Title of Invention	"A LARGE SCALE PAD PRINTING MACHINE"
Abstract	The invention provides for a large scale pad-printing machine for printing on large size components comprising a cliche plate with the image to be printed, an ink cup to ink the image on the cliche plate, a transmission means connected to the ink cup to move the ink cup over the cliche plate, a pad to pick up the image from the cliche plate and print on a component, a second transmission means connected to the pad to move the pad alternatively between the cliche plate and the component to be printed on, wherein the ink cup and pad are on different transmission means and move in directions perpendicular to each other.

Title of Invention

"A LARGE SCALE PAD PRINTING MACHINE"

Abstract

The invention provides for a large scale pad-printing machine for printing on large size components comprising a cliche plate with the image to be printed, an ink cup to ink the image on the cliche plate, a transmission means connected to the ink cup to move the ink cup over the cliche plate, a pad to pick up the image from the cliche plate and print on a component, a second transmission means connected to the pad to move the pad alternatively between the cliche plate and the component to be printed on, wherein the ink cup and pad are on different transmission means and move in directions perpendicular to each other.

Full Text	Large Scale Pad Printing Machine Field of invention: The invention relates to Large Scale pad-printing ' . More particularly the invention relates to a system for printing on large size surfaces that require a large image to be printed Background of invention: Pad printing of substrates with an image, in particular those with curved surfaces have been long known. In the present machines, the source of ink in pad printing system for the printing of an image is a reservoir member having the shape of a cup turned upside down. Such an ink cup is passed over a printing plate or member (cliche) having a top planar surface in which a pattern or image is etched onto, e.g. a line of print. As the cup passes over the pattern in the printing, the pattern is flooded with ink. At the same time a rim or lip of the ink cup acts as a doctor blade and wipes off any excess ink from the image pattern. The ink pattern is then transferred to a flexible silicone pad or transfer member placed in pressure contact with the image. The transfer pad is then removed from contact with the printing plate and placed in pressure contact with the surface to be printing e.g., the surface of a catheter in the case of line printing or the surface of a golf ball in the case of logo printing, and the image is thus transferred to that surface. Meanwhile, the image on the printing plate is again inked. The pad is removed from contact with the surface just printed and returns to its home position for placement in contact again with the inked image on the printing plate. Thus, the image is transferred or pad printed onto the second of the items to be printed. This cycle continues until all the items to be printed with the image have been printed. In ordinary machines the ink cup and pad are on the same carrier body and transmission means and therefore travel the same distance in the same direction. The size of this system becomes very big when the image to be printed is big. As the ink cup follows the pad in the same direction when the distance to be traveled by the ink cup increases the distance that the pad has to travel to print increases by the same amount. Thus, effectively the overall length of the machine becomes more than twice the length of the component on which printing is to be done. Such an arrangement requires a large space and therefore does not offer a competitive solution. Objects and Summary of the Invention: In order to overcome the above limitations the invention provides for a system to be used in pad printing devices for printing large size images. The object of the invention is to provide a system that enables accurate printing of large images with high repeatability. Another object of the invention is to reduce the size of the machine. To meet the aforementioned objectives the invention provides for large-scale pad-printing machine for printing on large size components comprising: - a cliche plate with the image to be printed, -an ink cup to ink the image on the cliche plate, afirst transmission means connected to the ink cup to move the ink cup over the cliche plate, a pad to pick up the image from the cliche plate and print on a component/! - a second transmission means connected to the pad to move the pad alternatively between the cliche plate and the component to be printed on, wherein the ink cup and pad are on different transmission means and move in ^ directions perpendicular to each other, and inte cup is connect totransmission means by an easily detachablelever mechainsm. rief Description of Accompanying Figures: The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and together with the following detailed description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. Figure 1 shows the front view of the pad-printing system used for printing large size images. Figure 2 shows the side view of the large-scale pad-printing machine in accordance with the invention. Figure 3 shows an expanded view of the arrangement of the ink cup