Markem Corporation

Peter Jenness, Iii

William E Maxwell

Michael F Potter

A printing apparatus is disclosed wherein rocking motion of a movably mounted inking roll assembly is controlled by a cam and follower arrangement coupled to the drive system for a pivoting printing member. The cam and follower arrangement allows coordinated movement of the printing member and inking roll assembly to be obtained in a simple manner and without employing separate drive means for rocking the inking roll assembly. The cam contour is advantageously chosen so that the inking roll is moved gradually toward and then away from the pivot axis of the printing member as the line of contact between the printing element and the inking roll progresses from the leading edge of the printing element to the trailing edge. Such movement of the inking roll maintains uniform tangential contact between the inking roll and the entire surface of a flat printing element as the latter is moved in an arcuate path by the printing member. Also disclosed is a resilient mounting arrangement for the printing member which allows movement of the printing member along separate arcuate and straight-line paths at different times under the control of a single drive means.

Printing apparatus and process

An article printing system is disclosed wherein successive strips of closely-spaced interconnected articles, such as electronic components, are fed in an intermittent manner by an endless conveyor belt to a printing nip located beneath a continuously rotating offset roll which is arranged for synchronized vertical reciprocation. Belt perforations corresponding in location to each individual article to be printed are sensed by a photoelectric detector to stop the article at a ready position located a predetermined distance from the printing nip. When a printed image on the offset roll rotates to a position of predicted registration with the motionless article surface below, the belt is restarted and the offset roll is lowered to its printing position in order to transfer the image to the article as it traverses the printing nip. After the image has been transferred, the offset roll is restored to its upper retracted position to avoid premature frictional contact with the leading edge of the next article to be printed. The belt continues to move until detection of the next perforation stops the belt in preparation for another printing cycle. Additional pairs of perforations, distinguishable by their characteristic spacing from the perforations corresponding to individual articles, are sensed by a second photoelectric detector for stopping the system after an entire strip of articles has been printed in order to allow a new strip to be loaded onto the belt.

Growing community of inventors

Spofford, NH, United States of America

Peter Jenness, Iii