Method and apparatus for screen printing tiles

Claim 2

A tile screen printer comprising: a conveyor, a screen printing head including a printing screen and associated squeegee operatively associated with said conveyor, said printing head being mounted for movement between a printing and non-printing position, tile positioning means connected to the surface of said conveyor at spaced intervals thereby to define a recess adapted to receive a tile to be printed, said tile positioning means being spaced so as to snugly secure and nest a tile between adjacent pairs of said spaced tile position means, said tile positioning means having a height substantially equal to the thickness of the tile to be printed so that the top of said positioning means and the surface of the tile to be printed are substantially co-plannar so that said tile positioning means supports the edge of the printing screen when the printing screen is contiguous to a tile disposed in said recess in the printing position of said printing head so as to prohibit smearing of the tile about the edges and side walls thereof.

Claim 3

A tile screen printer comprising: a conveyor, a screen printing head including a printing screen and associated squeegee operatively associated with said conveyor, said printing head being mounted for movement between a printing and non-printing position, tile positioning means connected to the surface of said conveyor at spaced intervals thereby to define a recess adapted to receive a tile to be printed, said tile positioning means being spaced so as to snugly secure and nest a tile between adjacent pairs of said spaced tile position means, said tile positioning means having a height substantially equal to the thickness of the tile to be printed so that the top of said positioning means and the surface of the tile to be printed are substantially co-plannar so that said tile positioning means supports the edge of the printing screen when the printing screen is contiguous to a tile disposed in said recess in the printing position of said printing head so as to prohibit smearing of the tile about the edges and side walls thereof.

Claim 4

A tile screen printer comprising: a conveyor, a screen printing head including a printing screen and associated squeegee operatively associated with said conveyor, said printing head being mounted for movement between a printing and non-printing position, tile positioning means connected to the surface of said conveyor at spaced intervals thereby to define a recess adapted to receive a tile to be printed, said tile positioning means being spaced so as to snugly secure and nest a tile between adjacent pairs of said spaced tile position means, said tile positioning means having a height substantially equal to the thickness of the tile to be printed so that the top of said positioning means and the surface of the tile to be printed are substantially co-plannar so that said tile positioning means supports the edge of the printing screen when the printing screen is contiguous to a tile disposed in said recess in the printing position of said printing head so as to prohibit smearing of the tile about the edges and side walls thereof.

Claim 5

The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said tile positioning means includes a bar formed of a firm material that is capable of absorbing the printing dye.

Claim 6

The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said bar is formed of porous rubber material.

Claim 7

The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said positioning means are adhesively secured to said conveyor surface.

Claim 8

The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said conveyor means comprises a pair of spaced apart end rollers, and an endless conveyor belt threaded over said end rollers, and said tile positioning means including a series of spaced bars extending transversely of said belt to define therebetween said recess, said bars successively effect an opening of said recess to facilitate the positioning of a tile therein as said bars ride over the crown of the end roller.

Claim 9

The invention as defined in claim 1 and including means to drive said endless conveyor.

Claim 10

A tile screen printer comprising: a pair of spaced apart end rollers, an endless conveyor threaded over said end rollers, a printing head operatively associated with said endless conveyor, said printing head including a printing screen and associated squeegee, said printing head being mounted for movement between a printing and non-printing position, a plurality of positioning means connected to the surface of said endless conveyor at spaced intervals therealong, each of said positioning means including a bar extending transversely of said conveyor to define a recess for receiving a tile to be printed, said bar being formed of an absorbent material, means for detachably securing said bar to said conveyor, and said bars each having a height substantially equal to the thickness of the tile to be printed within the recess defined thereby so that the tile surface to be printed and the top of the bar are co-plannarly disposed to permit the marginal edge portion of the screen to be supported by said positioning bar to avoid smearing of the screen print about the edges of said tiles.

Claim 11

A tile screen printer comprising: a pair of spaced apart end rollers, an endless conveyor threaded over said end rollers, a printing head operatively associated with said endless conveyor, said printing head including a printing screen and associated squeegee, said printing head being mounted for movement between a printing and non-printing position, a plurality of positioning means connected to the surface of said endless conveyor at spaced intervals therealong, each of said positioning means including a bar extending transversely of said conveyor to define a recess for receiving a tile to be printed, said bar being formed of an absorbent material, means for detachably securing said bar to said conveyor, and said bars each having a height substantially equal to the thickness of the tile to be printed within the recess defined thereby so that the tile surface to be printed and the top of the bar are co-plannarly disposed to permit the marginal edge portion of the screen to be supported by said positioning bar to avoid smearing of the screen print about the edges of said tiles.