and the pad in accordance with the invention. Detailed description of the invention: It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof. Through out the patent specification, a convention employed is that in the appended drawings, like numerals denote like components. Figure 1 shows the front view of the large-scale pad-printing machine in accordance with the instant invention. The ink cup assembly (4) moves over the cliche plate (5) in the left -right direction as shown in figures 1 and 3. The pad (3,darkened) moves in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper as seen in figure 1. The pad moves back over the cliche plate (5), picks up the image and then moves ahead to print on component. The component to be printed is placed on table (6) as seen in Figure 2. Referring now to Figure 2 that shows the side view of the large-scale pad-printing machine and Figure 3 that shows the expanded view of the arrangement of the ink cup and the pad, it can be seen that the pad is fixed on to a transmission means (2). The transmission means (2) moves the pad (3) above the cliche plate to pick up the image inked by the ink cup (4) and then moves it forward above table (6) where the component to be printed is placed. The movement of the pad thus follows the steps of: (a) lowering over cliche plate to pick up inked image and back, (b) moving forward to be positioned over component to be printed placed on table (6), (c) lowering to print on the component and back, and (d) moving back to be positioned over cliche plate. The above cycle is repeated continuously to print on a plurality of large-scale components. Thus the pad does not have to travel the length of the entire cliche plate but rather to a short distance alternating between the cliche plate (5) and the table (6). A pneumatic cylinder powers the pad (not shown in figure). While the pad is printing on the component the ink cup inks the image on the cliche plate. Thus by the time the pad completes step (d) of the cycle mentioned above the image has been re-inked. This motion of the pad and the ink cup is electronically synchronized. The ink cup (4) is connected to a second transmission means (1) that moves the ink cup in the left right direction over cliche plate (5) as seen in figure 3. The movement of the ink cup is perpendicular to that of the pad. The cliche plate is sufficiently large to contain the image to be printed. The ink cup inks the image on the cliche that could be the entire length of the cliche. The travel of the ink cup is more than that of the pad. The motion of the ink cup and the pad is independent of each other as they are mounted on separate transmission means. Both ink cup and pad have separate carriers and the motion between the two is electronically synchronized. Further, the ink cup and the pad move at right angles to each other thereby reducing the size of the machine and economizing on the space requirements. The ink cup is connected to the transmission means by a readily detachable lever mechanism. The readily detachable mechanism allows the ink cup to be removed from the machine in a contained condition without lever disengagement from the transmission means. This allows for easy ink refill and also for change of colors. The transmission means can be any known transmission means such as a pneumatic or hydraulic mechanism. The transmission means include means to connect the transmission means to the ink cup or pad. It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments herein shown. Thus variations may be made within the scope and spirit of the accompanying claims without sacrificing the principal advantages of the invention. I Claim: 1. A large scale pad-printing machine for printing on large size components comprising: - a cliche plate with the image to be printed, - an ink cup to ink the image on the cliche plate, - a pad to pick up the image from the cliche plate and print on a component, - a first transmission means (1) connected to the ink cup to move the ink cup over the cliche plate, - a second transmission meansconnected to the pad to move the pad alternatively between the cliche plate and the component to be printed on, wherein the ink cup and the pad move in directions perpendicular to each other, and said ink cup is connected to transmission means (1) by an easily detachable lever mechanism(10) 2. A large-scale pad-printing machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein a table to load the components is provided. 3. A large-scale pad-printing machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said table has an adjustable height mechanism. 4. A method of printing on a large scale pad printing machine as claimed in claim 1 comprising the steps of: - moving a ink cup over a cliche plate to ink the image to be printed on a component, - lowering and raising a pad onto the cliche plate to pick up the inked image, - moving the pad in a direction perpendicular to the movement of the ink cup to position it above the component to be printed - lowering and raising the pad over the component to complete the printing. 5. A large-scale pad-printing machine substantially as herein described and as illustrated by accompanying drawings. 6. A method of printing on a large scale pad printing machine substantially as herein described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

