Screen printing press

Claim 2

A printing press, including fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame and having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame pivotally mounted on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on a front portion of said second frame for pivotal movement therewith toward and away from said bed, a chase pivotally moUnted beneath said arms, said chase being positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, carriage assembly means mounted on said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm pivotally mounted on said first frame and connected to said carriage assembly means, press drive means mounted entirely on a rear portion of said second movable frame to move said carriage assembly means reciprocally along said arms during a printing cycle and to pivot said second movable frame relative to said first fixed frame during the printing cycle, means operatively connecting said press drive means mounted on said second frame to said drive arm means pivotally mounted on said first frame, said press drive means operatively engaging said first frame to pivotally move said second frame about a pivot point disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing said rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle, such positioning of said pivot point thereby eliminating smearing of work placed on said bed, by preventing any portion of said screen from contacting said work to be printed during movement of said second frame during a printing cycle, said press drive means moving said second movable frame and said drive arm relative to one another during said printing cycle such that, for a desired period of time, the disposition of said means connecting said press drive means to said drive arm causes said carriage assembly means to be maintained adjacent a selected point along said arms during the upward movement of said second frame to thereby eliminate creep of said carriage assembly means along said arms and resulting dripping of ink.

Claim 3

The printing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second frame is urged toward a horizontal position with respect to said first frame such that said screen and said bed lie in parallel planes, by resilient means joining said rear portion of said second frame to said first frame.

Claim 4

The printing press of claim 1 wherein said press drive means includes a power drive shaft rotatable about a central axis, said power drive shaft having a cam mounted for rotation therewith near one end thereof and linking means mounted on an opposite end thereof and operatively connecting said press drive means with said drive arm to pivot said drive arm relative to said first frame, said cam engaging a cam follower mounted on said first frame to move said second frame about said pivot point, said cam and said linking means being moved by said power drive shaft driven by said press drive means, such that as the rotation of said cam causes said second frame to be pivoted upward with respect to said bed near the end of a printing stroke, further movement of said linking means will, through a desired period of time, cause sufficient backing movement of said drive arm and said connected carriage assembly to preclude forward creep of said carriage assembly along said spaced-apart arms during said upward movement of said second frame.

Claim 5

The printing press of claim 1 wherein said drive arm mounted on said first frame includes a pair of spaced drive arms mounted for corresponding pivotal movement with respect to said first frame on a drive shaft extending between them, each of said drive arms disposed outside of said arms supporting said carriage assembly.

Claim 6

The printing press of claim 1 wherein said chase is mounted on a horizontal axis defined by said pivot points on said first frame and is independently pivotal about said axis to allow peeling of said screen during the printing cycle, while always having a portion thereof maintained in proper registered relation to said bed to facilitate registration of said chase with respect to said bed and said first frame.

Claim 7

The printing press of claim 1 wherein said bed has a plurality of cut-out portions formed along one edge thereof to facilitate access to work positioned on said bed to allow its gripping, removal and transfer.

Claim 8

A printing press including a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame and having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame pivotally mounted on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on a front portion of said second frame for pivotal movement therewith toward and away from said bed, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms, said chase being positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm pivotally mounted on said first frame and connected to said carriage assembly, press drive means mounted on a rear portion of said second frame and operatively connected to said drive arm to drive said drive arm and thereby move said carriage assembly reciprocally along said arms, said press drive means including a power drive shaft rotatable about a central axis, said power drive shaft having a cam mounted for rotation therewith near one end thereof and linking means mounted on an opposite end thereof and operatively connecting said press drive means with said drive arm to pivot said drive arm relative to said first frame, said second frame being pivotally moved by said press drive means with respect to said first frame during a printing cycle about a pivot point disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing said rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle, said linking means including a press drive arm fixedly mounted on said power drive shaft for rotation therewith, a rod pivotally connected at one end to an outward end of said press drive arm and moved in generally reciprocal movement thereby, an L-shaped slot arm fixedly mounted near one end thereof on a shaft, said shaft pivotally mounted on said first frame and having said drive arm connected thereto, said slot arm being adjustably connected near its opposite end to said rod, said cam engaging a cam follower mounted on said first frame to move said second frame about said pivot point, said cam including a press lift cam having a varying radius, said cam and said linking means being moved by said power drive shaft driven by said press drive means to cause a related movement of said second frame and said drive arm sufficient to prevent creep of said carriage assembly on said arms while said second frame continues to pivot upward when said press drive arm sweeps through an arc bridging the lowest point on its circle of rotation while said press lift cam engages said cam follower across the greatest radius of said cam.

