Screen printing apparatus with screen peel-off from work

Abstract

A screen printing apparatus is provided, having a table on which the blank to be printed may be placed, and with the screen being brought into overlying relation to the blank for engagement of the screen by a squeegee for forcing through the screen, ink that has been applied to the screen, onto the work, with the squeegee generally downwardly pressing the screen a predetermined amount, to engagement with the work, as the squeegee traverses the screen from one end to the other. The screen is pivotally mounted at one end, and the other end is upwardly liftable to peel-off the screen from the work, as the squeegee traverses, so that those portions of the screen through which ink has already been applied to the work may be physically removed from the work to prevent smearing of ink on the work, as well as to prevent distortion. The upward movement of the screen away from the work is synchronized with the traversal of the squeegee across the screen. The traversing movement of the squeegee is of the single sided rack-and-pinion drive type and a bar that carries the squeegee as it moves in its traversing movement also actuates a mechanism for pivoting a shaft that, in turn, effects the raising motion of the screen. Adjustment isprovided for controlling the amount that squeegee traversal will raise the screen off the work.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.