Adjustable printing press

Details Adjustable printing press Adjustable printing press

1999-01-20

2001-03-20

Yan, Ren (Department: 2854)

Printing

Stenciling

Stencil and work support

C101S115000, C101S123000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06202552

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention pertains to screen printing equipment and more particularly to adjustable press arms and pallet arms that carry screen presses and pallets used to screen print articles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Screen printing of T-shirts and other articles of clothing and the like more and more requires precise positioning of the pattern screen over the article to be printed due to the greater resolution of screens and the attendant need to achieve close tolerance, accurate alignment and positioning of each high tension color screen for optimum color and resolution. It is also important to be able to repeatedly achieve accurate positioning in order to produce consistent prints.
Hopkins/BWM of Modesto, California, USA provides screen printing equipment including 4/6 and 8-color convertible presses, as is disclosed in Hopkins/BWM's “6-Axis Hopkins” brochure. The present invention improves upon the adjustability of the press arm and pallet arm components that assist in properly aligning the pallet table with the screen press.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Briefly described, the screen printing press of the present invention includes a pallet arm assembly for supporting a pallet table for screen printing of articles, with the pallet arm assembly having a first arm for mounting to a base structure of a screen printing press, a second arm for supporting the pallet table, and an adjustable coupling joining the first and second arms. The first arm extends outwardly from the base structure and the adjustable coupling includes a support member secured at the outer end of the first arm and a cover member secured at the inner end of the second arm. The cover member overlies the support member and is adjustable both laterally and vertically with respect to the support member.
The adjustment provided by the adjustable coupling provides an easy to use mechanism for leveling the pallet table with respect to the press arm assemblies that carry printing screens.
According to an aspect of the invention, the adjustable coupling includes adjustable set screws that adjustably position the cover member vertically and laterally with respect to the support member. Preferably, the set screws include generally vertically aligned set screws and generally laterally aligned set screws, for making the lateral and vertical adjustments independent of one another.
According to another aspect of the invention, the adjustable coupling further includes clamp bolts for tightly securing the cover member to the support member once adjusted in position by the set screws. Preferably, a clamp bolt is provided adjacent each set screw.
According to another aspect of the invention, the screen printing press includes a bracket mount for a press arm assembly of the screen printing press, with the bracket mount having a pivotal mount for securing an end of the press arm assembly in a pivotal manner to a rotatable wheel that carries the bracket mount. The pivotal mount provides angular movement of the press arm assembly from a raised position over a pallet table of the screen printing press to a lowered position where a gate catches the press arm assembly and positions the press arm assembly over the pallet table. The bracket mount further includes an adjustable coupling for securing the bracket mount to the wheel in a manner that permits a degree of angular movement of the bracket mount so that the press arm assembly can be angularly repositioned to fit into the gate when the press arm assembly is lowered.
According to an aspect of the invention, the adjustable coupling slots are in one of the bracket mount and the wheel, and the bolts are secured to the other of said bracket mount and wheel. The bolts extend through the slots and the slots are arcuate to provide for angular movement of the bracket mount.
Preferably, the slots are formed in the bracket mount and the bolts are secured to the wheel. With this design, the bolts include enlarged heads that are positioned above the bracket mount surface so that the heads prevent lifting of the bracket mount from the wheel.
According to another aspect of the invention, the bracket mount further comprises a bushing secured between the bracket mount and the wheel for providing low friction angular movement of the bracket mount. Preferably, the bushing is arcuate in shape.
According to another aspect of the invention, the screen printing press includes an over-center spring mechanism for biasing a pivoting component of a press arm assembly that pivots about a pivot point on a fixed component of the press arm assembly. The spring mechanism includes an extendable linkage that is pivotally secured at each of its ends to the pivoting component and the fixed component, with its ends on opposite sides of said pivot point. The extendable linkage includes a coil spring mounted for compression upon extension of the linkage.
According to an aspect of this embodiment of the invention, the linkage includes an enclosure for capturing the coil spring. Preferably, the enclosure has sufficient structural rigidity to contain the coil spring should the coil spring fail.
According to another aspect of this embodiment of the invention, the linkage includes a rod having one end pivotally secured to the pivoting component, with the rod adapted to capture one end of a coil spring, and an enclosure for capturing the other end of the coil spring, with the enclosure being pivotally secured to the fixed component. The rod and the enclosure are coupled together and are linearly movable with respect to each other to form an extendable linkage between the pivoting component and the fixed component. Whereby, movement of the extendable linkage past the pivot of the pivoting component causes the coil spring to compress.
Preferably, the rod includes a stop near the fixed component for capturing one end of a coil spring, and the enclosure is pivotally secured to the fixed component at a point spaced from the pivot point of the pivoting component.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4669378 (1987-06-01), Lee
patent: 4753161 (1988-06-01), Kimball
patent: 4949635 (1990-08-01), Padula
patent: 4974508 (1990-12-01), Andersen et al.
patent: 5094160 (1992-03-01), Jennings
patent: 5315929 (1994-05-01), Sundqvist
patent: 5445075 (1995-08-01), Panipinto
Hopkins/BWM's “6-Axis Hopkins” brochure.

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