JP2002052693A - Apparatus and method for sensing ink level for spot printing for newspaper rotary press - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and a method for sensing an ink level for spot printing for a newspaper rotary press for reducing in a printing cost by suppressing an ink residue at a print ending time as small as possible by warning by sensing an amount of the ink in an ink fountain of the press. SOLUTION: The apparatus for sensing the ink level for spot printing for the newspaper rotary press comprises an ink sensor block 1 disposed in an empty ink reservoir disposed adjacent to an ink reservoir filled with the ink, and a measuring unit 9 for generating an alarm by ringing a buzzer 8 when a measuring electrostatic capacity value corresponding to the ink amount arrives at a predetermined electrostatic capacity value. In this apparatus, the block 1 has a pedestal 2 having a bottom substantially parallel to the bottom of the reservoir and a horizontal grounding plate 21, an arm rotatable around a vertical axis M and extensible in its length direction, and a probe 4 provided at a distal end of the arm 3 and adjustable at a position of the lower end 4a in a vertical direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press which gives an alarm when ink in an ink fountain of a rotary press decreases to a predetermined amount. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Newspaper spot printing is a technique for printing a portion of newsprint in a predetermined primary color. As shown in FIG. 11, two newspapers 20 are printed using a newspaper rotary press 100.
When printing 0 and 201 at a time, a case where spot printing S is performed on one side 200a of one newspaper 200 will be described as an example. In such a case, the roller 10 of the rotary press 100
One ink fountain 110 installed in front of the first paper sheet 200 is separated into four surfaces 200a, 200b, 201 of newspapers 200, 201 by three separate blocks 111 to 113.
a, 201b, that is, into four ink reservoir portions 110a to 110d. Then, the ink L of the predetermined primary color is filled only in the ink reservoir portion 110a corresponding to the one side 200a for spot printing S. As a result, the ink L adheres to a part of the roller 101 that comes into contact with the ink L, and the ink L
Is transferred to Then, the rollers 10 are fed to the newspapers 200 and 201 sent to the predetermined printing portion 103.
After spot printing S using the ink L on the second 2, the newspapers 200 and 201 are sent to the next printing step.

By the way, in one printing process, 10
Since a large number of newspapers, such as 10,000 copies, are printed, the ink L stored in the ink fountain 110 may be empty in a short time. Therefore, conventionally, the operator has to use the ink fountain 11
The ink L was replenished when the amount of the ink L was low when the amount of the ink L came around the ink in 0.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional method has the following problems. That is, the work to look around to check the amount of the ink L in the ink fountain 110 is:
This is a troublesome operation for the operator. In addition, when the operator has passed the look-around time, the ink L in the ink fountain 110 becomes empty, and a large amount of blank newsprints 200 and 201 may be printed. Therefore, in order to cope with such a situation, a large amount of L is filled in the ink fountain 110 so that the ink L remains in the ink fountain 110 even when printing of all the newspapers 200 and 201 is completed. Has been generally adopted. However, in this method, the ink L in the ink fountain 110 does not become empty before the end of newspaper printing, but a large amount of the ink L remains in the ink fountain 110 after the printing is completed, and the large amount of the ink L is discarded. This has resulted in a waste of ink and a problem in printing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem. By detecting the amount of ink in an ink fountain of a rotary press and issuing a warning, the remaining amount of ink at the end of printing can be obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press capable of reducing printing costs while keeping the printing amount to a minimum.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a sensor block which can be arranged in an ink fountain having a bottom surface inclined downward on the roller side of a rotary press, and this sensor. A measuring device capable of measuring the amount of ink in the ink fountain via a block, the device for detecting the ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press, wherein the sensor block includes a top surface portion and the ink A pedestal having a bottom portion substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the pot, an arm provided on the pedestal, rotatable around a predetermined axis, and extendable and contractible in its length direction, and provided at a tip portion of the arm. And a measuring unit having an alarm unit for issuing an alarm when a measured value reaches a predetermined value. With such a configuration, the sensor block is arranged in the ink-unfilled section located next to the ink-filled section with the top surface horizontal, and the arm is rotated or expanded and contracted, and The sensor body at the tip can be located in the compartment filled with ink.
When the measuring device is operated from such a state, when the ink in the section is reduced by spot printing, the measured value of the measuring device changes. When the amount of ink decreases and the measured value reaches a predetermined value, the alarm unit of the measuring device issues an alarm to notify the surroundings.

