Motorized ductor roll

Claim 3

An apparatus for accelerating a ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between the fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 1 wherein said second sensor is drivingly connected to the drive shaft of said motor to sense the rotational speed of the ductor roll and transmit a signal dependent on the speed of the ductor roll to said control circuit.

Claim 4

An apparatus for accelerating a ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between the fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 1 which includes drive means drivingly connecting said motor to the ductor roll, said drIve means having a variable ratio such that the rotational speed of the ductor roll may be varied with respect to the rotational speed of said motor.

Claim 5

An apparatus for accelerating a ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between the fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 1, said first sensor including a rotatable member having a rotational movement corresponding to the movement of the ductor roll between the fountain roll and ink receiving roll, a switch mounted to a fixed member and means mounted on the rotatable member for actuating said switch such that said switch provides a signal to said control circuit when the ductor roll is in the predetermined position.

Claim 6

An apparatus for accelerating a ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between the fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 10 wherein said means mounted on the rotatable member includes a magnet extending along a portion of the rotatable member includes a magnet extending along a portion of the rotatable member to actuate said switch during the time in which said magnet is adjacent to said switch such that said motor is thereby actuated when the ductor roll is in the predetermined position.

Claim 7

An apparatus for accelerating a ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between the fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 10 which includes means for pivotally mounting the ductor roll for movement about the axis of the output shaft of said motor and adapted to be actuated by said rotatable member such that the ductor roll is moved between the fountain roll and the ink receiving roll in a predetermined manner.

Claim 8

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for moving said ductor roll between the first and second positions includes means for pivoting said ductor roll about an axis of rotation which extends through said motor.

Claim 11

An apparatus for driving the ductor roll of a printing press as defined in claim 14 wherein said drive member includes a pulley non-rotatably secured to the ductor roll and said variable drive member includes a variable drive pulley drivingly connected to said output shaft of said motor and said means drivingly connecting said drive pulley to said variable drive pulley including a flexible endless belt such that when the diameter of said variable drive pulley is changed, the relative speed between said motor and the ductor roll is changed.

Claim 12

An apparatus for driving the ductor roll of a printing press as defined in claim 8 wherein said pivotal member includes means for adjusting the distance between the rotational axis of the ductor roll and the pivotal axis of said pivotal member.

Claim 13

An apparatus for driving the ductor roll of a printing press as defined in claim 8 which includes a rotational member driven by the printing press and adapted to pivot said pivotal member about the output shaft such that the ductor roll is moved between a fountain roll and an ink receiving roll of the printing press in a predetermined manner.

Claim 14

An apparatus for driving the ductor roll of a printing press as defined in claim 8 which includes Means for yieldably urging said pivotal member into communication with said rotational member such that said rotational member is drivingly connected to said pivotal member.

Claim 15

An assembly for use in a printing press, said assembly comprising a first roll mounted for rotation about a first axis, means for supplying fluid to said first roll, a second roll mounted for rotation about a second axis and spaced apart from said first roll, a ductor roll mounted for rotation about a third axis and movable between a first position in which said ductor roll engages said first roll and is spaced apart from said second roll and a second position in which said ductor roll engages said second roll and is spaced apart from said first roll to thereby provide for a transfer of fluid from said first roll to said second roll by said ductor roll, first means for driving said first roll at a first peripheral speed and for driving said second roll at a second peripheral speed which is faster than said first peripheral speed, means for moving said ductor roll between the first and second positions, and second means for increasing the peripheral speed of said ductor roll to said second peripheral speed independently of said first means during movement of said ductor roll from said first position to said second position to thereby tend to minimize changes in the load on said first means upon engagement of said ductor roll with said second roll, said second means including drive means for transmitting drive forces to said ductor roll to effect rotation of said ductor roll about said third axis, an electric motor connected with said drive means said electric motor being connected with said drive means, said electric motor being operable between an active condition in which said electric motor is effective to apply a drive force to said drive means and an inactive condition in which said electric motor is ineffective to apply a drive force to said drive means and an inactive condition in which said electric motor is ineffective and control means for sensing when said ductor roll is in a predetermined position relative to said first and second rolls and for effecting operation of said electric motor between the active and inactive conditions in response to a sensing that said ductor roller is in the predetermined position.

