Intermediate printing sleeve having air nozzles and means for selectively closing the nozzles

Abstract

A flexographic printing cylinder comprises a hollow support cylinder with a supply of compressed air to within the hollow support cylinder. Nozzles pass through the support cylinder to convey the compressed air from the inside to the outside of the support cylinder. An interpolated sleeve tightly fits over the support cylinder, and a thin sleeve tightly fits over the interpolated sleeve. Nozzles extend through the interpolated sleeve in registry with the nozzles through the support cylinder to convey compressed air to the thin sleeve. Structure is provided for selectively opening and closing the nozzles of the interpolated sleeve. That structure can be a ring rotatable on the interpolated sleeve, the ring having nozzles therethrough which align with the nozzles through the interpolated sleeve in one rotated position of the ring and which misalign with the nozzles through the interpolated sleeve in another rotated position of the ring so that the ring in that latter position closes the nozzles through the interpolated sleeve.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.