In a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press according to the first aspect, the sensor body is provided at a tip end of the arm so as to be vertically movable. A probe whose lower end position can be adjusted in a vertical direction, wherein the measuring device can measure a capacitance value corresponding to the amount of ink in the ink fountain, and the measured capacitance value is a predetermined value. And an alarm unit for issuing an alarm when the capacitance value reaches the above-mentioned capacitance value. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press according to the first or second aspect, the alarm unit includes:
The configuration is either a ringing of a buzzer or lighting of a lamp.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the sensor block according to the second aspect is disposed in an ink fountain divided into a plurality of sections at the time of spot printing, and the probe is provided in the ink by a predetermined depth. A method for detecting the ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press that detects the amount of ink in an ink fountain by the measuring device according to claim 2, wherein the top surface is horizontal, and the sensor block is: Place the sensor block in the unfilled section next to the section filled with ink, rotate or expand and contract the arm of the sensor block, and position the probe at the tip of the arm in the section filled with ink. The probe is moved up or down to lower the lower end to the predetermined depth of the ink, and when the ink level in the compartment drops by a predetermined value or when the ink level in the section moves away from the lower end of the probe, an alarm is issued. It is constituted that set the instrument to emit.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same members as those shown in FIG. 11 are described with the same reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a device for detecting the ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the detection device of this embodiment includes a sensor block 1 and a measuring device 9.

The sensor block 1 has a shape that can be arranged in the ink fountain 110 shown in FIG. 11 and has a structure capable of measuring the amount of ink. FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the sensor block 1 in FIG. 1 cut along a line AA, and FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the sensor block 1 in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the sensor block 1 in FIG. 1. As shown in these drawings, the sensor block 1 includes a triangular pedestal 2, an arm 3 provided on the pedestal 2, and a probe 4 as a sensor main body attached to the tip of the arm 3. .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pedestal 2 has a pair of parallel side plates 20-1 and 20-2. These side plates 20-1 and 20-2 form a right triangle,
The oblique sides 20-1a and 20-2a are set substantially equal to the inclination angle of the bottom surface 110e of the ink fountain 110 shown in FIG. That is, the bottom surface of the pedestal 2 formed by the oblique sides 20-1a and 20-2a is the bottom surface 110e of the ink fountain 110.
Is set so as to be substantially parallel to. A horizontal ground plate 21 as a top surface portion whose rear end 21a is bent downward is mounted on the side plates 20-1 and 20-2. Further, a magnet catcher 22 is attached to the ground plate 21. The magnet catcher 22 is a well-known device that can turn a lever 22 a to turn on and off a magnetic force of a magnet (not shown) in the magnet catcher 22. The magnet catcher 22 is attached to the ground plate 21 at an angle, and a bottom surface 22 b thereof is flush with a bottom surface of the pedestal 2.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom of the pedestal 2 is placed on the bottom 110e of the ink fountain 110,
The ground plate 21 is kept horizontal. In this state, when the magnet catcher 22 is turned on, the entire sensor block 1 is fixed on the bottom surface 110e by the magnetic attraction of the magnet catcher 22.

As shown in FIG. 1, the arm 3 provided on the sensor block 1 has a pair of arms 30 and 31, and the pair of arms 30 and 31 are perpendicular to the ground plate 21. A rotation unit 5 for rotating around the axis M and an expansion and contraction unit 6 for expanding and contracting the arm units 30 and 31 in the length direction are provided. Specifically, the rear end of the arm section 30 is attached to the rotating section 5 and the arm section 3
The rear end of the arm 31 is connected to the front end of the “0” through the elastic portion 6.

The rotating section 5 is a known clutch mechanism.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the main body 50 of the rotating unit 5 is assembled to the pedestal 2, and the engagement plate 51 is placed on the upper surface of the main body 50. The rear end of the arm 30 on the engagement plate 51 is pressed onto the engagement plate 51 by a screw 52, and a handle 53 is mounted on the rear end. Further, a plurality of ball storage holes 54 are formed in the main body 50, and a spring 55 is provided in each of the ball storage holes 54.
The bearing ball 56 urged upward is stored therein. On the other hand, on the lower surface of the engaging plate 51, a concave portion 51a that engages with these bearing balls 56 is formed. As a result, the operator holds the handle 53 and
By twisting around, the engaging plate 51 rotates integrally with the arm 3 while pushing down the bearing ball 56, and the engaging plate 51 is locked at a position where the concave portion 51 a of the engaging plate 51 is engaged with the bearing ball 56 again. . Therefore, by twisting the handle 53, the arm 3 can be rotated as shown by the arrow C in FIG. 4, and the angle of the arm 3 can be adjusted in units of the interval between the adjacent bearing balls 56.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the telescopic part 6 is provided with a slider 60 for supporting the front end of the arm 30 and the rear end of the arm 31 so that the arms 30 and 31 do not come off. And a knob 61 for tightening and fixing the arm portions 30 and 31. Specifically, long holes 62 and 63 are formed in the arms 30 and 31, and the bolt 61 of the knob 61 is formed.
a penetrates these long holes 62 and 63. The nut 61b is screwed to the lower end of the bolt 61a. Thereby, with the knob 61 loosened, the arm portion 31 is moved in the length direction as shown by the arrow D in FIG. 4, and when the entire arm 3 reaches the desired length, the knob 61 is moved. By tightening, the arm 3 can be fixed to a desired length.

