Disconnect arrangement for multi-unit printing press

Claim 2

In a sheet fed printing press having a plurality of individual printing units and means for selectively drivingly interconnecting or disconnecting said units, a train of drive gears for said press, a pair of spaced vertical side frames, a sheet transfer cylinder journaled on a horizontal axis in said side frames and having a gear at one end thereof constituting a portion of said gear train, a pair of other cylinders angularly spaced around said transfer cylinder each having a gear at one end in mesh with the transfer cylinder gear, at least a portion of the periphery defined by said transfer cylinder being spaced a substantIal radial distance from the peripheries of said other cylinders to define clearances therebetween, all of said cylinders having sets of interdigitating sheet grippers thereon for successively transferring sheets by means of said gripper from one printing unit to the next, means for moving the transfer cylinder and its gear axially out of mesh with the gears for said other cylinders for disconnecting the printing units from each other, mating means on said transfer cylinder gear and its adjacent side frame for retaining said transfer cylinder gear and transfer cylinder in a predetermined angular relationship relative to said other cylinders whereby the grippers of said other cylinders open into the clearances between the cylinders as said other cylinders are rotated relative to said transfer cylinder, and means for diving each unit independently of the other while said gears are disengaged.

Claim 3

The printing press of claim 1 wherein the gears on said other cylinders and said transfer cylinder lie in the same plane when in mashing engagement.

Claim 4

The printing press or claim 1 wherein said meshing cylinder gears include means enabling engagement and disengagement of the teeth of the transfer cylinder gear with the cooperating teeth of the gears of said other cylinders in only one rotated position thereof.

Claim 5

The printing press of claim 3 wherein said latter mentioned means comprises keeper members on the gears of each of said other cylinders, each of said keeper members having a periphery at a radius which is large enough to interfere with the teeth of its associated gear and extending around all but a short interrupted segment thereof.

Claim 6

The printing press of claim 4 wherein the short interrupted segment in each of said keeper members comprises an arcuate recess in the periphery thereof with said arcuate recess being formed on a radius of at least slightly greater than the radius of the addendum circle on the transfer cylinder gear.

Claim 7

The printing press of claim 5 and further including teeth means in said arcuate recess on each of said keeper members with said teeth means being adapted to engage and mesh with the teeth of said transfer cylinder gear.

Claim 8

The printing press of claim 6 wherein said teeth means on said keeper members have an axial extent greater than the axial extent of the adjacent portion of said keeper members whereby in the event of rotational misalignment between the gears during a re-connect operation said transfer cylinder gear moves into mesh with said teeth means before engaging said keeper member.

Claim 9

The printing press of claim 7 wherein said keeper members include axially extending recesses adjacent said teeth means.

Claim 10

The printing press of claim 4 wherein said keeper members and the transfer cylinder gears are operative to prevent engagement of said gear teeth in the event the gear teeth are out of rotational alignment by at least one-half gear tooth width, and further include means operative to cam the gear teeth into exact alignment in the event they are out of alignment less than one-half gear tooth width.

Claim 11

The printing press of claim 9 wherein said camming means includes camming surfaces on the teeth of at least one of the gears of each meshing pair of gears.

Claim 12

The printing press of claim 1 and further including sensing means for sensing the position of said pair of other cylinders relative to the transfer cylinder prior to axial movement of said transfer cylinder gear.

Claim 13

The printing press of claim 11 wherein said sensing means includes a pair of proximity switches mounted on said frame adjacent each of said pair of other cylinders and a sensing block rotatable with each of said other cylinders.

Claim 14

The printing press of claim 1 wherein all of said cylinders are transfer cylinders between adjacent printing units and the middle transfer cylinder has its gear moved axially, said transfer cylinders being related to their printing units such that the outer two cylinders have the freshly printed side of each sheet facing the cylinder and the middle cylinder has the unprinted side of each sheet facing the cylinder during sheet transfer.

Claim 15

The printing press of claim 1 wherein said transfer cylinder includes shaft means supporting said sheet grippers and a cam follower operatively connected to said shaft means, non-rotatable cam means in the path of movement of said cam follower for operating said shaft means to open and close said grippers to receive and transfer sheets as required during normal sheet transferring conditions, and said cam follower including extension means extending transverse of said cam, said transfer cylinder, transfer cylinder gear, grippers, shaft and cam follower all being mounted for axial movement as a unitary assembly upon operation of said disconnecting means with said extension means having an axial extent sufficient to maintain said extension means in contact with said cam as said transfer cylinder is shifted axially.

Claim 16

The printing press of claim 1 wherein said meshing cylinder gears include means enabling disengagement of the teeth of said transfer cylinder gear from the cooperating teeth of the gears of said cylinders in only one rotated position thereof.

Claim 17

The printing press of claim 1 wherein said mating means includes an axially extending lug on said side frame and an opening in said transfer cylinder gear in which said lug is received, the axial extent of said lug being such that said lug is received in said opening before said transfer cylinder gear has moved fully out of mesh with said gears on said other cylinders.