Claim 9

A printing press including a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame and having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame pivotally mounted on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on a front portion of said second frame for pivotal movement therewith toward and away from said bed, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms, said chase being positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm pivotally mounted on said first frame and connected to said carriage assembly, press drive means mounted on a rear portion of said second frame and operatively connected to said drive arm to drive said drive arm and thereby move said carriage assembly reciprocally along said arms, said press drive means including a power drive shaft rotatable about a central axis, said power drive shaft having a cam mounted for rotation therewith near one end thereof and linking means mounted on an opposite end thereof and operatively connecting said press drive means with said drive arm to pivot said drive arm relative to said first frame, said second frame being pivotally moved by said press drive means with respect to said first frame during a printing cycle about a pivot point disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing said rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle, said linking means including a press drive arm fixedly mounted on said power drive shaft for rotation therewith, a rod pivotally connected at one end to an outward end of said press drive arm and moved in generally reciprocal movement thereby, an L-shaped slot arm fixedly mounted near one end thereof on a shaft, said shaft pivotally mounted on said first frame and having said drive arm connected thereto, said slot arm being adjustably connected near its opposite end to said rod, said cam engaging a cam follower mounted on said first frame to move said second frame about said pivot point, said cam including a press lift cam having a varying radius, said cam and said linking means being moved by said power drive shaft driven by said press drive means to cause a related movement of said second frame and said drive arm sufficient to prevent creep of said carriage assembly on said arms while said second frame continues to pivot upward when said press drive arm sweeps through an arc bridging the lowest point on its circle of rotation while said press lift cam engages said cam follower across the greatest radius of said cam.

Claim 10

A printing press, including a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame and having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame pivotally mounted on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on a front portion of said second frame for pivotal movement therewith toward and away from said bed, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms, said chase being positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm pivotally mounted on said first frame and connected to said carriage assembly, press drive means mounted on a rear portion of said second frame and operatively connected to said drive arm to drive said drive arm and thereby move said carriage assembly reciprocally along said arms, said carriage assembly including a pair of spaced carriage housings, each housing supported on one of said arms, means on each carriage housing for supporting a squeegee and a flood bar in associated relationship for movement relative to each other correspondinG to the position of said screen over said bed, said squeegee being brought into contact with said screen when said screen is positioned over said work, and means for shifting said squeegee and said flood bar relative to each other to automatically and properly position the same during movement of said carriage housings on said arms, said second frame being pivotally moved by said press drive means with respect to said first frame during a printing cycle about a pivot point disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing said rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle, such positioning of said pivot point thereby eliminating smearing of work placed on said bed, by preventing any portion of said screen from contacting said work to be printed during movement of said second frame during a printing cycle, the operative relationship between the pivotal movement of said second frame and the movement of said drive arm by said press drive means being such that said carriage housings are maintained at selected points along said arms during upward movement of said second frame to thereby preclude creeping of said carriage housings along said arms and thereby eliminate dripping of ink on said work, said means for shifting said squeegee and said flood bar including a shuttle contained within each carriage housing and having a cam track formed therein, a cam follower mounted on said means for supporting said squeegee and flood bar and cooperating with said cam track in said shuttle and stop means disposed near opposite ends of each of said arms to engage and reversibly move said shuttle as said carriage assembly is moved adjacent each end of said arms, the movement of said shuttle by said stop means operating to pivot said means supporting said squeegee and flood bar to shift said squeegee and said flood bar in a generally vertical direction relative to each other.

