Printing – Rolling contact machines – Rotary
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-14
2001-10-30
Eickholt, Eugene (Department: 2854)
Printing
Rolling contact machines
Rotary
C184S006260, C384S462000, C384S471000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308621
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention belongs to the mechanical arts. Specifically, the invention lies in the field of roller bearing lubrication in printing technology. The invention, in particular, relates to bearings for printing rollers and a method of lubricating the printing roller bearings.
Printing machines typically operate with a multiplicity of rollers that form nips through which product travels. The product may be a continuous web or individual sheets of paper or cardboard to be printed.
The rollers in the printing machines are supported in lubricated roller bearings. The roller bearings are conventionally lubricated with grease that is supplied from a grease reservoir. Typically, a grease pump enables sporadic pumping of the grease from the reservoir through various grease lines and into strategic locations in the bearings.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,212 to Guaraldi et al., which is commonly assigned, discloses a method of lubricating a printing cylinder bearing in which an air jet is used to distribute the grease that is pumped into the bearing from a grease reservoir. A printing cylinder is supported by a roller bearing with rolling elements that support mutually opposed bearing race surfaces. In addition to distributing the grease on the rolling elements of the roller bearing, a small amount of grease is axially injected towards the cylinder body, where it forms a grease seal between the bearing housing and the cylinder.
Depending on the speed of the printing unit and/or the associated product-processing system, the rollers rotate at substantial speeds. For instance, blanket cylinders and plate cylinders in offset lithographic printing machines rotate in excess of about 1100 rpm. Lubrication with grease is inadequate to properly remove the buildup of friction heat in the bearings of such cylinders. The art therefore effects a heat exchange with cooling plates attached to the bearing housings. The cooling plates are cooled down by heat exchange with chilled cooling water.
The cooling water supply is a relatively complicated and expensive system. A proper flow and temperature of the cooling water must be ensured so as to assure proper heat exchange. Furthermore, lubrication with grease is not recommended by bearing manufacturers at high speeds. Instead, oil lubrication is recommended.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a roller bearing lubrication system and method, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which eliminates the need for an external chilled water cooling source for the bearings and provides for the preferred lubrication with oil instead of grease. With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a bearing lubrication system in a printing machine, comprising:
a bearing;
a gear box having an oil sump with a supply of lubricating oil;
a printing machine roller rotatably supported in the gear box and in the bearing; and
an oil loop fluidically connecting the gear box with the bearing for transporting oil from the gear box to the bearing and lubricating the bearing.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the bearing is a roller bearing, and including a bearing housing substantially oil-tightly enclosing the roller bearing.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the oil loop is a closed loop leading from the gear box to the bearing housing and back to the gear box.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, an oil pump is connected in the oil loop for pumping the oil from an oil sump in the gear box through the bearing and back to the oil sump.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the bearing housing is formed with an inlet and an outlet, and the oil loop comprises a feed line connected between the gear box and the inlet and a discharge line connected between the outlet and the gear box.
In accordance with again a further feature of the invention, a first dry quick disconnect is provided for removably connecting the feed line to the inlet and a second dry quick disconnect for removably connecting the discharge line to the outlet.
In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention, the inlet and the outlet are coaxially formed in a two-way valve, the feed line and the discharge line are formed in a single two-way line, and including a two-way dry quick disconnect for removably connecting the two-way line to the two-way valve.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the bearing housing includes a cover plate extending substantially orthogonally to a rotational axis of the printing machine roller and the two-way valve is disposed substantially coaxially with the rotational axis of the printing machine roller.
With the above and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a method of lubricating a roller bearing in a printing machine, which comprises the following steps:
rotatably supporting a printing machine cylinder in a gear box and, opposite from the gear box, on a roller bearing assembly disposed in a bearing housing;
providing a dry quick disconnect for an oil loop between the gear box and the bearing housing, and fluidically connecting the gear box with the bearing housing prior to driving the printing machine cylinder from the gear box; and
while the printing machine cylinder is driven from the gear box, pumping oil from the gear box into the bearing housing for lubricating and cooling the roller bearing assembly and discharging the oil from the bearing housing and back to the gear side.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a roller bearing lubrication system and method, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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Japanese Patent Abstract JP 61181641 (Mitamura), dated Aug. 14, 1986.
Douillard Gerald Roger
Lapine Eric Michael
Lemlin Michael Robert
Eickholt Eugene
Greenberg Laurence A.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Lerner Herbert L.
Stemer Werner H.
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