Inkcup assembly and drive mechanism for pad printing machine

Abstract

An inkcup and drive mechanism for a printing machine wherein the inkcup comprises a hollow body for containing a supply of ink and having an open end outlined by a wiping edge, a biasing spring for urging the wiping edge into contact with a surface of a printing plate, and a holder for supporting the biasing spring and engaging the printing plate so that the assembly of hollow body, biasing spring and holder is movable along the printing plate to place the open end of the hollow body into and out of registry with the image for inking the same and so that the biasing spring is entirely within the inkcup and applies force only to the hollow body and to the holder. The printing plate is removable from the machine so that the inkcup is easily manually removable from the machine in a sealed and contained condition. First and second drive mechanisms move the inkcup between inking and standby positions and move the pad between pickup and printing positions in a manner such that the motion imparted to the inkcup and pad is harmonic wherein maximum speed occurs between positions and deceleration to reach zero speed occurs at the desired locations. A fixture receives the printing plate and inkcup as a unit when removed from the machine and restrains the force of the biasing spring to allow manipulative operations on the unit.