Printing press having means for indexing plate cylinder

Abstract

An assembly is provided for indexing the position of a plate cylinder. The assembly includes a drive assembly which is coupled to the plate cylinder, an indexing mechanism which is engageable with the drive assembly, and a shaft which supports the indexing mechanism and rotates it about the axis of the shaft. The drive assembly includes a support and a detent plate which is rotatably and slidably mounted to the support. The detent plate includes tapered or frustoconical openings arranged in a circle upon the plate. The indexing mechanism includes a pin having a tapered head which is insertable into the openings. The detent plate may be moved axially away from the indexing mechanism in order to disengage it from the pin. Once disengaged, the drive assembly and plate cylinder may be rotated with respect to the indexing mechanism and blanket cylinder to allow a different image on the surface of the plate cylinder to be transferred to the blanket cylinder.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.