Rotary printing press with means for reversing cylinder rotation

Claim 1

IN A FLEXOGRAPHIC ROTARY PRINTING PRESS FOR PRINTING A PLURALITY OF PRINTING COLOR IMAGES ON A WEB, SAID PRESS TO BE SELECTIVELY SET TO PRINT ALL OF SAID IMAGES ON ONE SIDE OF THE WEB AND TO BE SELECTIVELY RESET TO PRINT SOME OF SAID IMAGES ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE WEB AND THUS TO PRINT SIMULTANEOUSLY ON BOTH SIDES OF THE WEB, A PLURALITY OF COLOR PRINTING UNITS, EACH OF SAID UNITS INCLUDING A PLATE CYLINDER CARRYING A PRINTING PLATE, AN INK TRANSFERRING CYLINDER ROTATABLE IN EITHER DIRECTION AND ADAPTED TO TRANSFER INK TO SAID PRINTING PLATE, AN IMPRESSION CYLINDER ITS ADAPTED TO PRESS THE WEB AGAINST THE PTINTING PLATE OF ITS RESPECTIVE UNIT, THE ONLY PLATE CYLINDER AND THE IMPRESSION CYLINDER OF A PORTION OF THE PLURALITY OF SAID COLOR UNITS BEING ADAPTED TO BE ROTATED IN BOTH DIRECTIONS INDEPENDENTLY OF THE CYLINDERS OF THE REMAINING UNITS, DRIVING MEANS FOR ROTATING THE CYLINDERS OF THE UNITS, MEANS TO SELECTIVELY REVERSE THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF SAID CYLINDERS IN SAID REVERSIBLE COLOR UNITS ONLY, ROLL MEANS FOR RETHREADING THE WEB ON CYLINDERS OF REVERSIBLE COLOR UNITS FOR ADAPTING SUCH COLOR UNIT TO PRINT ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE WEB WITH THE OTHER UNITS TO CONTINUE PRINTING ON THE SAME SIDE, CLUTCH MEANS OPERATIVELY INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE PLATE CYLINDER AND SAID INK TRANSFERRING CYLINDER AT LEAST IN THE REVERSIBLE COLOR PRINTING UNITS, SAID CLUTCH MEANS INCLUDING WEDGING-IN ELEMENTS ADAPTED TO PROVIDE DRIVING CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PLATE CYLINDER AND THE INK TRANSFERRING CYLINDER WHEN THE PLATE CYLINDER IS DRIVEN IN ONE DIRECTION, SAID WEDGING-IN ELEMENTS BEING RESPONSIVE TO REVERSING THE DIRECTION TO ROTATION OF THE PLATE CYLINDER BY COMING OUT OF THEIR WEDGING-IN POSITIONS AND THUS DESTROYING THE DRIVING CONNECTION AND TO PROVIDE FOR IDLING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, SAID CLUTCH MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO BE MANUALLY RESET, WHILE REMAINING IN ITS OPERATIVE POSITION, WHEN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF ITS COLOR UNIT IS REVERSED AND WHEN SO RESET TO PROVIDE SIMILARLY DRIVING CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID CYLINDERS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND IDLING IN THE DIRECTION OF PREVIOUS DRIVING.