US 6,178,886 B2Granted

Replaceable inking arrangement in a can decorator

AssigneeSequa Corporation

InventorsRobert Williams, Mario Gary Padilla

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Abstract

In a can decorator, substituting one inking arrangement by another inking arrangement to facilitate reconfiguration of each inking arrangement with minimal down time while the other inking arrangement is inking cans being decorated. First and second inking arrangements are supported on and spaced 90° or 180° apart around a rotation axis of a plate, which is rotatable to bring each of the inking arrangements to a position radially inward of the can handling apparatus of the can decorator. Each inking arrangement is shiftable laterally inward on the plate away from the can handling apparatus when the plate is to be rotated and laterally shifted outwardly toward the can handling apparatus after the plate has been rotated and the new inking arrangement is positioned laterally inward of the can handling apparatus. In one alternate embodiment, the inking arrangements are on a plate that is reciprocated laterally to bring each inking arrangement in turn to the can handling apparatus. In another alternate embodiment, the inking arrangements are on respective tracks on a Y-shape arrangement to bring each inking arrangement in turn to the can handling apparatus.

Claims35

Dependent claims

An inking apparatus for a can decorator, wherein

the can decorator includes a can handling apparatus for presenting cans to be decorated by the inking apparatus;
the inking apparatus comprising:
a first and a second inking arrangement and a presenting apparatus for presenting one of the first and second inking arrangements at a time to the can handling apparatus;
each of the inking arrangements comprising:
a frame;
a blanket cylinder supported for rotation on the frame and including blankets thereon for applying respective color decorations to the cans on the can handling apparatus passing by the blanket cylinder;
a respective set of inkers, each inker being positioned and adapted to hold and dispense a respective ink supply with a selected pattern to a respective one of the blankets on the blanket cylinder;
the presenting apparatus comprising a support on which each of the first and second inking arrangements is supported at spaced apart locations on the plate;
a drive for moving the support for selectively moving one of the first and second inking arrangements to a position at the can handling apparatus;
a respective inking arrangement shifting device connected between each inking arrangement and the support for shifting the inking arrangement toward or away from the can handling apparatus when the inking arrangement has been moved by the support to the position at the can handling apparatus, the inking arrangement being shiftable on the support away from the can handling apparatus far enough to permit the support to move the inking arrangement which is then at the can handling apparatus away from the can handling apparatus without such movement being inhibited by the can handling apparatus and far enough to permit the support to move the other inking arrangement to the can handling apparatus, and each of the inking arrangements being shiftable by the respective inking arrangement shifting device to be moved toward the can handling apparatus where the inking arrangement may be operated to decorate the cans on the can handling apparatus.

7 more elements

An inking apparatus for a can decorator, wherein

the can decorator includes can handling apparatus for presenting cans to be decorated by the inking apparatus;
the inking apparatus comprising:
each of the inking arrangements comprising:
a frame;
a blanket cylinder supported for rotation on the frame and including blankets thereon for applying respective color decorations to the cans on the can handling apparatus passing by the blanket cylinder;
a respective set of inkers, each inker being positioned and adapted to hold and dispense a respective ink supply with a selected pattern to a respective one of the blankets on the blanket cylinder;
a first presenting apparatus for presenting the first inking arrangement to and moving it away from the can handling apparatus, a second presenting apparatus for presenting the second inking arrangement to and moving it away from the can handling apparatus;
the first and second presenting apparatus defining respective legs of generally a Y-shape configuration with respect to the can handling apparatus;
first and second drives for the first and second inking arrangements respectively for driving the inking arrangements along the respective legs of the Y-shape and the first and second presenting apparatus having a common part of the Y shape at the can handling apparatus where they position one of the first and second inking arrangements to the can handling apparatus at a time.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.