Ink recovery means for printing press

Claim 1

In a printing press: a supporting frame; a roll mounted for rotation on said frame; an ink applicator assembly adjacent said roll for applying ink to the surface of said roll; means for adjusting the position of said ink applicator assembly with respect to said roll; a doctor blade assembly mounted on said frame adjacent said roll and including a doctor blade engageable with the surface of said roll and located below said ink applicator assembly for wiping excess ink from said roll; means for adjusting the position of the doctor blade assembly with respect to said roll; curtain means connected to and between said ink applicator assembly and said doctor blade assembly, said curtain means defining an open-ended trough for collecting excess ink wiped from the surface of said roll by said doctor blade, said curtain means being movable in response to movement of said ink applicator assembly relative to said doctor blade assembly to accommodate different positions of said assemblies; ink tray means below said roll and below a portion of said doctor blade assembly, said ink tray means being movable to afford clearance for said doctor blade assembly when the latter is moved to various operating positions, said ink tray means comprising a pair of trays which are relatively movable with respect to each other, one of said trays having an upwardly extending side portion, a bottom portion, and a downwardly depending portion, the other of said trays having an upwardly extending side portion, a bottom portion, and an upwardly extending portion, said trays being arranged so that the bottom portions thereof are in overlapping relationship with the downwardly depending portion of said one tray above the bottom portion of the other tray and with the upwardly depending portion of the other tray below the bottom portion of said one tray; an ink drain housing mounted on said frame at least at one end of said roll and having a bottom portion below said ink tray means for receiving run-off ink from said ink tray means and from an open end of said trough defined by said curtain means, said bottom porTion having a drain hole therein, said ink drain housing affording support for said ink tray means; and tray positioning means connecting said ink tray means to a relatively stationary portion of said press for maintaining said ink tray means in a predetermined position with respect to said doctor blade assembly.