Screen holder for rotary screen printing machines

Claim 1

Adjustable screen holder means for helping to hold, guide and tension interchangeable cylindrical rotary screens of various diameters and lengths for operable use in conjunction with rotary screen printing machines, which machines conventionally comprise a machine frame with means for supporting and means for driving an endless printing blanket for supporting the material to be printed upon, as well as for at least partially supporting the rotary screens in a manner with the screen axis disposed normally transverse to the longitudinal travel direction of the endless blanket and machine frame, said machines further including cooperable means thereon and on at least one end portion of the rotary screens for rotatively driving same; said adjustable screen holder means comprising in combination: a. a pair of spaced support members on said frame sufficiently longitudinally spaced apart to receive therebetween any of the given size screens; b. inclined guideway means, including a pair of guideways, each having lower and upper portions and diverging from their lower to upper portions, and each of which includes means for mounting them respectively on said support members generally in association with at least one end portion of the given screen to help guidingly support and tension said screen; c. slide means including a pair of slides (4,4'' ) and means for adjustably mounting one on each of said inclined guideways for movement toward and away from a given screen to be guided and supported therebetween; and d. screen-adjusting elements (5,11) mounted on said slides for operative engagement with said rotary screen.