Claim 18

In a sheet fed printing press having a plurality of individual printing units and means for selectively drivingly interconnecting or disconnecting said units, a train of drive gears for said press, a pair of spaced vertical side frames, a sheet transfer cylinder journaled on a horizontal axis in said side frames and having a gear at one end thereof constituting a portion of said gear train, at least one other cylinder adjacent said transfer cylinder and having a gear at one end in mesh with the transfer cylinder gear, said transfer cylinder having at least one interrupted portion in its periphery, said cylinders having sets of interdigitating sheet grippers thereon for successively transferring sheets by means of said grippers from one cylinder to the next, means for moving the transfer cylinder gear axially out of mesh from the gear of said other cylinder for disconnecting the printing units from each other, mating means on said transfer cylinder gear and the adjacent side frame for locating said transfer cylinder gear and said transfer cylinder in a predetermined angular relationship relative to said other cylinder whereby the grippers on said other cylinder open into the space of the interrupted portion of the transfer cylinder periphery as said other cylinder is rotated relative to said transfer cylinder, and means associated with said cylinders preventing disengagement of the teeth of the transfer cylinder gear from the cooperating teeth of the gear of said other cylinder except in one rotated position thereof.

Claim 19

In a sheet fed printing press having a plurality of individual printing units and means for selectively drivingly interconnecting or disconnecting said units, a train of drive gears for said press, a pair of spaced vertical side frames, a sheet transfer cylinder journaled on a horizontal axis in said side frames and having a gear at one end thereof constituting a portion of said gear train, at least one other cylinder adjacent said transfer cylinder and having a gear at one end in mesh with the transfer cylinder gear, said transfer cylinder having at least one interrupted portion in its periphery, said cylinders having sets of interdigitating sheet grippers thereon for successively transferring sheets by means of said grippers from one cylinder to the next, means for moving the transfer cylinder gear axially out of mesh from the gear of said other cylinder for disconnecting the printing units from each other, mating means on said transfer cylinder gear and the adjacent side frame for locating said transfer cylinder gear and said transfer cylinder in a predetermined angular relationship relative to said other cylinder whereby the grippers on said other cylinder open into the space of the interrupted portion of the transfer cylinder periphery as said other cylinder is rotated relative to said transfer cylinder, and means associated with said cylinders preventing disengagement of the teeth of the transfer cylinder gear from the cooperating teeth of the gear of said other cylinder except in one rotated position thereof.

Claim 20

The printing press of claim 17 wherein said transfer cylinder is shifted axially with said transfer cylinder gear.

Claim 21

The printing press of claim 17 wherein said means preventing disengagement comprises means carried by one of said gears and cooperating with the other of said gears to block axial movement of said transfer cylinder gear.

Claim 22

The printing press of claim 17 wherein said means for moving said transfer cylinder gear includes sensing means operatively associated therewith, said sensing means being operative to sense axial movement of said gear means whereby any inadvertent movement of said gear means is sensed by aid sensing means.

Claim 23

In a multi-unit printing press having a pair of spaced vertical side frames, a plurality of individual printing units arranged betweeN said side frames, said press including at least one sheet carrying cylinder having shaft means extending from either axial end thereof, bearing means rotatably supporting said shaft means and said sheet carrying cylinder between said side frames, a pair of other cylinders angularly spaced around said carrying cylinder and rotatably supported between said side frames, a train of drive gears for said press, motor means operatively connected to said drive gear train for operating said drive train to drive said press during printing operations, said sheet carrying cylinder including a gear at one axial end thereof constituting a portion of said gear train, said other cylinders each having a gear in mesh with said carrying cylinder gear, and actuator means supported on said side frame and connected to said shaft means of said carrying cylinder, said actuator means being operative to move said sheet carrying cylinder and its gear axially to interrupt the drive train through said cylinder gears and thereby disconnect the printing units from each other.

Claim 24

In a multi-unit printing press having a pair of spaced vertical side frames, a plurality of individual printing units arranged betweeN said side frames, said press including at least one sheet carrying cylinder having shaft means extending from either axial end thereof, bearing means rotatably supporting said shaft means and said sheet carrying cylinder between said side frames, a pair of other cylinders angularly spaced around said carrying cylinder and rotatably supported between said side frames, a train of drive gears for said press, motor means operatively connected to said drive gear train for operating said drive train to drive said press during printing operations, said sheet carrying cylinder including a gear at one axial end thereof constituting a portion of said gear train, said other cylinders each having a gear in mesh with said carrying cylinder gear, and actuator means supported on said side frame and connected to said shaft means of said carrying cylinder, said actuator means being operative to move said sheet carrying cylinder and its gear axially to interrupt the drive train through said cylinder gears and thereby disconnect the printing units from each other.

Claim 25

The press of claim 21 wherein said axial movement moves said sheet carrying cylinder gear out off meshing engagement with both of said other cylinder gears.