Claim 11

A printing press, including a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame and having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame pivotally mounted on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on a front portion of said second frame for pivotal movement therewith toward and away from said bed, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms, said chase being positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm pivotally mounted on said first frame and connected to said carriage assembly, press drive means mounted on a rear portion of said second frame and operatively connected to said drive arm to drive said drive arm and thereby move said carriage assembly reciprocally along said arms, said carriage assembly including a pair of spaced carriage housings, each housing supported on one of said arms, means on each carriage housing for supporting a squeegee and a flood bar in associated relationship for movement relative to each other correspondinG to the position of said screen over said bed, said squeegee being brought into contact with said screen when said screen is positioned over said work, and means for shifting said squeegee and said flood bar relative to each other to automatically and properly position the same during movement of said carriage housings on said arms, said second frame being pivotally moved by said press drive means with respect to said first frame during a printing cycle about a pivot point disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing said rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle, such positioning of said pivot point thereby eliminating smearing of work placed on said bed, by preventing any portion of said screen from contacting said work to be printed during movement of said second frame during a printing cycle, the operative relationship between the pivotal movement of said second frame and the movement of said drive arm by said press drive means being such that said carriage housings are maintained at selected points along said arms during upward movement of said second frame to thereby preclude creeping of said carriage housings along said arms and thereby eliminate dripping of ink on said work, said means for shifting said squeegee and said flood bar including a shuttle contained within each carriage housing and having a cam track formed therein, a cam follower mounted on said means for supporting said squeegee and flood bar and cooperating with said cam track in said shuttle and stop means disposed near opposite ends of each of said arms to engage and reversibly move said shuttle as said carriage assembly is moved adjacent each end of said arms, the movement of said shuttle by said stop means operating to pivot said means supporting said squeegee and flood bar to shift said squeegee and said flood bar in a generally vertical direction relative to each other.

Claim 12

In a printing press having a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame mounted for pivotal movement on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on said second frame for movement therewith, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms and positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on each of said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm connected to each of said carriage assemblies, press drive means mounted on said second frame and operatively connected to each drive arm to drive each drive arm and thereby move each of said carriage assemblies in associated, reciprocal fashion along said arms, the improvements including pivot points disposed on opposite sides of said first frame and forming a horizontal axis about which said second frame is pivotally moved during a printing cycle, said pivot points disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing a rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle to prevent smearing contact between said screen and said work on said bed by never allowing any portion of said screen to move below the horizontal plane of said pivot points during movement of said second frame, said press drive means being mounted entirely on said rear portion of said second movable frame to move said carriage assemblies reciprocally along said arms during a printing cycle, and to pivot said second movable frame relative to said first fixed frame during the printing cycle, means operatively connecting said press drive means mounted on said second frame to said drive arms pivotally mounted on said first frame, said press drive means operatively Engaging said first frame to pivotally move said second frame about said pivot points during the printing cycle, said press drive means moving said second movable frame and said drive arms relative to one another during the printing cycle, such that, for a desired period of time, the disposition of said means connecting said press drive means to said drive arms causes said carriage assemblies to be maintained adjacent a selected point along said arms during said upward movement of said second frame to eliminate dripping of ink on said work.

Claim 13

In a printing press having a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame mounted for pivotal movement on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on said second frame for movement therewith, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms and positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on each of said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm connected to each of said carriage assemblies, press drive means mounted on said second frame and operatively connected to each drive arm to drive each drive arm and thereby move each of said carriage assemblies in associated, reciprocal fashion along said arms, the improvements including pivot points disposed on opposite sides of said first frame and forming a horizontal axis about which said second frame is pivotally moved during a printing cycle, said pivot points disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing a rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle to prevent smearing contact between said screen and said work on said bed by never allowing any portion of said screen to move below the horizontal plane of said pivot points during movement of said second frame, said press drive means being mounted entirely on said rear portion of said second movable frame to move said carriage assemblies reciprocally along said arms during a printing cycle, and to pivot said second movable frame relative to said first fixed frame during the printing cycle, means operatively connecting said press drive means mounted on said second frame to said drive arms pivotally mounted on said first frame, said press drive means operatively Engaging said first frame to pivotally move said second frame about said pivot points during the printing cycle, said press drive means moving said second movable frame and said drive arms relative to one another during the printing cycle, such that, for a desired period of time, the disposition of said means connecting said press drive means to said drive arms causes said carriage assemblies to be maintained adjacent a selected point along said arms during said upward movement of said second frame to eliminate dripping of ink on said work.

