Gravure printing unit and method for checking and/or adjusting and/or correcting a relative position

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11396195-B2
Application number	US-202017603696-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 3, 2020
Priority date	May 7, 2019
Publication date	Jul 26, 2022
Grant date	Jul 26, 2022

Abstract

A gravure printing unit is provided by which substrate can be printed according to a gravure printing method. The gravure printing unit has a forme cylinder, which comprises, on its circumference, an image-forming pattern of recesses, and has an inking unit by which the pattern of recesses provided on the forme cylinder can be at least partially inked. The forme cylinder can be partially inked from an inking device via a first inking unit cylinder, which has, in the region of its lateral surface, recesses that correspond to recesses on the forme cylinder, and via a second inking unit cylinder, which is to be partially inked by the first inking unit cylinder. To produce an image element to be used for checking a relative position between the forme cylinder and the first inking unit cylinder, the forme cylinder has, within the printing width but preferably outside of an image-forming pattern of recesses that supplies the print image of one or more N-up copies, and lying in a circumferential region, at least one first recess, which overlaps on the forme cylinder only partially with a projection, which is obtained on the forme cylinder by the rolling off, in pairs in each case, of the inking unit cylinders that are involved in the ink transport, of a recess, which is provided in a defined position and location on the circumference of the first inking unit cylinder for the purpose of checking the relative position. A substrate section and a method for checking and/or adjusting and/or correcting a relative position between the first inking unit cylinder and the forme cylinder are also disclosed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A gravure printing unit ( 500 ) by which substrate (S; S′) can be printed according to a gravure printing method, said gravure printing unit having a forme cylinder ( 503 ), which comprises on its circumference an image-forming pattern of recesses ( 514 ), and having an inking unit ( 508 ) by which the pattern of recesses ( 514 ) provided on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) can be at least partially inked, wherein the forme cylinder ( 503 ) can be partially inked from an inking device ( 511 ) via a first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ), which has, in the region of its lateral surface ( 518 ), recesses ( 513 ) that correspond to recesses ( 514 ) on the forme cylinder ( 503 ), and via a second inking unit cylinder ( 519 ), which is to be partially inked by the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ), characterized in that within the printing width, the forme cylinder ( 503 ) has at least one first recess ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) for producing an image element ( 761 ; 762 ; 763 ; 764 ) that is used in a test field printed on the substrate to check the relative position between the forme cylinder and the first inking unit cylinder ( 503 ; 512 ), which recess overlaps on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) only partially with a projection, which is obtained on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) by the rolling off, in pairs in each case, of the inking unit cylinders ( 512 ; 519 ; 531 ) that are involved in the ink transport, of a recess ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 3 ; 513 . 2 ; 513 . 4 ), which is provided in a defined position and location on the circumference of the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ) for the purpose of checking the relative position, in that the forme cylinder ( 503 ) additionally has, within the printing width, at least one second recess ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ; 514 . 3 ; 514 . 4 ) for printing at least one second image element ( 763 ; 764 ; 767 ; 768 ) of the test field (Ra( 512 ); Ra′( 512 ); Ra″( 512 ); Ra′″( 512 ); Ra*( 512 ); Ru( 512 ); Ru′( 512 ); Ru″( 512 ); Ru′″( 512 ); Ru*( 512 ); Ra( 519 ); Ra′( 519 ); Ra*( 519 ); Ru( 519 ); Ru′( 519 ); Ru*( 519 )), the second image element being associated with the first image element ( 763 ; 764 ; 767 ; 768 ) as a reference element ( 763 ; 764 ; 767 ; 768 ), and in that the second recess ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ; 514 . 3 ; 514 . 4 ) overlaps at least partially with a projection, obtained by rolling, of a second recess ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 3 ; 513 . 2 ; 513 . 4 ) provided on the circumference of the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ).

2. The gravure printing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that the first recess ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ), which extends linearly outside of the image-forming pattern on the circumference of the forme cylinder ( 503 ), and the recess ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 2 ) which extends on the circumference of the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ) are provided such that a projection of the recess ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 2 ) extending on the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ), which projection is obtained on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) by the rolling off, in pairs in each case, of the inking unit cylinders ( 512 ; 519 ; 531 ) involved in the ink transport, overlaps the recess ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) extending on the forme cylinder ( 503 ).

