US3827356A — Rotary printer for use in conjuction with an inde…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 279 words

A rotary printer for use in conjunction with a step-by-step conveyor in printing, during dwells, the upper surfaces of the portions of long lengths of thermoplastic sheet material or of articles formed therein that are exposed during a dwell, said printer comprising a carriage, means to reciprocate said carriage through a predetermined stroke over said conveyor from a predetermined starting position, said carriage including a rotatable member provided with an arcuate blanket portion engageable with the surface to be printed and of a radius greater than the remainder of the member, of a width eQual to the width of the surface to be printed and of a length equal to the length of the surface of the material to be printed during a dwell, means to rotate said member as an incident of its reciprocation but always in the same direction, said carriage also including at least one form roll tangent with the path of said arcuate portion, means to deliver ink to said form roll, and a drive for said form roll and said ink delivery means connected to said rotatable member, said blanket portion in one direction of carriage travel rolling against the surface to be printed and in the other direction of carriage travel being returned to a said starting position with the blanket portion disposed away from the the conveyor for engagement with said form roll to be at least partially inked by rolling engagement therewith when it is at said starting position, and means to initiate the operation of said reciprocating means through a complete stroke at the start of each dwell and effecting at least said one direction of travel during that dwell.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 279 words

A rotary printer for use in conjunction with a step-by-step conveyor in printing, during dwells, the upper surfaces of the portions of long lengths of thermoplastic sheet material or of articles formed therein that are exposed during a dwell, said printer comprising a carriage, means to reciprocate said carriage through a predetermined stroke over said conveyor from a predetermined starting position, said carriage including a rotatable member provided with an arcuate blanket portion engageable with the surface to be printed and of a radius greater than the remainder of the member, of a width eQual to the width of the surface to be printed and of a length equal to the length of the surface of the material to be printed during a dwell, means to rotate said member as an incident of its reciprocation but always in the same direction, said carriage also including at least one form roll tangent with the path of said arcuate portion, means to deliver ink to said form roll, and a drive for said form roll and said ink delivery means connected to said rotatable member, said blanket portion in one direction of carriage travel rolling against the surface to be printed and in the other direction of carriage travel being returned to a said starting position with the blanket portion disposed away from the the conveyor for engagement with said form roll to be at least partially inked by rolling engagement therewith when it is at said starting position, and means to initiate the operation of said reciprocating means through a complete stroke at the start of each dwell and effecting at least said one direction of travel during that dwell.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 59 words

The rotary printer of claim 1 in which the blanket portion defines a minor arc and the means rotating the member effects the rotation thereof at a sufficiently higher rate in the return direction of the carriage to place the blanket portion in said starting position at the end of the travel of the carriage in said return direction.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 124 words

The rotary printer of claim 1 in which the printer includes supporting structure, means connecting the carriage to the structure laterally of the conveyor for movement relative thereto through said predetermined stroke and the member rotating means includes gear means rotatable with the rotatable member of the carriage, first and second rack portions extending lengthwise of the path of the carriage, and means to effect relative vertical movement between said racks as a unit and said carriage between limits, said rack portions being disposed for engagement with the gear means in the alternative, one rack portion in one direction of carriage travel at one of said limits and the other rack portion in the other direction of travel at the other of said limits.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 18 words

The rotary printer of claim 3 and a clutch releasable interconnecting the gear means from the rotatable member.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 84 words

The rotary printer of claim 3 in which the gear means includes first and second gears of different sizes, one for each rack portion, the blanket portion defines a minor arc, the smaller gear is in engagement with its rack portion during return travel of the carriage and its size is such as to turn the rotatable member of the carriage at a sufficiently increased rate to ensure that the blanket portion is in said starting position at the end of said return travel.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 146 words

