Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Material guide or guard – Fluid suspension
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-02
2003-09-16
Mansen, Michael R. (Department: 3654)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Material guide or guard
Fluid suspension
C226S097300, C242S615210, C270S005010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06619583
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for contact-free guidance of a web-like material over a surface, such as a folder former plate, for example, the web-like material being foldable with a first longitudinal fold which is formed therein as it passes the folder former plate.
The published German Patent Document DE 199 15 386 A1 is concerned with a device for avoiding smearing during the transportation of a printed material web, which may be printed on one or both sides thereof. This publication describes a device by which the smearing of ink on a printed web is avoided by increasing the viscosity of the ink printed onto the web. The increase in viscosity takes place following a first operation for cooling the web. The cooling device that is used may include rollers which are arranged within a rotary printing machine and are cooled by a coolant. On the other hand, the cooling may be effected by air cooling a closed section of the rotary printing machine or by feeding a cooling gas onto the surface of the printed material web.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,616 discloses a folder former nose which may be fastened on the folder former of a rotary printing machine. The folder former nose includes a base plate wherein a triangular plate is positioned. A cover plate is displaceably disposed on the triangular plate. Provided in the cover plate are openings which are formed by cutouts in the border region of the cover plate. A fluid flow, which prevents the web material running off on the folder former nose from coming into contact with the surface of the folder former nose, to pass out through the openings, in the border region of the folder former nose. By actuating motors connected to the displaceable cover plate, or of pneumatically actuating devices, it is possible to adjust the size of the opening of the cutouts on the folder former nose, as a result of which the outgoing fluid volume flow can be adapted to the rate of travel of the web-like materials conveyed over the former nose.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,411 and the published European Patent Document EP 0 945 385 A2 disclose a first longitudinal folding device for use in a web-fed rotary printing machine, wherein it is possible to regulate the fluid volume flow acting upon the surfaces of the folder former plate. For this purpose, the folder former plate is configured with two bases. Fluid volume flow outlets which are located above one another, and are distributed over the length of the folder former plate, are arranged in the base plate located beneath the folder former plate, whereon the web-like material runs off. Wedge-shaped adjusting elements are accommodated in the cavity between the folder former plate and the plate wherein the air-outlet openings are formed, the adjusting elements either increasing or reducing the size of the outlet openings for the fluid volume flow onto the upper side of the folder former plate. It is thus possible to adjust, on the upper side of the folder former plate, the volume flow passing through the correspondingly adjusted opening cross sections. The openings, which are bounded via the wedge-shaped displaceable adjusting elements, are formed, in the transition region of the folder former plates, in circular former bars, over the circumferential surface of which there exits the fluid volume flow passing out of the openings, contact of the web-like material both with the folder former bars and with the folder former plate thus being avoided. The regulation of the emerging or outgoing fluid volume flow which can be achieved by this construction involves an extremely high level of outlay, and requires a longitudinal folding configuration formed with two bases. Furthermore, the positioning accuracy of the wedge-shaped elements, which release or bound the outlet openings for the emerging volume flow, requires a high level of accuracy, which results in the associated actuating drives being correspondingly more costly.
The published Japanese Patent Document JP-H-7-47415 discloses a triangular folder former plate on a folder of a rotary printing machine. The surface of the folder former is provided with a multiplicity of openings. Positioned in these openings are spherical elements which are enclosed by corresponding holders or sockets. The spherical elements of the folder former plate are subjected to the action of individual spring elements positioned in the holders. A volume flow of a fluid is introduced into each of the holders, because each of the holders is provided with a compressed-air connection. Depending upon the movement of the spherical element accommodated in the respective holder, a volume flow onto the surface of the folder former plate is released or blocked.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Starting from the state of the art exemplified hereinbefore, wherein sometimes very complex proposals have been made for regulating the emerging or outgoing fluid volume flow for guiding, as contact-free as possible, a material web running off over a folder former plate, it is an object of the invention to provide a device for contact-free guidance of web-like material over a surface whereby contact-free run-off of the web-like material having different widths is regulated, with compressed-air losses which are as low as possible and with relatively simple equipment being employed in a first longitudinal folding arrangement.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a device for contact-free guidance of a web material over a surface element whereon a first longitudinal fold is formed in the web material, comprising respective crossmembers disposed at the top and at the bottom of the surface elements, the surface element decreasing in width continuously from the top crossmember to the bottom crossmember, and being defined by boundary elements, the surface element and the boundary elements having a gaseous medium provided therein, an adjustable closure element for varying, in accordance with a respective format of the web material guided over the surface, a flow of a volume of the gaseous medium from an air cushion formed beneath the web material.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the surface member has a surface disposed in a travel direction of the web material, the surface being formed with a plurality of openings disposed behind one another in the travel direction of the web material.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the openings, respectively, have a longitudinal extent exceeding, by a multiple, a transverse extent thereof in the surface.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, at a rear side of the surface, the closure element faces towards at least one of the openings formed in the surface, the closure element being engageable with and being disengageable from the rear side of the surface.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the closure element has a width exceeding the width of the openings formed in the surface.
In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the closure element is mounted at a top end thereof so as to be pivotable about a pin.
In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the closure element extends, in the travel direction of the web material, between the top and the bottom crossmembers of a longitudinal folding device.
In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the closure element is manually adjustable from a position wherein it has been engaged with the surface, into a position wherein it is disengaged from the surface, and the reverse.
In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, the closure element is adjustable via an actuating drive acting upon spindle elements, from a position wherein it has been engaged with the surface, into a position wherein it is disengaged from the surface, and the reverse.
In accordance with still another feature of the invention, a threaded section formed on one of the spindle elements extends through an actua
Henry Herve
Thevenin Thierry
Greenberg Laurence A.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Mansen Michael R.
Mayback Gregory L.
Stemer Werner H.
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