Claims
- 1. An offset printing press comprising:an ink train for applying a thin film of ink to a printing plate; an elongated ink fountain including a fountain roller and a blade for holding a supply of ink, said ink fountain in fluid communication with said ink train; and an ink management system comprising: a linear support extending across said elongated ink fountain; a cartridge storing viscous offset printing ink having an exit opening in one end through which ink is dispensed, an open end opposite said exit opening and a movable member disposed within said ink cartridge for displacing ink through the exit opening; a carriage for releasably holding said cartridge; means for moving said carriage along said linear support; means for applying force to said movable member, wherein said means for applying force displaces said movable member thereby dispensing ink through said exit opening; means for determining the amount of ink dispensed from said cartridge based on a measured displacement of the movable member during a known period in which ink is dispensed from said cartridge.
- 2. The offset printing press of claim 1 further including a rangefinder for measuring displacement of the movable member.
- 3. The offset printing press of claim 1, wherein said means for applying force includes a pneumatic head for coupling an open end of said cartridge to form a sealed chamber between said movable member and said pneumatic head, said pneumatic head including an inlet port for introducing compressed air into said sealed chamber to cause said movable member to apply a force to said ink, whereby said ink is dispensed through said outlet.
- 4. The offset printing press of claim 3 further including a rangefinder mounted within said pneumatic head.
- 5. The offset printing press of claim 2, wherein said cartridge is removably mountable on said carriage in a predetermined position with respect to said range finder.
- 6. The offset printing press of claim 4, wherein said range finder is an ultrasonic range finder.
- 7. The offset printing press claim 1 wherein the means for applying force includes a screw and means for tracking rotation of the screw.
- 8. An offset printing press comprising:an ink train for applying a thin film of ink to a printing plate; an elongated ink fountain for holding a supply of ink, the ink fountain in fluid communication with the ink train; and an ink management system, the ink management system including: a cartridge storing viscous ink for sheet-fed lithographic printing, the cartridge includes an exit opening in one end through which ink is dispensed, an open end opposite the exit opening and a movable member disposed within the ink cartridge, the movable member moving along a predetermined path under application of force applied through the open end for displacing ink through the exit opening; a carriage for releasably holding the cartridge; a linear support extending across the elongated ink fountain, on which the carriage traverses the ink fountain means for determining the movable member's position anywhere along the predefined path within the cartridge; and a computing device in communication with the means for determining the movable member's position and adapted for determining an amount of ink dispensed from the cartridge during a defined period based on displacement of the movable member.
- 9. The offset printing press of claim 8 wherein the means for determining the movable member's position includes means for measuring displacement of the movable member with respect to a known position.
- 10. The offset printing press of claim 9 wherein the means for measuring displacement includes an elongated member engaging the movable member.
- 11. The offset printing press of claim 9, wherein rotation of the elongated member axially displaces the elongated member by an amount dependent on the rotation, and said means for measuring further includes means for knowing how much the elongated member is rotated.
- 12. The offset printing press of claim 11, wherein the screw is turned by a motor for applying force to move the movable member.
- 13. The offset printing press of claim 9 wherein the means for measuring displacement includes a range finder aimed through the open end of the cartridge for measuring the distance to the movable member when the movable member is at any position along the predetermined path.
- 14. The offset printing press of claim 13 wherein the range finder is an ultrasonic range finder.
- 15. The offset printing press of clam 13, further including a pneumatic actuator for applying pneumatic pressure to the movable member.
- 16. An offset printing press comprising:an ink train for applying a thin film of ink to a printing plate; an elongated ink fountain for holding a supply of ink, the ink fountain in fluid communication with the ink train; and an ink management system, the ink management system including: a cartridge storing viscous ink for sheet-fed lithographic printing, the cartridge includes an exit opening in one end through which ink is dispensed, an open end opposite the exit opening and a movable member disposed within the ink cartridge, the movable member moving along a predetermined path under application of force applied through the open end for displacing ink through the exit opening; a carriage for releasably holding the cartridge; a linear support extending across the elongated ink fountain, on which the carriage traverses the ink fountain; an actuator for selectively applying force to the movable member; a range finder aimed through the open end of the cartridge for measuring displacement of the movable member at any position along the predefined path within the cartridge; and a computing device in communication with the range finder and adapted for determining an amount of ink dispensed from the cartridge based on displacement of the movable member.
- 17. The offset printing press of claim 16, wherein the actuator is selected from the group consisting of electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic actuators.
- 18. The offset printing press of claim 16, wherein the actuator includes a pneumatic head for coupling an open end of said cartridge to form a sealed chamber between the movable member and the pneumatic head, and wherein the range finder is mounted within the pneumatic head.
- 19. A method for dispensing ink in an offset printing press, the method comprising:moving a carriage along a linear support, wherein the linear support extends across an elongated ink fountain and a cartridge of sheet-fed lithographic printing ink is releasably attached to the carriage, whereby movement of the carriage along the linear support enables dispensing of ink from the cartridge along the fountain; applying force to a movable member disposed in the cartridge, displacement of which along a predetermined path causes ink to be dispersed through an exit opening at one end of the cartridge; measuring displacement of the movable member, wherein displacement may be measured wherever the movable member is located along the predetermined path within the cartridge; determining an amount of ink dispensed using the measured displacement of the movable member.
- 20. The method of claim 19, wherein applying force to the movable member is in response to measurement of ink level in the ink fountain indicating that the ink level is low under the exit opening of the ink cartridge.
- 21. The method of claim 19 wherein measuring the displacement includes operating a range finder to measure distance from a known position to the movable member.
- 22. In a lithographic printing press having an ink fountain for holding a supply of lithographic printing ink, and an ink train for delivering a thin film of ink to a printing plate, a method for managing use of ink by the printing press comprising:traversing a cartridge of viscous lithographic printing ink across the ink fountain, the cartridge including a movable member the displacement of which along a predetermined path results in dispensing of a quantity of ink from the cartridge into the ink fountain, wherein volumetric quantity of ink dispensed is related to displacement of the movable member; measuring the displacement of the movable member at any location along the predetermined path with a range finder; and determining with a controller in communication with the range finder at amount of ink dispensed during a known period using the displacement of the movable member over the known period.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional of U.S. Application Ser. No. 08/891,587, filed Jun. 20, 1997 now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application Ser. No. 08/723 693, filed Sep. 30, 1996 now abandoned, which application is incorporated herein for all purposes by reference.
US Referenced Citations (64)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Sick Optic-Electronic, Inc. “Sensick Opto-Optic-Electronic Sensors Parts Catalog”, Erwin Sick GmbH Optic-Elektronic, title page, copyright page, pp. 29-30 and 129, (1995). |
Sick Optic-Electronic, Inc., “Photoelectric Proximity Sensor for Small Parts Detection WT 4 Product Sheet”, Erwin Sick GmbH Optik-Elektronic, pp. 1-2, (1995). |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/723693 |
Sep 1996 |
US |
Child |
08/891587 |
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US |