This invention relates to printing apparatus. This invention is particularly applicable to printing apparatus such as Heidelberg type printers. However while it is applicable to other forms of offset printing apparatus, for illustrative purposes only, particular reference will be made hereinafter to its application to Heidelberg type printers.

Printing presses typically include an impression cylinder, an associated drive for a removable driven shaft which extends in spaced parallel relationship to the impression cylinder and on which ancillary equipment is supported for timed engagement with the impression cylinder, such as a numbering unit for numbering consecutive pages, and a frame mounting on which further ancillary equipment such as indexing means for the numbering unit or a longitudinal perforation wheel may be adjustably supported. Such printing presses will be hereinafter referred to as "of the type described". Ancillary equipment mounted on the driven shaft must be contained within an cylindrical space centred on the drive axis for the driven shaft and extending to the surface of the impression cylinder. This cylindrical space will hereinafter be referred to as the operating cylinder .

One form of offset printer of the type described which is currently in use includes a carrying roller carrying the printing plate, a transfer roller formed of rubber or having an outer rubber coating, and an impression roller. Paper to be printed is conveyed between the transfer roller and the impression roller where it is printed by transfer of an image from the transfer roller. The impression cylinder may be provided with a replaceable steel jacket.

The frame mounting is typically arranged as transverse guide means adapted to be mounted to said press so as to lie adjacent said impression cylinder and extend longitudinally thereof and along which selected ancillary equipment may be adjustably disposed. This frame mounting may be adjustable for arrangement in an inoperative position so that ancillary equipment carried thereby is disposed inoperatively.

In the general printing industry many workshops use Heidelberg type printers of the type described on which letterhead, and numbered forms such as invoice/receipt books are printed. These printers have been in use for the past 25 years are the most widely used offset general purpose printing machine in use around the world.

One of the major disadvantages associated with such machines is that ancillary devices, including devices for numbering as well as for forming transverse and longitudinal perforations, creases or slits, hereinafter collectively referred to as perforations, include components which are supported from the frame mount which limit the ability of printing shops to efficiently produce a variety of forms which require perforating and numbering. This occurs because the components supported on the frame mount intrude into the operating cylinder.

For example, in one arrangement the numbering boxes are supported on mounting rings on a transverse driven shaft and they cooperate with a cam member cantilevered from a fixed cross-mount which extends into the operating cylinder for advancing the number to be printed. Typically the frame mount is in the form of a pair of transverse guide shafts spaced outwardly from the impression cylinder and extending parallel to its axis. The cam member when supported by these guide shafts cooperates with an advancing lever on the orbiting numbering box through each actuating cycle to bring up the next number.

The longitudinal or linear perforating wheels, the position of which is laterally adjustable, are similarly cantilevered from the common cross-mount. However their transverse location cannot correspond with the cantilevered cam member or numbering box.

An attempt has been made to overcome this disadvantage by providing a perforating unit which is mounted in a similar ^' manner to the known perforating units but which has an arm which is shaped so as to position the perforating wheel beneath the transfer roller. The positioning of the perforating unit in this arrangement however, is such that it

is perforating where the sheet to be printed is free of the impression roller and thus accurate perforation cannot be guaranteed. There are also limitations with the use of this device in the placement of the perforations. If transverse perforation is required, the mounting rings and their transverse driven shaft have to be removed and replaced with a further driven shaft engageable with the drive means and which supports a transverse perforating blade. The cantilevered supports for the numbering cam member and the longitudinal perforations must also be removed as they extend into the path of movement of the perforating blade which orbits about its transverse driven shaft within the operating cylinder.

Thus it will be seen that significant disruption to the settings and setup of the machine is required to enable forms to be printed with longitudinal and transverse perforations. In addition the freedom of positioning of the longitudinal perforation wheel is prevented while simultaneous sequential numbering is required. Thus the layout of forms is often a compromise or is achieved in a multipass operation at significant extra cost.

The present invention aims to alleviate at least one of the above disadvantages and to provide perforating and numbering apparatus for printing machinery which will be reliable and efficient in use.