Claim 14

The printing press of claim 9 wherein said press drive means includes a power drive shaft rotatable about a central axis, said power drive shaft having a cam mounted for rotation therewith near one end thereof and linking means mounted on an opposite end thereof and operatively connecting said press drive means with said drive arms to pivot said drive arms relative to said first frame, said cam engaging a cam follower mounted on said first frame to move said second frame about said pivot point, said cam and said linking means being moved by said power drive shaft driven by said press drive means, such that as the rotation of said cam causes said second frame to be pivoted upward with respect to said bed near the end of a printing stroke, further movement of said linking means will, through a desired period of time, cause sufficient backing movement of said drive arms and said connected carriage assemblies to preclude forward creep of said carriage assemblies along said spaced-apart arms during said upward movement of said second frame.

Claim 15

The improvement set forth in claim 9 wherein said drive arm includes a pair of spaced-apart L-shaped arms pivotally mounted on said first fixed frame within the side margins of said chase, said L-shaped arms being mounted on a common axis which is in generally vertical alignment with the horizontal axis between said pivot points of said second frame on said first frame.

Claim 16

The improvement set forth in claim 9 wherein said press drive means includes a power drive shaft rotatable about a central axis and adjustable linkage means to impart motion from said power drive shaft to each drive arm to drive said carriage assemblies reciprocally along said arms, said central axis of said power drive shaft, said axis of said pivot points and an axis extending between said drive arms generally forming a triangulate prismatic arrangement during the printing cycle, to permit adjustment of the length of the stroke of said carriage assemblies by adjustment of said linkage means connecting said drive shaft and said axis extending between said drive arms.

Claim 17

The improvement set forth in claim 9 wherein said chase is mounted on said horizontal axis defined by said pivot points on said first frame and is independently pivotal about said axis to allow peeling of said screen during the printing cycle, while always having a portion thereof maintained in proper registered relation to said bed to facilitate registration of said chase with respect to said bed and said first frame.

Claim 18

In a printing press having a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame mounted for pivotal movement on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on said second frame for movement therewith, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms and positioned over said work on said bed during printing a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on each of said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm connected to each of said carriage assemblies, press drive means mounted on said second frame and operatively connected to each drive arm to drive each drive arm and thereby move each of said carriage assemblies in associated, reciprocal fashion along said arms, said press drive means including a power drive shaft rotatable about a central axis, said power drive shaft having a cam mounted for rotation therewiTh near one end thereof and linking means mounted on an opposite end thereof and operatively connecting said press drive means with said drive arms to pivot said drive arms relative to said first frame, the improvements including pivot points disposed on opposite sides of said first frame and forming a horizontal axis about which said second frame is pivotally moved during a printing cycle, said pivot points disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing a rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle, said linking means including a press drive arm fixedly mounted on said power drive shaft for rotation therewith, a rod pivotally connected at one end to an outward end of said press drive arm and moved in generally reciprocal movement thereby, an L-shaped slot arm fixedly mounted near one end thereof on a shaft, said shaft pivotally mounted on said first frame and having each drive arm connected thereto, each slot arm being adjustably connected near its opposite end to said rod, said cam engaging a cam follower mounted on said first frame to pivotally move said second frame about said pivot point, said cam including a press lift cam having a varying radius, said cam and said linking means being moved by said power drive shaft driven by said press drive means to cause a related movement of said second frame and said drive arms sufficient to prevent creep of said carriage assemblies on said arms while said second frame continues to pivot upward when said press drive arm sweeps through an arc bridging the lowest point on its circle of rotation while said press lift cam engages said cam follower across the greatest radius of said cam.

