Adolph Coors Company

Coors Container Company

Preferred Machining Corporation

Belgium Tool and Die Company

Other

James S Stirbis

Danny L McMillin

William W Weil

Roger Leo Kobak

Gary L Yount

Franklin P Lee

Chet L Rose

Roscoe W O'Hair

A nozzle actuating and adjustment system for applying sealant to a can lid member comprising a nozzle which has a sealant dispensing opening, a needle valve means, a needle valve seat surface and a sealant flow passage for enabling flow of sealant material onto the lid member. The needle valve is selectively axially movable between an open sealant applying position and a closed non-flow position relative to the needle valve seat surface. A spring means is operatively associated with the needle valve means to normally hold the needle valve means in the closed lowered position. A needle valve actuator solenoid is operatively connected to the needle valve for selectively causing axial upward movement of the needle valve from the closed position to the open position by a predetermined axial distance to provide a predetermined sealant flow gap in the nozzle means to dispense a predetermined amount of sealant material during a predetermined dispensing time period. A flow gap adjustment solenoid is operatively connected to the needle valve actuator solenoid for selectively changing the amount of axial movement of the needle valve caused by the actuator solenoid so as to selectively vary the sealant flow gap and the amount of sealant material dispensed during a predetermined dispensing time.

Fluid dispensing system

A nozzle actuating and adjustment system for applying sealant to a can lid member comprising a nozzle which has a sealant dispensing opening, a needle valve, a needle valve seat surface and a sealant flow passage for enabling flow of sealant material onto the lid member. The needle valve is selectively axially movable between an open sealant applying position and a closed non-flow position relative to the needle valve seat surface. A spring is operatively associated with the needle valve to normally hold the needle valve in the closed lowered position. A needle valve actuator solenoid is operatively connected to the needle valve for selectively causing axial upward movement of the needle valve from the closed position to the open position by a predetermined axial distance to provide a predetermined sealant flow gap in the nozzle to dispense a predetermined amount of sealant material during a predetermined dispensing time period. A flow gap adjustment solenoid is operatively connected to the needle valve actuator solenoid for selectively changing the amount of axial movement of the needle valve caused by the actuator solenoid so as to selectively vary the sealant flow gap and the amount of sealant material dispensed during a predetermined dispensing time.

An offset blanket print/coat assembly for printing or coating rotating containers has a novel inker blade adjustment means which adjusts the fountain blade relative to the fountain roll both inwardly and outwardly, and holds the blade edge in various desired positions along is entire length by the adjustment of individual adjustment threaded shafts positioned along the blade length. Each shaft has spaced apart threaded sections, one of which is more coarsely threaded than the other. One threaded section threadably engages a threaded mounting block mounted to the ink reservoir, while the other threaded section threadably engages a threaded adjusting eye slidably received in a sliding block mounted to the ink reservoir. The adjusting eye is coupled to the blade by a pivotable linkage. In addition, a plastic seal is urged from a slot in each side plate of a inker fountain into direct engagement with the end of the fountain roll and provides a lightweight and secure liquid seal between the seal and the fountain and also between the lower end of the seal and the fountain blade to minimize ink leakage.

Ink fountain for a can coater

An offset blanket print/coat assembly for printing or coating rotating containers has a blanket wheel supporting a plurality of blanket assemblies by means of radial frame plates and an air cylinder operable for retracting the blankets inwardly on the blanket wheel. The blanket assemblies move in both a radial direction and an axial direction in moving from a printing position to a stop-print position in response to the detection of the absence of a container of a mandrel approaching the printing position. Novel inker blade adjustment means adjusts the fountain blade relative to the fountain roll both inwardly and outwardly relative to the fountain roll and holds the blade edge in various desired positions along its entire length by the adjustment of individual adjustment members positioned along the blade length. A plastic seal is urged from a slot in each side plate of an inker fountain against the end of the fountain roll and provides a lightweight and secure liquid seal between the seal and the fountain and also between the lower end of the seal and the fountain blade to minimize ink leakage. The ink rolls are cooled by lubricating oil pumped through them and then sprayed into the gear case of the gears driving the ink rolls so as to cool the rolls and the gears and provide required gear lubrication. Oil from the sump of the gear cases passes through a temperature control unit for cooling the oil prior to the pumping of the oil back to the ink rolls.