Full Text

Large Scale Pad Printing Machine
Field of invention:
The invention relates to Large Scale pad-printing ' . More particularly the invention relates to a system for printing on large size surfaces that require a large image to be printed
Background of invention:
Pad printing of substrates with an image, in particular those with curved surfaces have been long known. In the present machines, the source of ink in pad printing system for the printing of an image is a reservoir member having the shape of a cup turned upside down. Such an ink cup is passed over a printing plate or member (cliche) having a top planar surface in which a pattern or image is etched onto, e.g. a line of print. As the cup passes over the pattern in the printing, the pattern is flooded with ink. At the same time a rim or lip of the ink cup acts as a doctor blade and wipes off any excess ink from the image pattern. The ink pattern is then transferred to a flexible silicone pad or transfer member placed in pressure contact with the image. The transfer pad is then removed from contact with the printing plate and placed in pressure contact with the surface to be printing e.g., the surface of a catheter in the case of line printing or the surface of a golf ball in the case of logo printing, and the image is thus transferred to that surface. Meanwhile, the image on the printing plate is again inked. The pad is removed from contact with the surface just printed and returns to its home position for placement in contact again with the inked image on the printing plate. Thus, the image is transferred or pad printed onto the second of the items to be printed. This cycle continues until all the items to be printed with the image have been printed.
In ordinary machines the ink cup and pad are on the same carrier body and transmission means and therefore travel the same distance in the same direction. The size of this system becomes very big when the image to be printed is big. As the ink cup follows the pad in the same direction when the distance to be traveled by the ink cup increases the distance that the pad has to travel to print increases by the same amount. Thus, effectively the overall length of the machine becomes more than twice the length of the component
on which printing is to be done. Such an arrangement requires a large space and therefore does not offer a competitive solution.
Objects and Summary of the Invention:
In order to overcome the above limitations the invention provides for a system to be used in pad printing devices for printing large size images.
The object of the invention is to provide a system that enables accurate printing of large images with high repeatability.
Another object of the invention is to reduce the size of the machine.
To meet the aforementioned objectives the invention provides for large-scale pad-printing machine for printing on large size components comprising:
- a cliche plate with the image to be printed,
-an ink cup to ink the image on the cliche plate,
afirst transmission means connected to the ink cup to move the ink cup over
the cliche plate, a pad to pick up the image from the cliche plate and print on a component/!
- a second transmission means connected to the pad to move the pad
alternatively between the cliche plate and the component to be printed on,

