Flexographic printing machine for printing a substrate web

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11433661-B2
Application number	US-202017425976-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 26, 2020
Priority date	Jul 29, 2019
Publication date	Sep 6, 2022
Grant date	Sep 6, 2022

Abstract

A flexographic printing press for printing a substrate web comprises at least one printing unit and at least one central cylinder. A plurality of printing couples are arranged around the periphery of the at least one central cylinder. A horizontally aligned dryer unit, having at least one guide element, is arranged above the printing unit in a vertical direction. The at least one horizontally aligned dryer unit has at least two dryer sections with one dryer section being arranged separated from the next dryer section by at least one diverting assembly. The at least one flexographic printing press has at least one roll unwinder and at least one roll winder. The at least one roll unwinder and the at least one roll winder are arranged on opposite sides of the at least one central cylinder.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A flexographic printing press for printing a substrate, comprising;
at least one printing unit having at least one central cylinder;
a plurality of printing couples arranged around a periphery of the at least one central cylinder;
at least one roll winder in the flexographic printing press;
at least one roll unwinder in the flexographic printing press, wherein the at least one roll unwinder is arranged on a first side of the at least one central cylinder and the at least one roll winder is arranged on a second, opposite side of the at least one central cylinder and wherein the at least one central cylinder is arranged between the at least one roll unwinder and the at least one roll winder;
at least one horizontally aligned dryer unit having at least one guide element, the at least one horizontally aligned dryer unit being arranged above the printing unit in a vertical direction (V) and being arranged on the first side of the at least one central cylinder; and
at least first and second dryer sections in the at least one horizontally aligned dryer unit, wherein the first dryer section is arranged separated from the second dryer section of the at least first and second dryer sections by at least one diverting means, and wherein a shortest distance (A 21 ) between the at least one roll unwinder and the at least one central cylinder is not greater than twice a diameter of the central cylinder, and wherein a shortest distance (A 52 ) between the at least one roll winder and the at least one central cylinder is not greater than twice the diameter of the central cylinder.

2. The flexographic printing press according to claim 1 , wherein the flexographic printing press has at least one temperature control roller and wherein the at least one temperature control roller is arranged downstream of a last dryer section of the at least first and second dryer sections of the at least one dryer unit in a transport path of the substrate web.

3. The flexographic printing press according to claim 2 , wherein a third distance (A 31 ) from a last guide element of the last dryer section of the at least one dryer unit to the at least one temperature control roller is between 10 cm and 100 cm.

4. The flexographic printing press according to claim 2 , wherein a fourth distance (A 31 ) from a last guide element of a last dryer section of the at least one dryer unit to the at least one temperature control roller is half as short as a length of a transport path of the substrate web through the respective last dryer section, and wherein the fourth distance is referred to as a length (L 304 ) of a transport path of the substrate web, parallel to a direction (G) of the transport path of the substrate web, from a first guide element to a last guide element of the last dryer section in a direction of transport (T) of the substrate web.

5. The flexographic printing press according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one temperature control roller is driven by at least one drive, and wherein the at least one temperature control roller is arranged for one of open-loop and closed-loop control of a web tension of the substrate web.

6. The flexographic printing press according to claim 2 , wherein a dynamometer is arranged between the at least one temperature control roller and a last one of the at least first and second dryer sections.

7. The flexographic printing press according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one temperature control roller is arranged between the at least one dryer unit and a plane (E 201 ), and wherein the plane (E 201 ) is spanned by a vertical direction V and by an axis of rotation of the central cylinder.

8. The flexographic printing press according to claim 1 , wherein an inspection device for one of inspecting perfecting register and for print image analysis is arranged downstream of the at least one dryer unit in a transport path of the substrate web.

9. The flexographic printing press according to claim 8 , wherein at least one temperature control roller is arranged downstream of the at least one horizontally arranged dryer unit and upstream of the inspection device.

10. The flexographic printing press according to claim 1 , wherein the at least first and second dryer sections have at least two guide elements and wherein the at least two guide elements are arranged offset from one another in a direction (G) of a transport path of the substrate web and in the vertical direction (V).

11. The flexographic printing press according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one diverting means is arranged between each dryer section of the at least first and second dryer sections, such that the substrate web is rotated upstream of each dryer section by the at least one diverting means and one of wherein the substrate web and a transport path provided for the substrate web is diverted by between 135° and 225°.

12. The flexographic printing press according to claim 1 , wherein each dryer section of the at least first and second dryer sections has a plurality of nozzles and wherein the plurality of nozzles of each dryer section are arranged pointing from above and from below one of onto the substrate web and onto a transport path of the substrate web.

13. The flexographic printing press according to claim 1 , wherein the at least first and second dryer sections are arranged separated by first and second diverting means.

14. The flexographic printing press according to claim 1 , wherein the at least first and second dryer sections are enclosed by at least one housing.

15. The flexographic printing press according to claim 1 , wherein the shortest distance (A 21 ) between an axis of rotation of the printing material source and a point on a lateral surface of the central cylinder is no greater than twice the diameter (d 201 ) of the central cylinder, and wherein the shortest distance (A 52 ) between an axis of rotation of the substrate roll and a point on the lateral surface of the central cylinder is no greater than twice the diameter (d 201 ) of the central cylinder.

Assignees

• Koenig & Bauer Ag

Inventors

• Magnone Stefano

Classifications

• B41F33/0036

  Devices for scanning or checking the printed matter for quality control · CPC title

• B41F23/0483

  Drying combined with cooling · CPC title

• B41F5/24 Primary

  for flexographic printing · CPC title

• B41F23/0466

  by using heated air · CPC title

• B41F23/0479

  using chill rolls · CPC title