Claim 19

In a printing press having a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame mounted for pivotal movement on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on said second frame for movement therewith, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms and positioned over said work on said bed during printing a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on each of said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm connected to each of said carriage assemblies, press drive means mounted on said second frame and operatively connected to each drive arm to drive each drive arm and thereby move each of said carriage assemblies in associated, reciprocal fashion along said arms, said press drive means including a power drive shaft rotatable about a central axis, said power drive shaft having a cam mounted for rotation therewiTh near one end thereof and linking means mounted on an opposite end thereof and operatively connecting said press drive means with said drive arms to pivot said drive arms relative to said first frame, the improvements including pivot points disposed on opposite sides of said first frame and forming a horizontal axis about which said second frame is pivotally moved during a printing cycle, said pivot points disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing a rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle, said linking means including a press drive arm fixedly mounted on said power drive shaft for rotation therewith, a rod pivotally connected at one end to an outward end of said press drive arm and moved in generally reciprocal movement thereby, an L-shaped slot arm fixedly mounted near one end thereof on a shaft, said shaft pivotally mounted on said first frame and having each drive arm connected thereto, each slot arm being adjustably connected near its opposite end to said rod, said cam engaging a cam follower mounted on said first frame to pivotally move said second frame about said pivot point, said cam including a press lift cam having a varying radius, said cam and said linking means being moved by said power drive shaft driven by said press drive means to cause a related movement of said second frame and said drive arms sufficient to prevent creep of said carriage assemblies on said arms while said second frame continues to pivot upward when said press drive arm sweeps through an arc bridging the lowest point on its circle of rotation while said press lift cam engages said cam follower across the greatest radius of said cam.

Claim 20

In a printing press having a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame mounted for pivotal movement on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on said second frame for movement therewith, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms and positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on each of said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm connected to each of said carriage assemblies, press drive means mounted on said second frame and operatively connected to each drive arm to drive each drive arm and thereby move each of said carriage assemblies in associated, reciprocal fashion along said arms, the improvements including pivot points disposed on opposite sides of said first frame and forming a horizontal axis about which said second frame is pivotally moved during a printing cycle, said pivot points disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing a rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle to prevent smearing contact between said screen and said work on said bed by never allowing any portion of said screen to move below the horizontal plane of said pivot points during movement of said second frame, and each drive arm being pivotally mounted on said first fixed frame and being driven by said press drive means in an operative, synchronized relationship to the movement of said second frame upward with respect to said bed such that said carriage assemblies are maintained adjacent a selected point along said arms during said upward movement of said second frame to eliminate dripping of ink on said work, each of said carriage assemblies including a carriage housing movably mounted on each of said arms, said drive arm being connected to each carriage housing to reciprocally move each carriage housing along said arms during the printing cycle, means pivotally mounted on each carRiage housing for supporting a squeegee and a flood bar in associated relationship for movement relative to each other corresponding to the movement of said screen over said bed, a shuttle contained in each carriage housing, stop means mounted on said arms near opposite ends thereof for engaging said shuttle, said stop means causing said shuttle to be automatically reversibly moved within each carriage housing upon engagement therewith, as each carriage housing is moved adjacent thereto, said shuttle operatively connected to said means supporting said squeegee and said flood bar to pivot said means supporting said squeegee and said flood bar to shift said squeegee and said flood bar relative to each other to automatically and properly position the same during movement of said carriage assemblies on said arms.

Claim 21

In a printing press having a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame mounted for pivotal movement on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on said second frame for movement therewith, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms and positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on each of said arms for movement therealong, a drive arm connected to each of said carriage assemblies, press drive means mounted on said second frame and operatively connected to each drive arm to drive each drive arm and thereby move each of said carriage assemblies in associated, reciprocal fashion along said arms, the improvements including pivot points disposed on opposite sides of said first frame and forming a horizontal axis about which said second frame is pivotally moved during a printing cycle, said pivot points disposed generally in the horizontal plane of said surface of said bed adjacent a rear edge of said surface and allowing a rear portion of said second frame on which said press drive means is mounted to be swung below said horizontal plane of said surface of said bed during the printing cycle to prevent smearing contact between said screen and said work on said bed by never allowing any portion of said screen to move below the horizontal plane of said pivot points during movement of said second frame, and each drive arm being pivotally mounted on said first fixed frame and being driven by said press drive means in an operative, synchronized relationship to the movement of said second frame upward with respect to said bed such that said carriage assemblies are maintained adjacent a selected point along said arms during said upward movement of said second frame to eliminate dripping of ink on said work, each of said carriage assemblies including a carriage housing movably mounted on each of said arms, said drive arm being connected to each carriage housing to reciprocally move each carriage housing along said arms during the printing cycle, means pivotally mounted on each carRiage housing for supporting a squeegee and a flood bar in associated relationship for movement relative to each other corresponding to the movement of said screen over said bed, a shuttle contained in each carriage housing, stop means mounted on said arms near opposite ends thereof for engaging said shuttle, said stop means causing said shuttle to be automatically reversibly moved within each carriage housing upon engagement therewith, as each carriage housing is moved adjacent thereto, said shuttle operatively connected to said means supporting said squeegee and said flood bar to pivot said means supporting said squeegee and said flood bar to shift said squeegee and said flood bar relative to each other to automatically and properly position the same during movement of said carriage assemblies on said arms.

