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US 2018/0009216 A1Published application
Decorator Drive and Printing Plate Cylinder Automation
AssigneeCrown Packaging Technology, Inc.
InventorsDaniel Egerton, Ian Wilkinson
Life of this patent
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AssigneeCrown Packaging Technology, Inc.
InventorsDaniel Egerton, Ian Wilkinson
Estimating the term…
A can decorator comprising a spindle disc, a blanket drum, a transfer wheel, a pin chain drive, and a controller. The spindle disc is adapted for (i) receiving beverage cans from an infeed and (ii) carrying and rotating each can body on a corresponding spindle. The blanket drum is adapted for (i) applying ink to printing cylinders and (ii) rotating the print cylinders in registration with beverage cans on the spindle disc to decorate the cans. The transfer wheel is adapted for receiving beverage cans from the spindle disc after decoration by the blanket drum. The pin chain drive is adapted for receiving cans from the transfer wheel and transporting the cans on a chain through an oven. The controller adapted for receiving encoder information and matching or adjusting speeds of a spindle disc motor, a blanket drum motor, a transfer wheel motor, and a pin chain drive motor.
A can decorator comprising:
The can decorator of any preceding claim wherein the encoder on each one of the motors is an absolute encoder.
The can decorator of any preceding claim wherein the motors are servo motors.
The can decorator of any preceding claim further comprising an over-varnish disc adapted for applying a varnish to the cans while on the spindle disc.
The can decorator of any preceding claim wherein each one of the motors is capable of being operated while the other motors are off, whereby the operating motor is operable for maintenance tasks.
A method of operating the can decorator of any preceding claim, comprising the step of adjusting the speeds of at least one of the spindle disc motor, the blanket drum motor, transfer wheel motor, and pin chain drive motor to response to can image information to enhance the can image.
A method of changing a pin chain in the can decorator of any preceding claim, comprising the step of rotating the pin chain drive by engaging the pin chain drive motor without rotating the spindle disc, blanket drum, and transfer wheel.
A method of a servicing or maintaining a blanket drum in the can decorator of any preceding claim, comprising the step of rotating the blanket drum by engaging the blanket drum motor without rotating the spindle disc, transfer wheel, and pin chain drive.
A blanket drum in a can decorator comprising:
The blanket drum of any of the preceding claims wherein the blanket drum has plural printing cylinders, and each one of the printing cylinder has an axial actuator and a radial actuator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.