Disposable cup insert for pad printing and decorating

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9238360-B2
Application number	US-201414456298-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 11, 2014
Priority date	Dec 29, 2005
Publication date	Jan 19, 2016
Grant date	Jan 19, 2016

Abstract

A liquid supply assembly for use with a printing system of a type in which a liquid is deposited from the liquid supply assembly in a receiving region on a plate and any excess of the liquid in the receiving region is scraped from the plate by the liquid supply assembly. To this end, the liquid supply assembly employs a reusable cup, a disposable cup insert and a scraping element. As assembled, the reusable cup includes a reusable liquid reservoir, the disposable cup insert includes a temporary liquid reservoir holding the liquid within the reusable liquid reservoir, and the scraping element includes a conduit facilitating a flow of the liquid held by the temporary liquid reservoir through the conduit to the plate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A disposable cup insert comprising:
a hollow reservoir body configured to hold ink for a printing system, the body having a closed base and an outwardly protruding flange,
wherein the outwardly protruding flange is shaped to sit within a seat formed by a reusable hollow body of the printing system such that at least part of the hollow reservoir body is disposed between a doctor ring of the printing system and the reusable hollow body of the printing system.

2. The disposable cup insert of claim 1 , wherein the outwardly protruding flange of the hollow reservoir body laterally extends outward from an open outlet of the hollow reservoir body through which the ink is dispensed for the printing system.

3. The disposable cup insert of claim 1 , wherein the hollow reservoir body forms a cup.

4. The disposable cup insert of claim 1 , wherein the outwardly protruding flange of the hollow reservoir body is configured to sit in the seat of the reusable hollow body such that the hollow reservoir body engages a seal that prevents leakage of the ink from the hollow reservoir body outside of the doctor ring.

5. The disposable cup insert of claim 1 , wherein the outwardly protruding flange of the hollow reservoir body is configured to sit in the seat of the reusable hollow body such that the doctor ring is positioned outside of at least a portion of the hollow reservoir body and at least a portion of the reusable hollow body with the least a portion of the hollow reservoir body disposed between the doctor ring and the at least a portion of the reusable hollow body.

6. The disposable cup insert of claim 1 , wherein the hollow reservoir body is flexible to allow the hollow reservoir body to expand due to pressure increases within the hollow reservoir body.

7. The disposable cup insert of claim 1 , wherein outwardly protruding flange of the hollow reservoir body is shaped to be secured between the doctor blade and the reusable hollow body in the seat formed by the reusable hollow body.

8. The disposable cup insert of claim 1 , wherein the reusable hollow body is a single piece body having an exterior wall oriented in a first direction and the first flange outwardly protruding from the exterior wall in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction.

9. The disposable cup insert of claim 8 , wherein the hollow reservoir body is shaped to engage both the exterior wall and the reusable hollow body when the doctor blade is disposed outside of the hollow reservoir body and the reusable hollow body.

10. A disposable cup insert comprising:
a hollow reservoir body that is configured to hold ink for a printing system, the hollow reservoir body including a closed base connected with an opposite open outlet of the hollow reservoir body, the hollow reservoir body having an outwardly protruding flange encircling the open outlet,
wherein the hollow reservoir body is shaped to wrap around a reusable hollow body of the printing system and extend along an exterior surface of the reusable hollow body, and
wherein the outwardly protruding flange of the hollow reservoir body is configured to sit between a doctor blade of the printing system and the reusable hollow body.

11. The disposable cup insert of claim 10 , wherein the hollow reservoir body is configured to engage a seal of the printing system such that the seal is disposed between the reusable hollow body and a doctor blade of the printing system.

12. The disposable cup insert of claim 11 , wherein the hollow reservoir body engages the seal to prevent leakage of the ink outside of the doctor blade.

13. The disposable cup insert of claim 10 , wherein the hollow reservoir body is shaped to engage a doctor blade of the printing system such that at least a portion of the hollow reservoir body is disposed between the doctor blade and the reusable hollow body.

14. The disposable cup insert of claim 10 , wherein the hollow reservoir body is flexible to allow the hollow reservoir body to expand due to pressure increases caused by evaporation of a liquid mixture disposed in the hollow reservoir body.

15. The disposable cup insert of claim 10 , wherein the hollow reservoir body is shaped to be secured between a doctor blade of the printing system and a first flange of the reusable hollow body.

16. The disposable cup insert of claim 10 , wherein the outwardly protruding flange of the hollow reservoir body has a complementary shape to a first flange of the reusable hollow body such that the outwardly protruding flange of the hollow reservoir body is disposed alongside and engaged with a seat formed by the first flange of the reusable hollow body.

17. The disposable cup insert of claim 10 , wherein the hollow reservoir body has the closed base such that the ink cannot pass through the closed base.

18. The disposable cup insert of claim 10 , wherein the outwardly protruding flange insert encircles an open outlet of the hollow reservoir body.

19. The disposable cup insert of claim 10 , wherein the outwardly protruding flange of the hollow reservoir body is configured to sit in a seat defined by a first flange of the reusable hollow body.

20. The disposable cup insert of claim 10 , wherein the hollow reservoir body is configured to hold the ink for a pad printing system.

Assignees

• Illinois Tool Works

Inventors

• Kucaba Tracy
• Pulvino Dana
• Hitchcock Robert

Classifications

• B41F31/00

  Inking arrangements or devices (inking units for platen presses B41F1/40; inking units for cylinder presses B41F3/81) · CPC title

• B41F17/001 Primary

  Pad printing apparatus or machines · CPC title

• B41F31/18 Primary

  for inking selected parts of printing formes · CPC title