Can coater with improved deactivator responsive to absence of a workpiece

A one-piece metallic can body member comprising a cylindrical relatively thin side wall portion; an open end rim portion; a dome-shape bottom wall portion having a concave dome-shape central portion, a convex axially outwardly extending lowermost annular support rib portion connected to the dome-shape central portion, and a radially outmost inclined connecting wall portion which extends between the side wall portion and the lowermost annular support rib portion. A plurality of circumferentially spaced radially inwardly extending convex groove-rib portions in the concave dome-shape central portion extend radially inwardly from the lowermost annular support rib portion. An annular convex groove-rib portion is located in the concave dome-shape central portion and intersects the radially inwardly extending convex groove-rib portions.

One piece can body with domed bottom

A sealant supply system for a sealant applying machine having a plurality of rotatable sealant applying head devices rotatable about a central axis of rotation and comprising support means for supporting the system on the machine; a rotatable sealant supply chamber means mounted on the support means for holding a supply of sealant material and having a bottom wall portion, a side wall portion, and an upper wall portion; coupling passage means in a lower portion of the chamber means for connection to the sealant applying head means to supply sealant thereto; a spindle means mounted on the upper wall portion of the chamber means for enabling rotation of the chamber means; a first central passage means in the spindle means enabling supply of air and sealant to the chamber means; bearing journal means and bearing means on an outer wall portion of the spindle means for rotatably supporting the spindle means; a non-rotatable housing means for receiving and rotatably supporting the bearing means and the spindle means; a second central passage means in the non-rotatable housing means for connection to the first central passage means for enabling supply of air and sealant to the chamber means; passage sealing means between the spindle means and the housing means for sealing the first central passage means relative to the second central passage means; a sealant delivery tube means mounted in the first central passage means and the second central passage means and having a discharge opening located in the chamber means for supplying sealant to the chamber means; and air passage means circumjacent the tube means and defined by the tube means and the first central passage means and the second central passage means for supplying pressurized air to the chamber means.

A decorator apparatus and methods for applying an ink image to cylindrical can body members comprising multiple station ink supply and transfer apparatus for transferring ink from an ink fountain to a blanket wheel through a plate cylinder with ink image registration adjustment apparatus and axial and circumferential tightness control apparatus operatively associated with each plate cylinder and each ink supply and transfer apparatus.

Can decorating apparatus

Apparatus for continuously conveying decorated container members having wet ink images on the outer periphery thereof between a first continuously moving rotatable mandrel wheel type container carrying apparatus of a high speed container decorator or coater machine and a high speed second continuously linearly moving pin chain container carrying apparatus comprising: a continuously rotatable disk type conveyor rotatably movable in a predetermined endless path between the first and second continuously moving container carrying apparatus including a first path portion located in juxtaposition to the first continuously moving container carrying apparatus for receiving decorated container members therefrom and a second path portion located in juxtaposition to the second continuously moving container carrying apparatus delivering decorated container members thereto; a plurality of individual cirumferentially spaced vacuum cups fixedly peripherally mounted in equally spaced relationship on and extending laterally outwardly of and being continuously movable with said disk type conveyor in fixed relationship therewith for holding a single container member on each vacuum cups, only by application of vacuum therefrom. thereto during movement between the first and second continuously moving container carrying apparatus and for releasing container members therefrom only by removal of vacuum therefrom.

Disk transfer system

A mandrel assembly for use in a machine for continuous printing of cylindrical containers, comprising a mandrel wheel; mandrel holders, pivotally mounted on circumferential portions of the mandrel wheel; elongate mandrels for supporting cylindrical containers on peripheral surfaces thereof, rotatably mounted on the mandrel holder and radially displaceable relative the central axis of rotation of the mandrel wheel; a cam follower rotatably mounted on each mandrel holder; and a cam track assembly operably associated with the cam followers for causing preselected radial displacement of the cam followers with respect to the central axis of rotation of the mandrel wheel which in turn causes preselected radial displacement of associated mandrel spindles relative a blanket wheel device to either cause a container to be printed or to be skipped from printing.

Cam assembly for skip-print mandrel wheel assembly

A continuous can printing machine for decorating can bodies having a printing cylinder assembly including multiple printing plates of predetermined size accurately mounted on a peripheral surface of a cylinder having a circumference substantially greater than the circumference of a can to be printed and being quickly and accurately mountable and removable from a drive shaft by use of an eccentric tightening apparatus.