The probe 4 located at the tip of the arm 3 having the above structure is held by a probe holder 40. Specifically, as shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a structure in which the probe 4 covered with the insulating sleeve 42 is held by the holder main body 41. The probe 4 is electrically connected to a conductive wire 44 via a terminal 43. The conductive wire 44 is housed in a housing 45 on which a cap 45a is mounted, and an end of the conductive wire 44 is Outlet 4 protruding from the outer peripheral surface of housing 45
6 are electrically connected. The holder main body 41 of such a probe holder 40 is inserted into a hole 31a drilled at the distal end of the arm section 31, and the lock nut 4
7 is screwed into the screw groove 41 a of the holder main body 41.
Thus, by rotating the lock nut 47, the entire probe holder 40 can be moved up and down as shown by the arrow E. As a result, the position of the lower end 4a of the probe 4 can be adjusted in the up-down direction. it can.

On the other hand, in FIG. 1, a measuring device 9 is a well-known device capable of measuring, via the sensor block 1, a capacitance value corresponding to the amount of ink in the ink fountain 110 of FIG. The cable 7 from 9 is connected to the outlet 46 of the probe holder 40. A buzzer 8 as an alarm unit is connected to the measuring device 9. The measuring device 9 can be set so that when the measured capacitance value reaches a predetermined capacitance value, the buzzer 8 rings and an alarm is issued.

With such a configuration, for example, as shown in FIG.
When only the ink reservoir portion 110d among the ink reservoir portions 110a to 110d is filled, the cable 7 from the measuring instrument 9 connects the sensor block 1 connected to the outlet 46 to the ink L.
Can be placed on the bottom surface 110e of the adjacent ink reservoir portion 110c that is not filled. Then, by turning on the magnet catcher 22, the entire sensor block 1 can be fixed in the ink reservoir 110c. In this state, the arm 3 is rotated toward the ink reservoir 110 d using the rotating unit 5, and the arm 3 is
Is adjusted, and the probe 4 is moved to the ink reservoir portion 110d.
Immersed in the ink L inside. Thereafter, using the lock nut 47 of the probe holder 40, the probe 4
To lower the lower end 4a of the probe 4 to a predetermined depth. Then, the bent portion 21 a of the ground plate 21 of the sensor block 1 is moved to the bottom surface 110 e of the ink fountain 110.
Contact Since the measuring device 9 is grounded, an electric circuit is formed by the sensor block 1, the ink L, and the measuring device 9. At this time, the ink L functions as a capacitor, and its capacitance value changes depending on the amount of ink. Therefore, when the measuring device 9 is set so that the buzzer rings when the measured capacitance value reaches a predetermined reference value, and then the measuring device 9 is operated, the remaining amount of the ink L is measured. When the remaining amount of ink decreases to an amount corresponding to the reference value, a buzzer sounds.

Next, an example of use of the detection device will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, when the ink L is filled only in the ink reservoir 110b of the ink fountain 110,
The sensor block 1 is moved to the ink reservoir 110a or 110c.
Can be placed within. Also, as shown in FIG.
When the ink L is filled in the two ink reservoirs 110a and 110c, the two sensor blocks 1 are both disposed in the ink reservoir 110b, or each of the sensor blocks 1 is placed in the ink reservoirs 110b and 110d. Respectively.

Here, the ink L is stored in the ink reservoir portion 110.
b, the sensor block 1 is replaced with the ink reservoir 1
The case of arranging within 10c will be described. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 9, a large amount of ink L is put into an ink reservoir 110b to prevent the occurrence of blank paper printing due to ink exhaustion, and a large amount of ink L remains after printing as shown by a broken line. Was like that.

However, in the detection apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the ink reservoir 110b is filled with the ink L by an amount b which is deemed necessary from the experience of the operator. At this time, when the liquid level of the ink L drops and moves away from the lower end 4a of the probe 4, the measuring device 9 (see FIG. 1)
Since the capacitance value of the buzzer 8 becomes infinite,
Is set to ring. Further, the position of the lower end 4a of the probe 4 is set to the position of the depth a. This ink depth a is the depth of the ink L remaining when the buzzer 8 rings. When the ink reaches the ink depth a, the buzzer 8 sounds and the operator who listens to the buzzer ON replenishes the ink reservoir 110b with the ink L. Therefore, if the ink depth a is too small, the ink L is depleted before the operator reaches the ink reservoir 110b after the buzzer 8 rings, and blank paper printing may occur. Then, the operator sets the ink reservoir 110b.
The depth a is set in advance, assuming the time required to reach the position and the amount of the ink L consumed during the time.