With the foregoing in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in perforating apparatus for use with a printing press of the type described, including:- a driven shaft assembly supporting numbering means for rotation therewith and successive engagement with pages being printed; transverse perforating means mounted on said driven shaft assembly whereby the transverse perforating means successively engages pages being printed to form selected transverse perforations therein; indexing means supported by said frame mounting means in the path of travel of said numbering means and said transverse perforating means whereby the indexing means may

cooperate with said numbering means upon rotation thereof, and displacing means for allowing passage of said transverse perforating means past said indexing means during rotation of said driven shaft. The displacing means may include a radially adjustable mounting for the transverse perforating means which retracts the transverse perforating member towards the axis of the operating cylinder when at rotational positions other than the perforating position of the transverse perforating means. Preferably however the displacing means cyclically displaces the indexing means form the path of travel of said transverse perforating means that is to a position outside said operating cylinder. Alternatively it is possible in some applications, such as where a relatively short transverse perforating blade is used, to displace the indexing means laterally to enable the transverse perforating member to pass the indexing means.

The displacing means may be positive driving means associated with indexing means for cyclically shifting the indexing means between an operative indexing position at which it cooperates with the numbering means and an inoperative position at which the indexing means is disposed outside the path of movement of the rotating transverse perforating means. Preferably however the displacing means includes abutment means associated with the transverse perforation means which contacts and displaces a biassed indexing means from its operative position, to which it is biassed, an inoperative position. In this manner the timing of the displacing means automatically accords with the rotational position of the transverse perforation means relative to the numbering means and which may be operated irrespective of the lateral adjustment of the indexing means.

It is further preferred that the transverse perforating means includes a mounting bar assembly for supporting a replaceable perforating blade and wherein said mounting bar has at least a ramped leading face leading to the exposed edge of the replaceable perforating blade and forming said abutment means. The ramped leading face serves to lift the biassed indexing means from the path of movement of the perforating

blade such that it may pass over the blade for return to its biassed operative position. The mounting bar assembly may be supported on a separate driven shaft but preferably it is adapted to be supported on the mounting ring on which the numbering means is supported. If desired the mounting bar assembly may be supported by a spaced pair of mounting ring on the driven shaft.

It is also preferred that a complementary trailing face be provided extending from the exposed edge of the replaceable perforating blade to control return of the indexing means to its operative position. This also enables the printing apparatus to be reversed for cleaning, plate removal and the like during the printing process without dismantling and disruption of settings as it enable the trailing face to act in the manner of the leading face during reverse rotation and lift the biassed indexing means clear of the perforating blade. It is additionally preferred that the indexing means be provided with a rotatable abutment member which contacts the leading and trailing faces and rolls there across so as to minimise f frictional contact therebetween.

Any suitable means for allowing passage of the transverse perforating means past the indexing means may be utilised, such as, for example, pivotal and/or resilient means. Any suitable resilient means may be utilised such as for example, a an indexing means formed of resilient material, or in the form of a coil or leaf spring.

In accordance with another aspect this invention resides broadly in perforating and numbering apparatus for use with a printing machine, said apparatus including: - a driven shaft; support means mounted on said driven shaft for rotation therewith; numbering means supported by said support means for cyclical engagement with pages being printed, and perforating means mounted on said support means for cyclical engagement with pages being printed.

In accordance with yet another aspect this invention provides a number indexing means including a lever portion

which in its operative position extends from said frame mounting into the operating cylinder and positioned in the path of movement of ancillary devices supported by the driven shaft and being selectively moveable from said operative position to an inoperative position clear of the path of movement of ancillary devices supported by a driven shaft.

Any suitable support means may be utilised to support the perforating means and/or numbering means on said drive means. The support means may be in the form of prior art support means. For example, in one prior art arrangement the numbering means is supported by a support ring member internally keyed to the driven shaft and having a contoured outer periphery adapted for operative engagement with a complementary contoured surface portion of the numbering means.