The rotary printer of claim 1 in which the printer includes supporting structure, means connecting the carriage to the structure laterally of the conveyor for movement relative thereto through said predetermined stroke and the member rotating means includes gear means rotatable with the rotatable member of the carriage, a frame mounted on said structure at one side of the conveyor for vertical movement between two limits, first and second rack portions extending lengthwise of the path of the carriage and connected to said frame, means connected to said frame and operable to reciprocate it between said two limits, said rack portions being disposed relative to said gear means for engagement therewith in the alternative, one rack portion in one direction of carriage travel at one of said limits and the other rack portion in the other direction of carriage travel at the other of said limits.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 48 words

The rotary printer of claim 1 in which the arcuate extent of the blanket portion is such the rotatable member may turn at the same rate in both directions of carriage travel with the blanket portion being in its starting position at the end of the return stroke.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 76 words

The rotary printer of claim 1 in which there are a plurality of form rolls each of which includes means to deliver Ink thereto and each including a drive connected to the rotatable member, each form roll tangent with the path of said arcuate blanket portion, the form rolls are spaced from each other and so located that said blanket portion is engaged and completely inked by all of them before returning to said starting position.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 86 words

The rotary printer of claim 1 in which there are a plurality of form rolls each of which includes means to deliver ink thereto and a drive connected to the rotatable member, each form roll tangent to the path of the arcuate blanket portion and the form rolls are spaced from each other and so located that said blanket portion is partially inked by the form rolls during the return of the carriage and the inking of the blanket portion is completed during the printing stroke.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 106 words

The rotary printer of claim 1 in which there are a plurality of form rolls, each including means to deliver ink thereto, and a drive for the form rolls and the inking means connected to the rotatable member, each form roll tangent to the path of the arcuate blanket portion, the blanket portion includes spaced sections and the form rolls are so spaced from each other and arranged that when the arcuate portion is returned to its starting position, the arcuate portion is completely inked except for its trailing section and the line of tangency of a form roll is between the leading and trailing section.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 151 words

The rotary printer of claim 1 in which there are a plurality of form rolls, each including means to deliver ink thereto and a drive connected to the rotatable member, each form roll tangent to the path of the blanket portion, the surface to be printed at each dwell includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced zones to be inked, and the blanket portion includes a like number of appropriately spaced and dimensioned zones, the total arcuate extent of the zones of said blanket portion being such that the entire carriage travel in said one direction is required for the printing of the zones of the material present during a dwell, and the form rolls are so spaced from each other and so arranged that when the blanket portion is returned to said starting position the line of tangency of the last form roll to engage said portion is between two zones.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 284 words

In combination a thermoformer including a heating station, an article forming station, and a blanking station, a conveyor for positively carrying a sheet of a thermoplastic material through said stations in the order named, means to advance said conveyor step-by-step through said stations, a printer adjacent the infeed end of said conveyor but where it is positively advanced thereby and operable to print the sheet before its passage into the heating chamber, and means to operate said printer during a dwell to print that portion of sheet that is to be formed into an article at said forming station, said printer of the rotary type and includes a carriage, means to reciprocate said carriage through a predetermined stroke over said conveyor, said carriage including a rotatable member provided with an arcuate blanket portion engageable with the surface of the sheet of a radius greater than the remainder of said rotatable member, means to rotate said member as an incident of the reciprocation of said carriage but always in the same direction, said carriage also including at least one form roll tangent with the path of said arcuate portion, means to deliver ink to said form roll, and a drive for said form roll and said ink delivery means connected to said rotatable member, said blanket portion in one direction of carriage travel rolling against the surface of the sheet and in the other direction of carriage travel being returned to a predetermined starting position with the printing portion out of the path of the sheet and, by then, at least partially re-inked by rolling engagement with said form roll, said reciprocating means effecting at least said one direction of carriage travel during each dwell.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 284 words

