Abstract
A corrugated box making machine has a vacuum transfer mechanism for moving corrugated boards along a path of conveyance including stations having printing and die cutter mechanisms which operate on the boards. The printing mechanisms include a print and impression cylinder, the latter being mounted in a vacuum housing that also holds drive rolls for moving the boards along the path during which the boards are held against the rolls by vacuum in the housing. The latter is movable substantially above the print cylinder to provide convenient access for maintenance of the print cylinder or replacement of its printing plates.
Claims
1. The method of accessing a print cylinder in a box making machine having a generally horizontal path of conveyance and at least one work station positioned along said path and including a work means for engaging and operating on boards conveyed along said path, said work means including a printing mechanism including a print cylinder which prints bottom surfaces of the boards, and an impression cylinder overlying the print cylinder, and transfer means engageable with the boards to move the boards along said path of conveyance to said work station; the method comprising mounting said transfer means and said impression cylinder for vertical movement between an operative position adjacent said path of conveyance for transferring boards along said path, and an inoperative position substantially spaced away from said print cylinder to provide user access to said print cylinder for maintenance or replacement of said print cylinder, moving the transfer means and the impression cylinder to said inoperative position thereby providing sufficient space between the transfer means and said print cylinder to access into the space to service or replace print plates on the print cylinder, and accessing said space and engaging said print cylinder to service or replace print plates on the print cylinder while the transfer means and impression cylinder are in said inoperative position.
2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein said transfer means is moved to an inoperative position at least twelve inches spaced from said path of conveyance.
3. The method defined in claim 1 wherein said transfer means is moved to an inoperative position at least thirty-eight inches spaced from said path of conveyance.
Description
DRAWINGS
(1) Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description of the present invention taken in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:
(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a box making machine incorporating one preferred embodiment of the present invention with certain parts omitted for clarity;
(3) FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the box making machine;
(4) FIG. 3 is a top view of the box making machine;
(5) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines B-B of FIG. 3 showing a vacuum transfer mechanism in an operative position;
(6) FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the vacuum transfer mechanism in an inoperative raised position allowing access to the print cylinder in accordance with the present invention; and
(7) FIG. 6 is a fragmental, cross-sectional view showing a vacuum conduit and blower that is included in the machine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(8) Referring to the drawings in detail, there is shown for illustrative purposes only, an external perspective view of corrugated box making machine constituting one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Corrugated boards (shown at 10 in FIG. 4) are fed one by one into the inlet by a suitable feeder generally designated 12 such as for example an Extend-o-Feed feeder disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,811 which is owned by the assignee of and hereby incorporated by reference into the present application. Access into the machine is through doors 14 shown in FIG. 1 which also shows certain control panels 16 and ink containers 18 at the front side of the machine. FIG. 1 also shows electrical cabinets 20 also shown in FIG. 3 with doors 21; and a guard 22 enclosing the rear side of the machine.
(9) The path of conveyance of the boards 10 within the machine coincides with the plane of the boards 10 as shown in FIG. 4. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the height h (see FIG. 4) of the conveyance path above the floor or ground surface 24 is approximately forty-six inches (46) which is generally a standard height in conventional box making machines. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the boards 10 are moved along their path of conveyance by a plurality of friction rolls 30 mounted in a housing 32 and driven in rotation by any suitable means such as servo or other motors and gearing. Boards 10 are held against the rolls 30 by a vacuum generated in housings 32 through air ducts 34 located above housings 32 and communicating with vacuum or air blowers 40 mounted to a fixed vertical support frame or wall 42 as shown in FIG. 3. Support wall 42 is tied to the support wall at the front side of the machine by beams 44 shown in FIG. 1.