3. The gravure printing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that the first recess ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 2 ) provided on the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ) extends linearly and sloped with rolling in relation to the recess ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) on the forme cylinder ( 503 ), and/or the dimensions of the first recesses ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 2 ; 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) on the forme cylinder and on the first inking unit cylinder ( 503 ; 512 ) are such that the region of overlap of the projection, as viewed in the direction of the linear recess ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) on the forme cylinder ( 503 ), is smaller than the length of said recess ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) on the forme cylinder ( 503 ).

4. The gravure printing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that outside of the image-forming pattern on the forme cylinder ( 503 ), a group of linear first recesses ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) is provided on the forme cylinder ( 503 ), side by side in the axial or in the circumferential direction and spaced evenly from one another by a first distance, and on the circumference of the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ), a group of linear first recesses ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 2 ) spaced evenly from one another by a second distance is provided such that the orientation of the linear recesses ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ; 513 . 1 ; 513 . 2 ) of the group on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) and of the group on the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ) is the same, such that the second distance deviates from the first distance slightly, i.e. by less than one line width of the recesses ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) on the forme cylinder ( 503 ), and such that projections of the recesses ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 2 ) extending on the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ), said projections being obtained on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) by the rolling off, in pairs in each case, of the inking unit cylinders ( 512 ; 519 ; 531 ) involved in the ink transport, overlap on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) at least partially with recesses ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) that lie outside of the image-forming pattern.

5. The gravure printing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that a first recess ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ) on the forme cylinder ( 503 ), which serves to produce the first image element ( 761 ; 762 ) for checking the relative position between forme cylinder ( 503 ) and first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ), overlaps on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) only partially, as viewed in the axial or the circumferential direction, with a projection of a recess ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 2 ) provided on the circumference of the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ), said projection being obtained on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) by the rolling off, in pairs in each case, of the inking unit cylinders ( 512 ; 519 ; 531 ) involved in the ink transport, and the second recess ( 514 . 3 ; 514 . 4 ) on the forme cylinder ( 503 ), which serves as the reference, is overlapped fully, as viewed in the same direction, by a projection of a corresponding further recess ( 513 . 3 ; 513 . 4 ) provided on the circumference of the first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ), said projection being obtained by rolling.

6. The gravure printing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that the gravure printing unit ( 500 ) comprises a plurality of inking trains ( 529 ), each having an inking device ( 511 ), a first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ) with recesses ( 513 ), and a second inking unit cylinder ( 519 ), via which the forme cylinder ( 503 ) can be indirectly or directly inked, and in that the forme cylinder ( 503 ) has a number of such first recesses ( 514 . 1 ; 514 . 2 ), corresponding to at least the number of inking trains ( 529 ), and spaced from one another and lying within the printing width, but outside of the image-forming pattern of recesses ( 514 ) that supplies the print image of one or more N-up copies (Ni) lying circumferential region, each first recess overlapping on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) only partially with a projection, which is obtained on the forme cylinder ( 503 ) by the rolling off, in pairs in each case, of the inking unit cylinders ( 512 ; 519 ; 531 ) of the inking train ( 529 ) in question that are involved in the ink transport, of a corresponding recess ( 513 . 1 ; 513 . 3 ; 513 . 2 ; 513 . 4 ) which is provided in a defined position and location on the circumference of the relevant first inking unit cylinder ( 512 ) for the purpose of checking the relative position.

7. The gravure printing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that a first recess ( 514 . 6 ;

Assignees

• Koenig & Bauer Ag

Inventors

• Dimitrijevic Ana
• Schaede Johannes
• Würsch Alain

Classifications

• B41M1/10 Primary

  Intaglio printing {; Gravure printing} · CPC title

• B41F9/063 Primary

  Using inking rollers · CPC title

• B41M2205/16

  Correction processes or materials · CPC title

• B41F9/021

  Sheet printing presses · CPC title

• B41F33/0081

  Devices for scanning register marks · CPC title