Claim 22

A printing press including a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame and having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame pivotally mounted on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on said second frame for pivotal movement therewith toward and away from said bed, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms and positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on each of said arms for movement therealong, each of said carriage assemblies having a carriage housing supported on said arm, parallelogram means pivotally mounted on each carriage housing for supporting a squeegee and a flood bar in associated relationship for pivoting movement relative to each other, a free sliding shuttle contained in each carriage housing and movable with respect thereto, said shuttle operatively connected to said parallelogram means to pivot said parallelogram means to shift said squeegee and said flood bar generally vertically with respect to one another upon movement of said shuttle relative to said carriage housing, drive arms pivotally mounted on said first frame and connected to each of said carriage housings, press drive means mounted on said second frame and operatively connected to said drive arms to drive said drive arms and thereby move said carriage assemblies reciprocally along said arms, and stops disposed near opposite ends of each of said arms to engage opposite ends of said shuttle when said carriage assemblies are moved adjacent said stops and move said shuttle within each carriage housing to shift said squeegee and said flood bar relative to each other, the operative relationship between the pivotal movement of said second frame and the movement of said drive arms being such that said carriage assemblies are maintained adjacent said stops following a printing stroke for a desired period for time while said second frame is being pivoted on said first frame upward from said bed thereby to eliminate creep of said carriage assemblies along said arms and resulting dripping of ink upon said work.

Claim 23

A printing press including a first fixed frame, a bed supported on said frame and having an upwardly facing surface to receive work to be printed, a second frame pivotally mounted on said first frame, a pair of spaced-apart arms mounted on said second frame for pivotal movement therewith toward and away from said bed, a chase pivotally mounted beneath said arms and positioned over said work on said bed during printing, a screen removably mounted on said chase, a carriage assembly mounted on each of said arms for movement therealong, each of said carriage assemblies having a carriage housing supported on said arm, parallelogram means pivotally mounted on each carriage housing for supporting a squeegee and a flood bar in associated relationship for pivoting movement relative to each other, a free sliding shuttle contained in each carriage housing and movable with respect thereto, said shuttle operatively connected to said parallelogram means to pivot said parallelogram means to shift said squeegee and said flood bar generally vertically with respect to one another upon movement of said shuttle relative to said carriage housing, drive arms pivotally mounted on said first frame and connected to each of said carriage housings, press drive means mounted on said second frame and operatively connected to said drive arms to drive said drive arms and thereby move said carriage assemblies reciprocally along said arms, and stops disposed near opposite ends of each of said arms to engage opposite ends of said shuttle when said carriage assemblies are moved adjacent said stops and move said shuttle within each carriage housing to shift said squeegee and said flood bar relative to each other, the operative relationship between the pivotal movement of said second frame and the movement of said drive arms being such that said carriage assemblies are maintained adjacent said stops following a printing stroke for a desired period for time while said second frame is being pivoted on said first frame upward from said bed thereby to eliminate creep of said carriage assemblies along said arms and resulting dripping of ink upon said work.

Claim 24

The printing press set forth in claim 16 wherein a first member of said parallelogram means may be moved with respect to a second member of said parallelogram and maintained in position by a push arm means to convert each carriage assembly to a non-flood scoop printing operation.