(10) Referring to FIG. 4, after boards 10 are conveyed one by one downstream from feeder 12, rolls 30 drive the boards to one or more printing stations where indicia is printed on them by printing mechanisms each including a rotatable cylinder 50 mounted to and between frames 41 and 42, and a rotatable impression cylinder 52 mounted in and to the vacuum housings 32. The boards 10 pass into the nips between the cylinder 50,52 while an inked print plate(s) 54 on print cylinder 50 impresses its indicia on the boards 10 in well known manner. Ink is supplied to print cylinder 50 by an ink roll 56 shown in FIG. 5. A similar printer mechanism and vacuum transfer unit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,068 identified above and whose disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application as part hereof.
(11) When boards 10 leave the last print station, they are conveyed to a die cutter station where a rotary die cutter mechanism cuts, slots and/or creases the boards 10. The rotary die cutter mechanism may be any conventional mechanism including a rotatable die cylinder 60 having one or more dies 62 on its surface and an underlying rotatable anvil 64 which is a cylinder. Boards 10 pass between the die cylinder 60 and anvil 64, and the die 62 cuts, creases and/or slots the boards as they pass through. FIG. 4 also shows an abrading or grinding mechanism including an abrading cylinder which is engageable with the surface of the anvil 64 to keep its diameter uniform. A more detailed description of the above die mechanism 60,64 and the abrading mechanism 66 may be respectively found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,913,566 B2 and 6,179,763 B1 assigned to the assignee of the present application and whose disclosures are hereby incorporated by reference into the patent application as part hereof.
(12) Referring to FIG. 4, when maintenance of the printing cylinders 50 and/or their printing plates 54 is required or when the printing plates 54 need to be replaced for a new job to be run through the machine, machines of the prior art have not provided the desired convenient access internally of the machine and to the print cylinder 52. This is caused by the proximate position relative to the print cylinder 50 of the vacuum housings 32 and their impression cylinder 52 and drive rolls 30 as best shown in FIG. 4. To overcome this problem in accordance with the present invention, the vacuum housings 32 are mounted for vertical movement between operative position adjacent the path of conveyance and the print cylinder 50 as shown in FIG. 4 and an inoperative position shown in FIG. 5 raised above the latter by at least twelve inches (12) but preferably thirty-eight inches (38) in the preferred embodiment shown and described herein. This provides convenient access to the printing cylinders 50 as illustrated by the worker (W) depicted in FIG. 5 and who easily enters the machine through the doors 14. When the worker has concluded his maintenance or replacement of parts and exited the machine, the vacuum housing 32 is simply returned downwardly to its operative position shown in FIG. 4. Vacuum conduits 34 shown as tubes move with their associated housings 32 between the upper and lower positions described above. For this reason the support wall 42 is apertured at 45 to allow communication between the conduits 34 and vacuum blowers 40 (as best shown in FIG. 6) when the housing is in its operative position. The ends of ducts 34 terminate at the support frame wall 42 along which the ducts move when the vacuum housing 32 is moving between its operative and inoperative positions. In the operative position, the duct 34 registers with aperture 45 in the wall 42 as shown in FIG. 6 to thus communicate with the associated blower 40. In their inoperative, raised position the ducts 34 are out of registry with the apertures 45 as shown in FIG. 5.
(13) Any suitable means may be used to actuate the vacuum housings 32 between their upper and lower positions. In one embodiment, a non-rising screw is received in a nut fixed to the housing 32 such that rotation of the screw by a motor will cause the housing 32 to move along the screw into the desired position. In the specific embodiment shown the housings 32 are guided in their aforementioned movement by vertical guide rails 47 fixed to frame wall 42 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Housings 32 are each provided with U shaped guides (not shown) receiving the guide rails 47 for guiding the housings 32 in their vertical movement.
(14) Although shown and described above to access the print cylinder, it will be apparent that the present invention may be applied to access other mechanisms in a box making machine such as the die cutter 60.64 shown in FIG. 4. Moreover the present invention may be applied to box making machines which utilize other transport mechanisms such as endless belts. Therefore although one form of the present invention has been shown and described above, other forms will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art but without departing from the scope of the present invention indicated in the appended claims.