The perforating means may also be provided with a similarly contoured complementary shaped surface for engagement with the contoured outer periphery of the numbering support ring. When the perforating means is in the form of an elongated blade member for effecting a transverse perforation, a plurality of support rings, or other support means, may be mounted on the drive means for the purpose of providing improved support and improved alignment of the elongated blade member. In one arrangement the blade is mounted in an elongated mounting block and may be provided with adjustment means to adjust the blade for efficient perforation. In one such arrangement the adjustment means is in the form of a plurality of spaced adjustable supports bearing against the underside of the blade.

In a further aspect this invention resides in a transverse perforating blade assembly including a mounting bar having ramped faces leading to and from the outer edge of the perforating blade and mountings for the mounting bar which are selectively positionable along the length of the mounting bar and which are fixedly engageable with the mounting rings adapted for supporting numbering boxes whereby the outer edge of the perforating blade may be positioned at the

circumference of the operating cylinder and at any selected rotational position therearound for cyclic engagement with the impression cylinder.

In another aspect this invention resides in a method of printing sequentially numbered perforated sheets on printing apparatus of the type described, including:- providing a driven shaft for cyclically engaging a numbering box with the sheets to be printed; operatively mounting a numbering box on the driven shaft; operatively supporting transverse perforation means on said driven shaft for sequentially engaging the perforating means with the sheets to be printed in alternating sequence with the numbering box; supporting indexing means for the numbering box on said frame support, and causing the indexing means to move cyclically between an operative position in operative engagement with numbering means and an inoperative position at which the indexing means does not obstruct rotational passage of the transverse perforation means on said driven shaft. The present invention also provides longitudinal perforating apparatus for use with a printing press of the type described and including:- guide means adapted to be mounted to said printing press so as to lie remote from the frame mounting but adjacent said impression cylinder and to extend longitudinally thereof, and a perforation head assembly mounted to said guide means so as to be selectively positionable longitudinally of said guide means and adjustable for operative engagement with the impression cylinder. Preferably the guide means is a fixed shaft supported parallel to the impression cylinder and the perforation head assembly includes an annular mounting about the fixed shaft and a perforating wheel carried by the annular mounting for adjustment to and from the impression cylinder. In this manner the perforating head assembly may be positioned so as not to interfere with ancillary equipment supported on the driven shaft for cyclic engagement with the impression cylinder.

8

The guide member is suitably in the form of a rod or shaft of substantially circular cross section and there is also provided means for preventing rotation of the perforating head assembly around the guide means. Such means may include a longitudinally extending groove which receives locating means such as a lug or locating member on the perforating head assembly.

The perforating head assembly may comprise fixed and pivotable parts which are mounted to the guide member for sliding movement therealong. Biasing means may be provided for rotationally biasing the pivoting part away from the fixed part. Preferably adjustable stop means are provided for adjusting the pivotal position of the pivoting part relative to the fixed part and suitably the stop means is associated with the biassing means whereby the bias applied by the biasing means may be selectively varied.

In yet a further aspect this invention resides broadly in a longitudinal perforating head assembly adapted to be contained within the space substantially bounded by the impression cylinder, the transfer cylinder and the operating cylinder and including:- a fixed mounting shaft arranged for support by the frame of the printing apparatus along an axis which is disposed in and extends along said bounded space and parallel to the impression cylinder axis; a fixed support on the fixed mounting shaft and lockable thereto at a selected position therealong; a wheel mounting for an operating wheel supported on said fixed support, and biassing means cooperating with said fixed mounting for biassing the wheel mounting to a position at which the periphery of the supported wheel meets the periphery of said impression cylinder.

The wheel may be a perforating wheel or it may be a folding, marking or slitting wheel. Preferably the support encircles the mounting shaft and the wheel mounting is pivotally mounted to the fixed mounting for movement of said wheel to and from said impression cylinder.

This invention also provides printing apparatus of the type described and including: - longitudinal perforation apparatus supported in the space bounded by the impression cylinder, the transfer cylinder and the operating cylinder; a driven shaft supporting a first mounting ring for a numbering box; a further mounting ring supported on the driven shaft in spaced relationship with the first mounting ring; a transverse perforating bar assembly carried by said mounting rings for cyclic engagement with the impression cylinder, and indexing means supported by the frame mounting and extending into the operating cylinder and being displaceable outside the operating cylinder by contact with said transverse perforating bar assembly.

