement of screws 175 away from the tray, so that springs 181 hold arms 127 at the extreme counterclockwise position, with their inner extensions 163 substantially against the adjacent tray side wall 117 and scraper blade 161 out of engagement with the blanket cylinder surface.

When it is desired to utilize the cleaning attachment, handle 223 is pulled outwardly to retract plunger 217 from lower hole 210, and lever 183 is rotated clockwise to the position shown in FIG. 11, wherein plunger 217 is forced into the upper hole 210 by spring 219. This movement of lever 183 causes a similar rotation of bar 177, which causes screws 175 to push wiper blade arms 127 clockwise toward the surface of blanket cylinder 11, after which precise adjustment of wiper blade 143 can be elfected by manually turning adjustment screws 175. The clockwise rotational movement of lever 183 also disengages its lower bifurcation 189 from lower projection 199 of lever 193, permitting torsion spring 201 to force lever 193 counterclockwise until its upper projection 197 engages stop pin 191. This movement of lever 193 permits spring 154 to move wick arms counterclockwise and move wick143 toward blanket cylinder 11, after which precise adjustment of wick 143 can be effected by manually turning wick adjusement screws 155.

The flo'w of fluid is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 14 in which arrows, originating at water level in the wick pan, between pan side wall 137 and divider 141 pass below the divider, thence up the wick by capillary action, thence along the surface of cylinder 11, and thereafter down the wiper blade into the bottom of the tray, from which they may later be drained through petcock 227.

Thereafter, when it is desired to disengage the cleaning attachment wick and wiper blade from the blanket cylinder, this can be effected without disturbing the adjustment of the wick and wiper blade adjustment screws and respectively by moving control lever from. the posi-. tion shown in FIG. 11 to that shown in FIG. 8. I

The details of the cleaning apparatus may be modified substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of such modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning attachment for a cylindrical surface comprising a tray adapted for stationary mounting adjacent the cylindrical surface and elongated parallelto the axis of the cylindrical surface, a pan carried in said tray and mounting a wick elongated axially of the cylindrical surface and having an edge engageable therewith, and a similarly elongated wiper blade mounted in said tray and having an edge engageable with the cylindrical surface, said blade being positioned posterior to said wick along the direction of rotation of the cylindrical surface.

2. An attachment according to claim 1 including arms pivoted on an axis parallel to the axis of the cylindrical surface relative to said tray and forming the mounting of said pan on said tray.

3. An attachment according to claim 2 including means for fixing said arms at various positions about their axes whereby to adjust the positions of said wick relative to the cylindrical surface.

4. An attachment according to claim 3 in which said means comprises screws having an end rotatably secured to a portion of said tray and their other end threadably passing through said arms.

5. An attachment according to claim 1 including arms pivoted to said tray on an axis parallel to the axis of the cylindrical surface and forming the mounting of said wiper blade on said tray.

6. An attachment according to claim 2 including additional arms pivoted to said tray on an axis parallel to the axis of the cylindrical surface and forming the mounting of said wiper blades on said tray.

7. An attachment according to claim 6 in which the axes of said first-named and additional arms are aligned with each other.

8. An attachment according to claim 1 in which said wiper blade is of rubber-like material.

9. An attachment according to claim 1 in which said wiper blade is of abrasive material.

10. An attachment according to claim 2 including additional anms pivoted relative to said tray on an axis parallel to the axis of the cylindrical surface and forming the mounting of said wiper blade in said tray.

11. An attachment according to claim 10 including means for fixing said arms at various positions around their aries whereby to adjust the positions of said wick and wiperblade relative to the'cylindrical surface.

I 12. An attachment according to claim 11 including additional means for' retracting said wick and wiper blade from-engagement with the cylindrical surface without disturbing the adjustment effected by said first-named means.

l 13. 'An attachment according to claim 12 wherein said first-named means and said additional means are operable from the same sideof said tray. I

r 14. An attachment according to claim 12 in which said fixing means comprises separate screws extending transversely of and supported from said tray and resilient means biasing said arms against said screws.

15. An attachment according to claim 14 wherein said wick mounting arms and said wiper blade mounting arms are disposed on opposite sides of said tray from each other.

16. An attachment according toclaim 15 wherein said screws engage corresponding surfaces of said 'wick mounting arms and said wiper blade mounting arms and are operable from the same side of said tray.

17. An attachment according to claim 16 including a member elongated lengthwise of said tray and supported therefrom along one side thereof for limited rotation about its longitudinal axis, said elongated member forming the support of said wiper blade screws and a first transverse lever fixed to said elongated member and selectively pivotable to rotate said elongated member and thus move said wiper blade screws between a first position maintaining said wiper blade in proximate relation with the cylindrical surface and a second position permitting said resilient means to retract said wiper blade from engagement with the cylindrical surface.

18. An attachment according to claim 17 wherein the support of said screws on said elongated member is offset outwardly with respect to said tray and upwardly from the rotation axis of said elongated member.

.8 '19. An attachmentaccording to claim 16 including a second transverse lever fulcrumed on said tray 'and having 'a first end portion abuttingly engageable with said wick supporting arm when said lever istilted about its fulcrum for opposing the action of said resilient means and causing retraction of said wick from engagement with the cylindrical surface.' 5 p 1 20. An attachment'ac'cording to'claim 1Q wherein s'aid second lever is aligned with said first 'leve'rjsaid first end portion of said second lever being remote from said first lever, said first and second levers having adjacent endi'p'ortions formed with cooperating projections engageable with each other upon rotation of said first lever from the "first to second positions, to cause saids'econd lever to'tilt 'irito engagement with said wick supporting arm, and resilient means biasing said second lever away from 'its' tilted position. 1 1

21. An attachment according to claim 20 wherein said adjacent end portions of said levers are formed withvertically spaced bifurcations, there being a projection from said tray disposedbetween' said bifurcations and engageable alternately with the upper or lower bifurcations 'to limit the rotation of both said levers. the lower bifurcation forming cooperating projections.

. References Cited. r 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner;

F. A. WINANS, ssistant Examiner.

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