By immersing the probe 4 to the depth a, the buzzer 8 rings when the ink L in the ink reservoir portion 110b decreases to the depth a by spot printing. Ink reservoir 110b
And replenish until the amount of ink L is about b. Thereafter, when printing is completed, an amount of the ink L smaller than the amount b remains in the ink reservoir portion 110b. This quantity b
Is compared to the amount of ink L remaining by the conventional method.
Significantly less. Therefore, by using the detection device of this embodiment, it is not necessary to wastefully discard a large amount of the ink L, and the printing cost can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment,
Although the buzzer 8 is used as the alarm unit, a lamp may be used instead of the buzzer, and the lamp may be turned on when the probe 4 is separated from the ink L level. Also,
In the above-described embodiment, the buzzer 8 is set to ring when the liquid level of the ink L is separated from the lower end 4a of the probe 4. However, when the liquid level of the ink L drops by a predetermined value, the buzzer 8 is activated. You may set to ring. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the probe 4 is employed as the sensor body, and the measuring device 9 capable of measuring a change in the capacitance value is employed as the measuring device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example,
As a matter of course, an ultrasonic sensor or a radio wave sensor may be used as the sensor body, and an alarm may be issued when the ink amount measured by these sensors reaches a predetermined value.

[0024]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, when the ink in the compartment of the ink fountain decreases due to the spot printing of newsprint and the measured value reaches a predetermined value, the alarm unit of the measuring device issues an alarm. To notify the surroundings, the operator does not need to visit the ink fountain every time to check the amount of ink in the ink fountain, thereby saving labor in the printing operation. Also, if the required amount of ink is filled in the compartment of the ink fountain, an alarm is issued when the amount of ink is low, so that the ink can be replenished at that time. Furthermore, at the end of printing, only the amount of ink that is smaller than the required amount remains, so that the amount of ink to be discarded is very small, and accordingly, waste of ink can be eliminated, and as a result, printing cost can be reduced. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a device for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the sensor block in FIG. 1 cut along the line AA.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the sensor block in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a sensor block.

FIG. 5 is a layout diagram of a sensor block.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the detection device of FIG. 1 measures the amount of ink in the ink fountain.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an example of a method of arranging sensor blocks.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing another example of a method of arranging sensor blocks.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional ink filling amount.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing an ink filling amount when the detection device of FIG. 1 is used.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing a general newsprint press.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: sensor block, 2: pedestal, 3: arm, 4
... Probe, 5 ... Rotating part, 6 ... Expandable part, 7 ... Cable, 8 ... Buzzer, 9 ... Measuring instrument, 21 ... Earth plate, 30, 31 ... A pair of arms, 40 ... Probe holder, 47 ... Lock nut Reference numeral 100: newspaper press, 101, 102: roller, 110: ink fountain, 110a to 110d: ink reservoir portion, 110e
... Bottom of ink fountain, 111-113 ... Separate block, 200,201 ... Newspaper, L ... Ink, S ...
Spot printing part.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sensor block which can be arranged in an ink fountain having a bottom surface inclined downward on the roller side of a rotary press, and a measuring device which can measure the amount of ink in the ink fountain via the sensor block. An ink level detection device for spot printing in a newspaper printing press comprising: a pedestal having a top surface portion and a bottom surface portion substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the ink fountain; An arm provided so as to be rotatable around a predetermined axis and extendable in the longitudinal direction thereof; and a sensor main body provided at a tip end of the arm. An ink level detecting device for a spot printing ink in a newspaper printing press, comprising: an alarm unit for issuing an alarm when the temperature reaches a threshold value. 2. The apparatus for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press according to claim 1, wherein the sensor main body is provided at a tip end of the arm so as to be vertically movable, and a lower end position thereof is set in a vertical direction. The measuring device is capable of measuring a capacitance value corresponding to the amount of ink in the ink fountain, and the measured capacitance value reaches a predetermined capacitance value. An apparatus for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press, comprising: the above-described alarm unit that issues an alarm when the printing is performed. 3. The apparatus for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the alarm unit is one of a buzzer and a lamp. An ink level detecting device for spot printing in a newspaper printing press. 4. A sensor block according to claim 2, wherein said sensor block is arranged in an ink fountain divided into a plurality of sections during spot printing, and said probe is sunk to a predetermined depth in ink.
A method for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press that detects the amount of ink in an ink fountain by the measuring device according to claim 2, wherein the sensor block is provided while the top surface is horizontal. It is placed in a section filled with ink next to the section filled with ink, the probe at the tip of the arm is positioned in the section filled with ink, and the probe is moved up or down. Then, the lower end was lowered to a predetermined depth of the ink, and the measuring instrument was set so that the alarm was issued when the ink level in the compartment dropped by a predetermined value or when the ink level was away from the lower end of the probe. A method for detecting an ink level for spot printing in a newspaper printing press.