In order that this invention may be more easily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, wherein: -

Fig. 1 illustrates the general layout of a printing press provided with the perforating and numbering apparatus according to this invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates an enlarged part side view of the perforating, numbering and number indexing apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the perforating blade and mounting ring arrangement of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an end portion of the perforating blade holder and its mounting block;

Fig. 5 illustrates an enlarged part side view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the longitudinal perforating apparatus of the indexing apparatus of Fig. 1;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view illustrating the components of the longitudinal perforating apparatus;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the apparatus

illustrated in Fig. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the perforating apparatus of Fig.

7;

FIG. 10 is a front view of the perforating apparatus of Fig. 7; and

FIG. 11 illustrates the positioning of the longitudinal perforating apparatus relative to a numbering box mounted on the driven shaft.

Referring to the drawings and firstly to Fig. 1, there is illustrated somewhat schematically the printing components of an offset printing press 10, having a printing plate carrying roller 12, a transfer roller 14 which is formed of rubber or covered in a similar material, and an impression cylinder 16 upon which the image to be printed is impressed, carried by the transfer roller 14 obtained from the printing plate carrying roller 12 in known manner.

For the purpose of numbering the sheets being printed, for example for preparation of an invoice book, the pages of which are required to be readily detachable and numbered consecutively, a numbering box 18 is typically provided and located adjacent to the impression cylinder 16 on a mounting ring 20 supported by a driven shaft 22 for cyclic engagement with the impression cylinder 16. For this purpose the mounting ring 20 is supported adjustably along the length of a driven shaft 22 which extends longitudinally of the impression cylinder 16 and which may be rotated by means of a gear 24, see Fig. 11, or the like at one end for timed rotation with the impression cylinder 16.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 5 it will be seen that the numbering box 18 includes an actuating lever 25 which cooperates cyclically with a pivotal indexing arm 26 of number indexing means 28 to index or increment the number applied by the numbering box 18.

In the standard arrangement the freely pivotable actuating lever 25 engages a cam track formed at the inner end of a fixed indexing arm whereby the lever 25, when being carried past the fixed arm, is cycled through a single indexing movement as it passes along the cam track thereon and

returned to its original position for repetition of this process when it next passes the fixed indexing arm.

According to this embodiment of the present invention, the number indexing arm 26 is pivotally supported by a base mount 30 carried adjustably on the spaced parallel bars 38, 39 which form the printer's frame mount. The arm 26 is supported for pivotal movement about a pin 31 which extends parallel to the driven shaft 22 and is biassed by spring 35 supported in the base mount 30, which engages with a rearward extension 36 of the arm 26 which extends beyond the pivot pin 31. The spring 35 urges the arm 26 to an operative position at which its cam-like inner end 27 cooperates with the lever 25 as it cyclically passes the indexing arm 26. The arm 26 is relieved at 19 at each side thereof to enable rollers to be set into the lever whereby the arm 26 may be associated with a right hand or left hand mounted lever 25. For this purpose the arm 26 is relatively wide so as to accommodate the rollers 21 within their opposite side boundaries.

The lever 25 of the numbering box 18 is also modified in that it is spring biassed to a starting position and is moved against the spring bias through an indexing cycle when it contacts the outer end of the indexing arm 26. For this purpose the spring bias of the arm 26 provided by spring 35 is sufficient to maintain the arm 26 in its operative position against the force applied to its outer end by the arm 25.

Any suitable number of mounting rings may be supported on the shaft 22, such as ring 20, for carrying respective numbering boxes 18. According to this embodiment a second mounting ring is provided spaced along the shaft 22 from the first mounting ring 20 and the two mounting rings 20, 32 support a perforating blade assembly 40 for effecting transverse perforations. The transverse perforating, numbering and number indexing mechanism shown in FIG. 1 can be seen in more detail in FIGS. 2 to 5. The mounting rings 20, 32 are keyed to the shaft 22 for rotation therewith. Numbering box 18 is securely mounted on the periphery of mounting ring 20 in accordance with the prior art and is provided with an actuating lever 25, which is

spring biassed and adapted, on movement against it spring bias, to sequentially change the page print number applied by the numbering box 18.