In combination a thermoformer including a heating station, an article forming station, and a blanking station, a conveyor for positively carrying a sheet of a thermoplastic material through said stations in the order named, means to advance said conveyor step-by-step through said stations, a printer adjacent the infeed end of said conveyor but where it is positively advanced thereby and operable to print the sheet before its passage into the heating chamber, and means to operate said printer during a dwell to print that portion of sheet that is to be formed into an article at said forming station, said printer of the rotary type and includes a carriage, means to reciprocate said carriage through a predetermined stroke over said conveyor, said carriage including a rotatable member provided with an arcuate blanket portion engageable with the surface of the sheet of a radius greater than the remainder of said rotatable member, means to rotate said member as an incident of the reciprocation of said carriage but always in the same direction, said carriage also including at least one form roll tangent with the path of said arcuate portion, means to deliver ink to said form roll, and a drive for said form roll and said ink delivery means connected to said rotatable member, said blanket portion in one direction of carriage travel rolling against the surface of the sheet and in the other direction of carriage travel being returned to a predetermined starting position with the printing portion out of the path of the sheet and, by then, at least partially re-inked by rolling engagement with said form roll, said reciprocating means effecting at least said one direction of carriage travel during each dwell.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 43 words

The combination of claim 12 in which the Member rotating means effects the rotation of said rotatable member in said other direction of carriage travel at a sufficiently higher rate to place the blanket portion in said starting position before the next dwell.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 240 words

A rotary printer for use in conjunction with a step-by-step conveyor in printing, during dwells, the upper surfaces of thermoplastic sheet material or of articles formed therein, said printer comprising a carriage, means to reciprocate said carriage through a predetermined stroke over said conveyor from a predetermined starting position, and in a return path back to said starting position said carriage including a rotatable member provided with an arcuate blanket portion extending less than 180 degrees around said cylinder rolling against the surface to be printed during travel of the carriage from said position, means to rotate said member as an incident of its reciprocation always in the same direction and effecting the rotation thereof at a sufficiently higher rate in the return travel of the carriage than in said printing travel to place the blanket portion in the same orientation as in said starting position at the end of said return travel, said carriage also including at least one form roll tangent with the path of said arcuate portion, means to deliver ink to said form roll, and a drive for said form roll and said ink delivery means connected to said rotatable member, said blanket portion in said return travel being out of the path of the surfaces and being re-inked by rolling engagement with said form roll, said member rotating means effecting said printing travel during a dwell with said blanket portion in contact with said surface.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 240 words

A rotary printer for use in conjunction with a step-by-step conveyor in printing, during dwells, the upper surfaces of thermoplastic sheet material or of articles formed therein, said printer comprising a carriage, means to reciprocate said carriage through a predetermined stroke over said conveyor from a predetermined starting position, and in a return path back to said starting position said carriage including a rotatable member provided with an arcuate blanket portion extending less than 180 degrees around said cylinder rolling against the surface to be printed during travel of the carriage from said position, means to rotate said member as an incident of its reciprocation always in the same direction and effecting the rotation thereof at a sufficiently higher rate in the return travel of the carriage than in said printing travel to place the blanket portion in the same orientation as in said starting position at the end of said return travel, said carriage also including at least one form roll tangent with the path of said arcuate portion, means to deliver ink to said form roll, and a drive for said form roll and said ink delivery means connected to said rotatable member, said blanket portion in said return travel being out of the path of the surfaces and being re-inked by rolling engagement with said form roll, said member rotating means effecting said printing travel during a dwell with said blanket portion in contact with said surface.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 73 words

The rotary printer of claim 14 in which the printer includes supporting structure, means connecting the carriage to the structure laterally of the conveyor for movement relative thereto through the predetermined stroke and the member rotating means includes gear means rotatable with the rotatable member of the carriage, said means connected to the structure and extending lengthwise of the path of the carriage and shiftable means to effect said different rates of rotation.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1977-08-05	1978-02-04	1978-08-06	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1981-08-05	1982-02-04	1982-08-06	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1985-08-05	1986-02-04	1986-08-06	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Rotary printer for use in conjuction with an indexed conveyor

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