Flexographic printing device and a method of simultaneously printing at least two material webs having different thicknesses

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11806986-B2
Application number	US-201816982674-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 5, 2018
Priority date	Apr 5, 2018
Publication date	Nov 7, 2023
Grant date	Nov 7, 2023

Abstract

A flexographic printing device and a method are provided for simultaneously printing at least two material webs having different thicknesses in the printing device. The flexographic printing device includes a printing unit having a printing roller carrying on a surface thereof an image to be printed, an impression roller and an anilox roller adapted to feed printing ink from a printing ink chamber onto a printing cliché mounted on the printing roller. The printing unit is configured for simultaneously printing the material webs having different thicknesses, by adjusting the radial extension of the surface of the printing roller, impression cylinder and/or anilox roller to be adapted to the respective material web to be printed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flexographic printing device comprising a printing unit comprising:
a printing roller carrying on a surface thereof an image to be printed, an impression roller having a surface, and
an anilox roller adapted to feed printing ink from a printing ink chamber onto the printing roller,
wherein the printing unit is configured for simultaneously printing at least two material webs having different thicknesses, the at least two material webs being printed when they pass a printing nip formed between the printing roller and the impression roller, and
wherein a radial extension of the anilox roller is adapted in respect to the thickness of the material web to be printed and the anilox roller is axially inclined to adapt the radial extension of the anilox roller to the thickness of the respective material web to be printed.

2. The flexographic printing device of claim 1 , wherein the image to be printed is provided as a cliché mounted on the printing roller.

3. The flexographic printing device of claim 2 , wherein an amount of clichés is equal to an amount of material webs to be printed and wherein at least one of the clichés has a radial extension adapted to the thickness of the respective material web to be printed.

4. The flexographic printing device of claim 3 , wherein the surface of the impression roller has an equal amount of surface zones as there are material webs, and wherein a radial extension of the impression roller at each of the surface zones is adapted to the thickness of the respective material web to be printed,
wherein the printing unit comprises an equal amount of anilox rollers as there are material webs, and wherein the radial extension of each of the anilox rollers or the radial position of each of the anilox rollers is adapted to a thickness of the respective material web to be printed,
wherein the surface zones of the impression roller each comprise a cover having a radial extension adapted to the thickness of the respective material web to be printed, and
the flexographic printing device further comprises:
at least one feeding device for the at least two material webs.

5. The flexographic printing device of claim 1 , wherein the image to be printed is provided as an engraved printing sleeve or as an engraved printing roller.

6. The flexographic printing device of claim 1 , wherein the surface of the impression roller has an equal amount of surface zones as there are material webs, and wherein at least one of the surface zones has a radial extension adapted to the thickness of the respective material web to be printed.

7. The flexographic printing device of claim 6 , wherein the surface zones of the impression roller each comprise a cover having the radial extension adapted to the thickness of the respective material web to be printed.

8. The flexographic printing device of claim 1 , wherein the printing unit comprises an equal amount of anilox rollers as there are material webs, and wherein the radial extension of each anilox roller of the plurality of anilox rollers is adapted to a thickness of the respective material web to be printed.

9. The flexographic printing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one feeding device for the at least two material webs.

10. A method of simultaneously printing at least two material webs having different thicknesses in a printing device, comprising:
feeding printing ink from a printing ink chamber onto a printing roller using an anilox roller;
moving at least two material webs having different thicknesses through a printing nip defined between the printing roller and an impression roller, the printing roller carrying on a surface thereof an image to be printed and the impression roller having a surface, to thereby print the image onto the at least two material webs; and
adapting the printing device by arranging at least one of the following (I)-(III):
I. a radial extension of the surface of the printing roller carrying the image to be printed such that it is adapted in respect to a thickness of the respective material web to be printed;
II. the surface of the impression roller such that a radial extension along the surface of the impression roller is adapted to the thickness of the material webs to be printed; and
III. a surface of the anilox roller such that a radial extension along the surface of the anilox roller is adapted to the thickness of the material web to be printed.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the image to be printed is provided in the form of one of the following: at least one printing cliché, an engraved printing sleeve, and as an engraved printing roller comprising an equal amount of printing pattern zones as an amount of the material webs to be printed.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the image to be printed is provided as printing clichés, with an amount of printing clichés corresponding to the amount of the material webs, and wherein each of the printing clichés is configured to print on the respective material web.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the printing patterns provided by the printing clichés are different from each other.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the method further comprises simultaneously feeding the material webs to the printing unit and printing a respective printing pattern on the respective webs.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the material webs are separate webs, and wherein the method comprises feeding the material webs from separate feeding devices.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the material webs are connected to each other in a parallel manner, and the method comprises feeding the material webs from a common feeding device.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the amount of material webs is two.

18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the amount of material webs is three, and wherein two of the three material webs have a same thickness and one of the material webs is thicker or thinner than the two having the same thickness.

19. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
printing a material defining the at least two material webs that includes one or more of: a nonwoven, a plastic film, a woven material, and a laminate, and
incorporating the at least two material webs in a hygiene absorbent article comprising a topsheet, backsheet, and an absorbent core between the topsheet and the backsheet.

Assignees

• Essity Hygiene & Health Ab

Inventors

• Blomstrom Philip
• Palmqvist Lisa

Classifications

• B41F5/24 Primary

  for flexographic printing · CPC title

• A61F13/84

  Accessories, not otherwise provided for, for absorbent pads · CPC title

• B41F13/10

  Forme cylinders · CPC title

• B41F13/18

  Impression cylinders · CPC title

• B41M1/04 Primary

  Flexographic printing · CPC title