The perforating blade assembly 40 is mounted on the periphery of the two mounting rings 20, 32, and is angularly spaced around mounting ring 20 from the numbering box 18. The perforating blade assembly 40 is supported by a pair of blade attachment blocks 44 securely attached to the corresponding mounting rings 20, 32 in like manner to the numbering box 18. This is best illustrated in Fig. 3.

Each attachment block 44 has a central elongated recess 46 which receives and supports an elongated blade mounting bar assembly 48 formed with a central elongated recess 50 within which a conventional perforating blade 34 is received. The outer periphery of each mounting ring 20, 32 is provided with steps 54 forming a central collar 56 which engages within corresponding grooves 43 in the blade attachment blocks 44, and the mounting 45 for the numbering box 18. Fastening means, such as the transverse screws 47, are utilised to clamp the blocks 44 about the collar 56 and to the mounting rings

20, 32 in a similar arrangement as is presently used to attach the numbering box 18 to its mounting ring 20.

The mounting bar assembly 48 is, as illustrated in Fig. 4, formed of complementary longitudinal portions 52 and 53 with the perforating blade 34 located therebetween. The blade 34 initially rests on a longitudinal step 58 provided on one of the longitudinal half portions 52 but can be adjusted for correct radial positioning and alignment by adjustment of a series of jacking bolts 59 mating with the underside edge of the blade 34 at spaced intervals along its length. The complementary portions 52, 53 are clamped together by a series of clamping bolts 60 spaced along the lower side of these portions.

The blade 34 is locked in position by a series of locking bolts 62 passing through the complementary portions, adjacent their upper and lower ends. These portions 52, 53 have bevelled edges whereby their outer faces merge towards one another and the cutting edge of the blade 34, and form leading

and trailing longitudinal wedge shaped cam surfaces 64, 65.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the free end 27 of the indexing arm 26 which extends towards the impression cylinder 16 lies in the path of the lever 25. Accordingly it must extend into the operating cylinder shown in dotted outline at 42 in Fig. 5 and also lie in the path of movement of the perforating blade assembly 40.

During the following movements, the arm 26 will be returned to an obstructing position, for subsequent engagement with the lever 25, by the trailing cam face 65. Thus the arm is able to ride over the bar assembly 48 and the perforating blade 34.

For perforating sheets of paper being printed in a longitudinal direction the present invention additionally provides longitudinal perforating apparatus 70 including a non-rotatable shaft 71 located above the numbering box 18 and supported at each end by mounting brackets 72 detachably secured to the frame of the printing press 10. The shaft 71 extends longitudinally of, and parallel to, the impression cylinder 16 and lies adjacent to the periphery thereof and a perforating head assembly 73 is mounted for movement along the shaft 71.

As shown more clearly in FIGS. 6 to 10, the perforating head assembly 73 comprises a bifurcated carrier part 74 which carries a rotatable perforating 76 on a shaft 77 extending parallel to the shaft 71, and a mounting part 75 provided with a ring-like body 80 which nests between the ring-like members 78 which locate pivotally about the shaft 71. Each ring-like members 78 has an abutment 79 formed in its periphery with the abutments 79 of the respective members 78 aligned. The base part 75 also includes an integral arm 81 which is extends to opposite sides of the body member 80. A grub screw 82 is threaded into the arm 81 at a central location thereon and into a registering longitudinal groove 83 formed in the shaft 71 as shown in dotted outline in FIG. 9. The grub screw 82 extends into the groove 83 to prevent rotation between the mounting part 75 and shaft 71, whilst permitting movement of the part 75 therealong. However the grub screw 82

may be tightened to lock the mounting part 75 to the shaft 71.