Claim 16

An assembly for use in a printing press, said assembly comprising a first roll mounted for rotation about a first axis, means for supplying fluid to said first roll, a second roll mounted for rotation about a second axis and spaced apart from said first roll, a ductor roll mounted for rotation about a third axis and movable between a first position in which said ductor roll engages said first roll and is spaced apart from said second roll and a second position in which said ductor roll engages said second roll and is spaced apart from said first roll to thereby provide for a transfer of fluid from said first roll to said second roll by said ductor roll, first means for driving said first roll at a first peripheral speed and for driving said second roll at a second peripheral speed which is faster than said first peripheral speed, means for moving said ductor roll between the first and second positions, and second means for increasing the peripheral speed of said ductor roll to said second peripheral speed independently of said first means during movement of said ductor roll from said first position to said second position to thereby tend to minimize changes in the load on said first means upon engagement of said ductor roll with said second roll, said second means including drive means for transmitting drive forces to said ductor roll to effect rotation of said ductor roll about said third axis, an electric motor connected with said drive means said electric motor being connected with said drive means, said electric motor being operable between an active condition in which said electric motor is effective to apply a drive force to said drive means and an inactive condition in which said electric motor is ineffective to apply a drive force to said drive means and an inactive condition in which said electric motor is ineffective and control means for sensing when said ductor roll is in a predetermined position relative to said first and second rolls and for effecting operation of said electric motor between the active and inactive conditions in response to a sensing that said ductor roller is in the predetermined position.

Claim 17

An assembly as set forth in claim 13 wherein said means for moving said ductor roll between the first and second positions includes means for pivoting said ductor roll about an axis of rotation which extends through said electric motor.

Claim 18

An assembly as set forth in claim 24 wherein said control means further includes means for sensing the rotational speed of said ductor roll during movement of said ductor roll between the first and second positions and for limiting the rotational speed of the ductor roll to a predetermined maximum rotational speed during movement of the ductor roll between the first and second positions.

Claim 19

An assembly as set forth in claim 13 wherein said drive means includes a drive member connected to said ductor roll, a variable drive member connected to said electric motor, means drivingly connecting said drive member to said variable drive member and means for adjusting said variable drive member to vary the relative speed between said drive member and said variable drive member.

Claim 20

An assembly as defined in claim 16 wherein said drive member includes a pulley connected to the ductor roll and said variable drive member includes a variable diameter pulley drivingly connected to said output shaft of said motor, said means drivingly connecting said drive pulley to said variable drive pulley includes a flexible endless belt, and said means for adjusting said variable drive member includes means for varying the diameter of said variable drive pulley.

Claim 23

An apparatus for accelerating the ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between a fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 18 wherein said drive means includes a member pivotally mounted on one end to said output shaft of said motor and having the ductor roll rotatably mounted on the other end thereof.

Claim 24

An apparatus for accelerating the ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between a fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 18 which includes a sensor means for activating said motor when the ductor roll is in a first position.

Claim 25

An apparatus for accelerating the ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between a fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 18 which includes a sensor means for sensing the rotational speed of the ductor roll such that the rotational speed of the ductor roll when driven by said motor is limited thereby.

Claim 26

An apparatus for accelerating the ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between a fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 18 wherein said electric motor is operable between an active condition in which said electric motor is effective to rotate said output shaft and an inactive condition in which said electric motor is ineffective to rotate said output shaft, said means for pivoting said ductor roll being effective to move said ductor roll from a first position to a second position, said apparatus further including control means for effecting operation of said electric motor between the active and inactive conditions when the ductor roll is in the first position.

Claim 27

An apparatus for accelerating the ductor roll of a printing press as the ductor roll moves between a fountain roll and an ink receiving roll as defined in claim 18 which includes control means for sensing and limiting the rotational speed of the ductor roll during pivotal movement of the ductor roll about the longitudinal axis of said output shaft of said electric motor.