The Ward Machinery Company

Ward Holding Company, Inc.

William F Ward, Jr

John B West

John R Harrison

Raymond S Watson

Michael P Baron

Louis M Sardella

Robert R Wells

Michael Elkis

Dennis J Parr

Mark R Donovan

Gary L Lehr

A mounting system is disclosed for removably mounting rollers and cylinders in a machine for quick and easy removal and replacement by other rollers and cylinders. The mounting system provides for rapid separation of the journal from the roller or cylinder so that only the roller or cylinder is removed, and the mounting system has particular applicability with respect to ink rolls in printing machines.

Quick change ink roll

Cross cuts for forming the ends of a tab on a sheet, for example a glue tab on a corrugated paperboard container blank, are performed by independent rotary cutter units. Each cutter unit has a spirally convoluted blade which, as it rotates, cuts progressively inwards from an outside edge of the sheet towards an opposite outside edge. As the sheet is conveyed along, a downstream cutter unit cuts the leading end of the tab, and an upstream cutter unit cuts the trailing end. After each cut, the cutter remains at rest with its blade in an inoperative position out of the path of any oncoming sheet. A sensor senses the next oncoming sheet and initiates the cutting via a computer. These rotary cutters mitigate skewing of the sheets while being cut.

Tab cutting

Apparatus, for example for processing sheets of corrugated paperboard in the production of container blanks, has a pair of feed rolls between which the sheets are fed while passing through the apparatus, and a pair of side frames in which the feed rolls are rotatably mounted one above the other. The upper of the feed rolls is journalled in bearings mounted eccentrically in bearing housings rotatable in holes in the side frames. Gearing is provided for adjustably rotating the bearing housings in the holes to move the upper feed roll respectively away from and towards the lower of the feed rolls. A pair of wedges act upon each bearing housing and are disposed in a cavity in each side frame below and communicating with the respective bearing housing. The wedges are moved towards each other by a screw bolt and/or a fluid cylinder to pre-load the bearing housings upwards in their holes. This takes up tolerances and eliminates hammering of the eccentric bearing housings in the side frame holes as successive sheets enter between the feed rolls.

Adjustable feed rolls for feeding sheets

A method and apparatus for mounting a die, particularly a rigid cutting die, on a die cylinder includes having a bubble along a seal on the die to bridge any gaps between the die and the die cylinder when the die is initially positioned on the die cylinder. This bubble seal enables a vacuum to be applied between the initially positioned die and the die cylinder to pull the die down against and into conformity with the surface of the die cylinder, at the same time flattening the bubble seal. A key at a trailing edge of the die locates in an axial keyway in the die cylinder to circumferentially position the die; a bolt is then inserted at a leading edge of the die to establish axial location. During operation the die is held in position by the vacuum. Beam sensors and light reflectors may be incorporated to sense when a wrong die is present and shut down the apparatus. Ball valve members may be incorporated in the surface of the die to distribute the vacuum and also to enable the die to be rolled along the surface of the die cylinder while initially being positioned.

Vacuum die mount

A sheet feeder for corrugated paperboard sheets utilizing timed intermittently rotatable belts against which either the top or bottom sheet, depending on the configuration chosen, of a stack is brought into contact to feed such sheet in synchronism with adjacent processing machinery and utilizing continuously applied negative atmospheric pressure to hold such sheet against the belts without the need for valving or otherwise breaking the suction pressure.

Feeding apparatus for paperboard sheets

A method of slitting selected plies of multiply paperboard blanks by compressing narrow portions against an anvil surface (preferably soft) and cutting one or more plies along the compressed portions. The apparatus includes a cutting rule (straight or annular) with compression rules on each side to compress the blanks simultaneously with the cutting. The method and apparatus may be used in conjunction with conventional flat-bed or rotary diecutting.

Slit-score method and apparatus

Apparatus for directing a flow of air between the bottom blank of a stack and a blank advancing beneath the stack, particularly for corrugated paperboard counter stacker machines, comprising an air supply means adjacent the trailing edge of the bottom blank adapted to direct the flow of air beneath the bottom blank and above the advancing blank to form a cushion of air therebetween for reducing sliding friction between such blanks.

Air lift for blank stackers

Improved blank-stripping apparatus for rotary die cutters of the type which have a die cutting roll, and an anvil roll for supporting paperboard blanks against a cutting rule on the die cutting roll, includes a rotary-cam-timed valve system pressure-actuating one or more pneumatic piston and cylinder assemblies within or adjacent the cutting rule for ejecting scrap radially from the cutting rule in synchronism with rotation of the die cutting roll; after scrap ejection the valve system vents pressure so that contact with a succeeding paperboard blank and/or spring bias easily retracts the plunger to position for pneumatic actuation in the succeeding cycle of operation.

Blank stripping apparatus for rotary die cutters

Rotary slitting apparatus for slitting paperboard material including a pair of coacting knife holders for mounting on parallel adjacent rotatable shafts, such holders having thin flexible annular slitting blades clamped thereon at a slight angle to a plane normal to the axis of the shafts so that the blades overlap slightly to provide scissors-action cutting of paperboard material passed between the heads.

Paperboard slitting apparatus

A method and apparatus for extending the useful life of resilient covers on anvil rolls of rotary die cutters by causing the die cutting rules to penetrate the covers at sequential incrementally small circumferentially spaced locations around the cover by adding to the speed of rotation of the anvil roll relative to the speed of the die holder roll. Lateral reciprocation of the anvil roll is translated to rotary motion by a gear and pivot lever arrangement, such rotary motion being added to the normal speed of the anvil roll.

Growing community of inventors

Hampstead, MD, United States of America

William F Ward, Jr