An adjustment screw 84 is provided in one laterally extending portion of the arm 81 to cooperate with one of the abutments 79 to provide a stop which rotationally positions the first part 74 relative to the second part 75. A spring 85 is held between the parts 74 and 75 as shown in FIGS. 7, 4 and 5 to urge the parts 74 and 75 away from each other, the extent of this movement being limited by the cooperation between the adjustment screw 84 and Tightening of the adjustment screw 84 against the bias of the spring 85 will urge the carrier part 74 away from the mounting part 75 which is prevented from rotation relative to the shaft 71 by the grub screw 82. This will enable the position of the wheel 76 relative to the impression cylinder 16 to be easily adjusted. It will be seen from Fig. 1 that the shaft 71 and the perforating head assembly 73 is above and clear of the mounting rings 20, 32 as is mounted in the space 37 bounded by the operating cylinder 42, the impression cylinder 16 and the transfer roller 14 so that the operating position of the longitudinal perforation performed by the apparatus 70 is not limited by the transverse position of the number box 18, or any appliance carried by the rings 20, 32 such as the perforating blade assembly 40.

In use, assuming that it is desired to effect page numbering, transverse and longitudinal perforating in a single pass, the longitudinal perforating apparatus 70 is slid along shaft 71 to the position where perforation is required and locked in place. Similarly the numbering box 18 and its mounting ring 20 are moved along shaft 22 to the position where numbering is required, indexed on the ring 20 and locked in position. Finally, the elongated mounting bar assembly 40 is locked in the correct angular position about the mounting rings 22, 32 to enable transverse perforations to be effected where the perforation is required intermediate page numbers. In operation of the machine, paper sheets (shown in dotted line in FIG. 1) are fed upward between the impression cylinder 16 and the longitudinal perforating apparatus 70, the perforating blade 34 and the numbering box 18. Of course, a

plurality of perforating and numbering devices may be used if multiple perforating or numbering is required.

As the shaft 22 rotates in an anticlockwise direction, the leading cam surface 64 of the mounting bar assembly 48 comes into contact with the guide roller 68 on the indexing arm 26 with the result that the arm 26 is urged pivotally outwardly against the action of biassing spring 35 thus allowing passage of the perforating blade 34. The indexing arm 26 is thereafter returned to its original position along cam face 65 due to the action of the spring 35 and the mounting bar assembly 48 continues to travel in a rotary path to the position shown in dotted line at 63 in FIG. 5 where perforation of the sheet being printed is effected.

As the rotating numbering box arm 18 comes into contact with the cam-shaped free end 27 of the number indexing arm 26, the spring 35 is of sufficient strength to enable the number indexing arm 26 to maintain its operative position and to move number box actuating lever 25 through an indexing cycle so that the next number is presented ready to be printed when the numbering box 18 rotates to the printing position adjacent the impression cylinder 16.

If it also desired to provide longitudinal perforations, the perforation head assembly 73 is slide along the shaft 71 to the position where the perforation is required. This may be any position along the impression cylinder 16. The grub screw 82 is then tightened to lock the unit 73 in position to the shaft 71. The adjustment screw 84 is then adjusted to either move the perforation wheel 76 against the bias of the spring 85 towards or away from the impression cylinder 16 and the paper to be perforated.

Thus when the printing press 10 is operating, paper sheets 86 passing between the impression cylinder 16 and transfer roller 12 will also pass between the cylinder 16 and perforation wheel 76 so as to be perforated by the wheel 76 under the influence of the biasing force of the spring 85. If perforations are required in a new position, the grub screw 82 is loosened and the unit 73 slid along the shaft 71 to the position where the perforation is required and again locked in

position by re-tightening the grub screw 82. If multiple perforations are required, a number of perforating head assemblies 73 may be provided on the shaft 71 and located in desired spaced positions therealong. It will be apparent in use that the apparatus 70 will not interfere with the operation of the numbering units 16, or the mounting part 48 and thus can be positioned as required. In addition a substantially more compact result is achieved as the perforation head assemblies 73 are located closely adjacent to surface of the impression cylinder 16. In addition, the apparatus 70 may be readily removed from the printing press 10 by detaching the brackets 72. The wheel 76 may also be positioned on the opposite side of the perforation head assembly 73 by removing the shaft 77 reversing same before remounting to the head assembly 73.

Thus in a single pass of the medium to be printed, it may be printed, numbered and provided with longitudinal and transverse perforations as required.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative embodiment of the invention, all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is defined in the appended claims.