Print cylinder assembly and mounting and tightening apparatus therefor

Apparatus for continuously conveying decorated container members having wet ink images on the outer periphery thereof between a first continuously moving rotatable mandrel wheel type container carrying apparatus of a high speed container decorator or coater machine and a high speed second continuously linearly moving pin chain container carrying apparatus comprising: a continuously rotatable disk type conveyor rotatably movable in a predetermined endless path between the first and second continuously moving container carrying apparatus including a first path portion located in juxtaposition to the first continuously moving container carrying apparatus for receiving decorated container members therefrom and a second path portion located in juxtaposition to the second continuously moving container carrying apparatus delivering decorated container members thereto; a plurality of individual circumferentially spaced vacuum cups fixedly peripherally mounted in equally spaced relationship on and extending laterally outwardly of and being continuously movable with said disk type conveyor in fixed relationship therewith for holding a single container member on each vacuum cups, only by application of vacuum thereto during movement between the first and second continuously moving container carrying apparatus and for releasing container members therefrom only by removal of vacuum therefrom.

An apparatus for continuous heat transfer of ink images onto the outer surfaces of continuously moving articles, for example, generally cylindrical articles, from a length of continuously moving heat transfer sheet material having thereon a series of uniformly spaced heat transferable ink images. In the case of cylindrical articles, an elongated wrapping and heating tube is used for continuously wrapping a portion of the sheet material into intimate contact with the outer surface of each cylindrical article as the sheet material and the cylindrical members move through the tube and for heating the wrapped portion of the sheet material and the cylindrical articles during movement through the tube to cause transfer of the ink image to the articles within the tube. The sheet material is thereafter unwrapped and disassociated from the decorated cylindrical members after passing through the tube during continuous movement of the sheet material and the printed cylindrical members.

Apparatus for printing articles from heat transfer paper

A method and apparatus for continuous heat transfer of ink images onto the outer surfaces of continuously moving generally cylindrical articles from a length of continuously moving heat transfer sheet material having thereon a series of uniformly spaced heat transferable ink images by use of an elongated wrapping and heating tube for continuously wrapping a portion of the sheet material into intimate contact with the outer surface of each cylindrical article as the sheet material and the cylindrical members move through the tube and for heating the wrapped portion of the sheet material and the cylindrical articles during movement through the tube to cause transfer of the ink image to the articles within the tube. The sheet material is thereafter unwrapped and disassociated from the decorated cylindrical members after passing through the tube during continuous movement of the sheet material and the printed cylindrical members.

Method for printing cans from heat transfer paper

A can printing machine of the type having a rotating assembly of mandrels contacting a rotating printing blanket for transferring decoration from the blanket to cans on the mandrels is provided with mandrel assemblies which are axially alignable with the printing blanket to permit axially uniform decoration of the cans. Each mandrel assembly comprises a rigid central member; a cylindrical sleeve mounted on the central member for receiving thereon a can to be printed; first mounting means pivotably mounting the sleeve to the central member at an axial midline of the can; and second mounting means accommodating pivoting and positioning the sleeve in a rest position to permit loading and unloading of the cans. Since the sleeve rotates relative to the central member to transfer circumferential decoration from the printing blanket to the can, the first and second mounting means permit rotation of the sleeve and rotatable pivoting. The mounting means comprise frictionless bearings, the first mounting means preferably comprising a ball bearing assembly to permit pivoting and the second mounting means comprising a needle bearing assembly resting on resilient rubber O-rings at the base of the central member for accommodating pivoting and for positioning of the sleeve.

Self-aligning mandrel for can printing machines

Apparatus for continuous heat transfer of ink images onto outer surfaces of continuously moving generally cylindrical members from a length of continuously moving heat transfer sheet material having thereon a series of uniformly spaced heat transferable ink images. In a preferred form, the apparatus comprises: a roller for unwinding the sheet material into an unwound intermediate length of the sheet material; a chute or guide rails for feeding the members into association with the unwound intermediate length of sheet material; a moving chain belt with pins for penetrating the sheet material and for transporting the cylindrical members in association with the unwound intermediate length of sheet material, a tube for wrapping the sheet material about each cylindrical member transported on the sheet material and for providing heat to cause transfer of an image from the sheet material to each cylindrical member, a star wheel for removing printed members, unwrapped from the sheet material, downstream of the tube; and a roller for winding up the sheet material after the printed members have been removed therefrom.

Growing community of inventors

Littleton, CO, United States of America

James S Stirbis