Printing – Cleaning attachments
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-14
2001-07-24
Yan, Ren (Department: 2854)
Printing
Cleaning attachments
C101S424000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06263795
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a cleaning system employing a strip of cleaning fabric wrapped around a core or a shaft to form a cleaning fabric supply roll. The strip of cleaning fabric is soaked at the site prior to use or is soaked on the press.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A wide variety of blanket cleaning systems and apparatus employing the same to clean the cylinders of printing presses are known. Typical blanket cleaning systems and apparatus employing the same, including cleaning blankets and cleaning solutions, are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,448 to Moestue which is directed to a mechanism for cleaning a cylinder that is provided with a cleaning cloth which is wetted with a cleaning fluid or solution prior to its encountering the pressure roller; U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,391 to Futch et al. is directed to a composition for ink removal that exhibits a low vapor pressure and which is a low vapor pressure organic compound; U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,182 to Sawaguchi et al. is directed to a cleaning apparatus in which a cleaning cloth is dampened by a liquid; U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,716 to Gerson is directed to a wash for removing ink comprising a low volatile organic compound; U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,739 to Loos is directed to a washing device comprising a cleaning cloth dampened with a washing medium and U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,128 to Hara is directed to a device for cleaning a cylinder of a printing machine comprising a cleaning cloth impregnated with a cleaning liquid.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,567 to Staehr is directed to a liquid for cleaning ink from printing machines; U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,342 to Hara is directed to a method for cleaning the cylinder of a printing machine; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,639 to Krawack is directed to a cloth moistened with a low vapor pressure cleaning agent for removing ink; whereas U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,754 to Weltman et al. is directed to a cloth soaked with a cleaning formula and U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,173 to Folkard et al. is directed to a method for removing ink from printing machines. Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,361 and 4,757,763 to MacPhee et al. is directed to automatic blanket cylinder cleaners provided with cleaner fabrics adapted to contact the blanket cylinders of printing presses. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,080 to Gasparrini et al. is directed to a cloth supply system for the blanket cylinder for use in printing presses.
While the above-mentioned patents accomplish their purposes to a satisfactory extent, they still exhibit a variety of drawbacks. For example, they usually require apparatus, such as pumps, spray bars, manifold lines, valves, and the like as part of the automatic blanket cleaning systems for introducing the cleaning solvents or solutions to the cleaning fabric just prior to actual use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,157 to Gasparrini et al., the present applicants, attempted to overcome these problems. That patent is directed to a pre-packaged, pre-soaked cleaning system for use with printing machines or the like to clean the cylinders of such machines and which comprises a pre-soaked fabric roll saturated to equilibrium with low volatility organic compound solvent and which is disposed around an elongated, cylindrical core and a sealed or a shrunken and sealed plastic sleeve disposed around and in contact with the fabric roll, whereby the pre-soaked saturated roll can be transported and stored vertically and/or horizontally until use without substantially disturbing the distribution of the solvent in the fabric roll arnd detrimentally effecting the cleaning ability of the fabric.
While the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,157 works for its intended purpose, improvements have been discovered. When the patented product is placed in the vertical position, the solvent would shift downward in the evacuated package. When the package is restored to the horizontal position, the solvent migrates back towards equilibrium in the roll. This migration is caused by air pockets in the fabric of the roll.
There exists, therefore, a need for providing a blanket cleaning system which improves upon the above-mentioned conditions. The present invention fulfills such a need.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a new and improved system for soaking a strip of cleaning fabric for use in a cylinder cleaning system.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a new and improved system for soaking a strip of cleaning fabric which overcomes the drawbacks discussed above.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method in which a strip of cleaning fabric is presoaked on the same site as the press or in proximity to the press in which it is to be used to allow transportation of the presoaked cleaning fabric supply roll to the press without substantially disturbing the distribution of the solvent in the cleaning fabric supply roll and detrimentally affecting the cleaning ability of the fabric.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved system in which a strip of cleaning fabric is soaked and saturated to functional equilibrium with a low volatility, organic compound solvent after it is unwound from a bulk roll but before it is wound into a cleaning fabric supply roll on a core or shaft.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and, improved method of soaking a strip of cleaning fabric on a cylinder cleaning apparatus while located on a press.
A yet another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method of soaking a strip of cleaning fabric on a press while the strip of cleaning fabric is still wound in a cleaning fabric supply roll on a core or shaft.
A still further an object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method including the use of an adjustable means to remove excess solvent from the strip of cleaning fabric to control the amount of solvent retained by the strip of cleaning fabric.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved soak on press system in which a single roller is used to both soak and saturate the strip of cleaning fabric in solvent and to remove excess solvent for the strip of cleaning fabric.
The foregoing specific objects and advantages of the invention are illustrative of those which can be achieved by the present invention and are not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the possible advantages which may be realized. Thus, these and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description herein or can be learned from practicing the invention, both as embodied herein or as modified in view of any variations which may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the same being realized and attained by means of parts, constructions, instrumentations and combinations pointed out in the claims. The present invention resides in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations, methods and improvements herein shown and described.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a method of cleaning a cylinder of a printing press using a soak on press system comprising first placing a cleaning fabric supply roll having a strip of cleaning fabric in a cylinder cleaning system. Second, the strip of cleaning fabric is brought in contact with a low volatility, organic compound solvent or cleaning agent which does not evaporate readily at ambient temperature and pressure and soaking and saturating the strip of cleaning fabric with the solvent, or cleaning agent. The soaking and saturating may occur while the strip of cleaning fabric is part of the cleaning fabric supply roll or after it has been unwound from the cleaning fabric supply roll. An optional third step is removing any excess solvent or cleaning agent from the strip of cleaning fabric to obtain a strip of cleaning fabric saturated to functional equilibrium. Fourth, the strip of cleaning fabric is used to clean a cylinder.
In a more specific aspect of the method, the used strip of cleaning fabric is wound up on a ta
Anselmo Peter E.
Cano Walter H.
Gasparrini C. Robert
Baldwin Graphics Systems, Inc.
Morgan & Finnegan , LLP
Yan Ren
LandOfFree
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