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US 5,476,040 AGranted
Pad printing machine with improved hold downs
AssigneeTrans Tech America, Inc.
InventorEgon Kleist
Life of this patent
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AssigneeTrans Tech America, Inc.
InventorEgon Kleist
Estimating the term…
A pad printing machine is disclosed in which the downward pressure forces are transferred to a thrust collar on the ink cup by application through a divided bearing which applies the hold-down forces at points that are spaced forward and rearward of the transverse pivot axis of the ink cup, and only at such spaced points, to resist rocking moments such as may arise from the reciprocating movements of the cliche. Further, the thrust collar is a combination of a very rigid pressure ring and a hard but slightly resilient plastic pressure distribution ring which is accurately machined after subassembly with the rigid ring to assure full mating engagement with the upper surface of the annular flange around the entire circumference of the ink cup, to assure uniform pressure of the entire knife edge on the cliche. In a preferred embodiment, the ink cup also is formed of a hard plastic.
A pad printing machine in which a cliche is reciprocative along a predetermined path, an ink container disposed over the position of such a cliche with a doctor blade on a lower portion thereof around an open end and which blade is pressed against such a reciprocative cliche to form a liquid seal and to scrape ink from said cliche as a printing portion of said cliche is extended from beneath said container along said predetermined path, and a hold-down mechanism for pressing the said doctor blade against such a cliche, said hold-down mechanism including a holder which engages;
A pad printing machine in which a cliche is reciprocative along a predetermined path, an ink container disposed over the position of such a cliche with a doctor blade on a lower portion thereof around an open end and which blade is pressed against such a reciprocative cliche to form a liquid seal and to scrape ink from said cliche as a printing portion of said cliche is extended from beneath said container, said container including a generally vertical side wall and a flange extending radially outward from said side wall and presenting an upwardly exposed flange surface around said container, and a hold-down mechanism for pressing the said doctor blade against such a cliche, said hold-down mechanism including an annular thrust collar disposed around said container over said flange and movable relative to said container, said thrust collar including a rigid ring which includes a thrust surface disposed over said flange, and a resilient force-transfer ring disposed between said thrust and flange surfaces and in substantially continuous uniform contact with each of said surfaces around said cup whereby downward pressure is applied on said cup flange by said force transfer ring substantially uniformly along the entire circumference of said cup when downward forces are applied to said rigid ring.
A pad printing machine in which a cliche is reciprocative along a predetermined path and an ink container is disposed over the position of such a cliche with a doctor blade on a lower portion thereof around an open end and which blade is pressed against such a reciprocative cliche to form a liquid seal and to scrape ink from said cliche as a printing portion of said cliche is extended from beneath said container, said container including a generally vertical side wall and a flange extending radially outward from said side wall and presenting an upwardly exposed pressure surface around said container, said machine comprising a hold-down mechanism for so pressing said doctor blade against such a cliche, said hold-down mechanism including a thrust collar to receive such a container when the container is positioned in said machine and applying downward forces to at least a portion of said container, said thrust collar including a rigid ring which includes a thrust surface to be disposed over said flange of such a container and a resilient force-transfer ring mounted on said rigid ring in substantially continuous uniform contact with said thrust surface, said resilient ring having an exposed surface disposed to be in alignment with said pressure surface of such a container when positioned in said machine and being of a configuration corresponding substantially identically with the configuration of such pressure surface for application of downward pressure on said cup flange substantially uniformly along the entire circumference of said cup when downward forces are applied to said rigid ring.
The method of making a pad printing machine for applying hold down force to an inking container for pressing a doctor blade on said container against a cliche, including the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.