wherein the ink cup and pad are on different transmission means and move in ^ directions perpendicular to each other, and inte cup is connect totransmission means by an easily detachablelever
mechainsm.
rief Description of Accompanying Figures:
The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and together with the following detailed description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Figure 1 shows the front view of the pad-printing system used for printing large size images.
Figure 2 shows the side view of the large-scale pad-printing machine in accordance with the invention.
Figure 3 shows an expanded view of the arrangement of the ink cup and the pad in accordance with the invention.
Detailed description of the invention:
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.
Through out the patent specification, a convention employed is that in the appended drawings, like numerals denote like components.
Figure 1 shows the front view of the large-scale pad-printing machine in accordance with the instant invention. The ink cup assembly (4) moves over the cliche plate (5) in the left -right direction as shown in figures 1 and 3. The pad (3,darkened) moves in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper as seen in figure 1. The pad moves back over the cliche plate (5), picks up the image and then moves ahead to print on component. The component to be printed is placed on table (6) as seen in Figure 2.
Referring now to Figure 2 that shows the side view of the large-scale pad-printing machine and Figure 3 that shows the expanded view of the arrangement of the ink cup and the pad, it can be seen that the pad is fixed on to a transmission means (2). The transmission means (2) moves the pad (3) above the cliche plate to pick up the image inked by the ink cup (4) and then moves it forward above table (6) where the component to be printed is placed. The movement of the pad thus follows the steps of:
(a) lowering over cliche plate to pick up inked image and back,
(b) moving forward to be positioned over component to be printed placed on table (6),
(c) lowering to print on the component and back, and
(d) moving back to be positioned over cliche plate.
The above cycle is repeated continuously to print on a plurality of large-scale components. Thus the pad does not have to travel the length of the entire cliche plate but rather to a short distance alternating between the cliche plate (5) and the table (6). A pneumatic cylinder powers the pad (not shown in figure).
While the pad is printing on the component the ink cup inks the image on the cliche plate. Thus by the time the pad completes step (d) of the cycle mentioned above the image has been re-inked. This motion of the pad and the ink cup is electronically synchronized.
The ink cup (4) is connected to a second transmission means (1) that moves the ink cup in the left right direction over cliche plate (5) as seen in figure 3. The movement of the ink cup is perpendicular to that of the pad. The cliche plate is sufficiently large to contain the image to be printed. The ink cup inks the image on the cliche that could be the entire length of the cliche. The travel of the ink cup is more than that of the pad. The motion of the ink cup and the pad is independent of each other as they are mounted on separate transmission means. Both ink cup and pad have separate carriers and the motion between the two is electronically synchronized. Further, the ink cup and the pad move at right angles to each other thereby reducing the size of the machine and economizing on the space requirements.
The ink cup is connected to the transmission means by a readily detachable lever mechanism. The readily detachable mechanism allows the ink cup to be removed from the machine in a contained condition without lever disengagement from the transmission means. This allows for easy ink refill and also for change of colors.
The transmission means can be any known transmission means such as a pneumatic or hydraulic mechanism. The transmission means include means to connect the transmission means to the ink cup or pad.
It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments herein shown. Thus variations may be made within
the scope and spirit of the accompanying claims without sacrificing the principal advantages of the invention.

I Claim:
1. A large scale pad-printing machine for printing on large size
components comprising:
- a cliche plate with the image to be printed,
- an ink cup to ink the image on the cliche plate,
- a pad to pick up the image from the cliche plate and print on a component,
- a first transmission means (1) connected to the ink cup to move the ink cup over the cliche plate,
- a second transmission meansconnected to the pad to move the pad alternatively between the cliche plate and the component to be printed on,
wherein the ink cup and the pad move in directions
perpendicular to each other, and
said ink cup is connected to transmission means (1) by an easily detachable lever mechanism(10)
2. A large-scale pad-printing machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein a table to load the components is provided.
3. A large-scale pad-printing machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said table has an adjustable height mechanism.
4. A method of printing on a large scale pad printing machine as claimed in claim 1 comprising the steps of:

- moving a ink cup over a cliche plate to ink the image to be printed on a component,
- lowering and raising a pad onto the cliche plate to pick up the inked image,
- moving the pad in a direction perpendicular to the movement of the ink cup to position it above the component to be printed
- lowering and raising the pad over the component to complete the printing.
5. A large-scale pad-printing machine substantially as herein
described and as illustrated by accompanying drawings.
6. A method of printing on a large scale pad printing machine substantially as herein described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

116-del-2003-abstract.pdf

116-del-2003-complete specification (granded).pdf

117-del-2003-claims.pdf

117-del-2003-correspondence-others.pdf

117-del-2003-correspondence-po.pdf

117-del-2003-description (complete).pdf

117-del-2003-drawings.pdf

117-del-2003-form-1.pdf

117-del-2003-form-19.pdf

117-del-2003-form-2.pdf

117-del-2003-form-3.pdf

117-del-2003-form-5.pdf

117-del-2003-pa.pdf

« Previous Patent

Next Patent »

Patent Number

217562

Indian Patent Application Number

117/DEL/2003

PG Journal Number

29/2008

Publication Date

26-Sep-2008

Grant Date

27-Mar-2008

Date of Filing

14-Feb-2003

Name of Patentee

RAHOUL RAI

Applicant Address

PLOT NO. 44/45, SECTOR-18, GURGAON, HARYANA.

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	RAHOUL RAI	PLOT NO. 44/45, SECTOR-18, GURGAON, HARYANA.

PCT International Classification Number

B41F 1/00

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1			NA