U.S. patent number 3,774,536 [Application Number 05/170,048] was granted by the patent office on 1973-11-27 for printing press control system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to North American Rockwell Corporation. Invention is credited to Francis A. Raymond, Robert L. Vogler.
United States Patent |
3,774,536 |
Raymond , et al. |
November 27, 1973 |
PRINTING PRESS CONTROL SYSTEM
Abstract
A printing press control system for controlling a press having a
plurality of printing units each of which has at least two printing
cylinders, with each cylinder having a plurality of plate positions
and a plurality of column positions within each plate position. An
ink supply system is associated with each printing cylinder in the
press, and includes means for separately adjusting the ink supply
rate at each of the column positions. The control system includes
means for generating an electrical signal representing a selected
printing cylinder, a selected plate position, and selected column
positions at which the ink supply rate is to be adjusted, and a
selected direction and magnitude for the adjustment to be effected
in the ink supply rate. Press adjustments other than in the ink
supply system can also be controlled. The control system further
includes receiver means associated with each of the printing units
and responsive to the generated electrical signals for enabling the
adjusting means at the selected cylinder, plate position, and
column positions. The receiver means also energizes the selected
adjusted means in the desired direction until an adjustment of the
desired magnitude is effected, and then automatically de-energizes
the adjusting means.
Inventors: |
Raymond; Francis A. (Nashua,
NH), Vogler; Robert L. (Norridge, IL) |
Assignee: |
North American Rockwell
Corporation (Pittsburgh, PA)
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Family
ID: |
22618332 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/170,048 |
Filed: |
August 9, 1971 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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735621 |
Jun 10, 1968 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
101/207;
101/365 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B41F
31/045 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B41F
31/04 (20060101); B41f 031/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;340/147,163,172.5
;101/365,247,366,206-210 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Fisher; J. Reed
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part application of our
pending application Ser. No. 735,621, now abandoned, filed June 10,
1968.
Claims
We claim as our invention:
1. A printing press control system comprising the combination of a
plurality of printing units each of which has at least two printing
cylinders with each cylinder having a plurality of plate positions
and a plurality of column positions within each plate position, an
ink supply system associated with each printing cylinder in said
press and including means for separately adjusting the ink supply
rate at each of said column positions, means for generating a first
digital electrical signal comprising data bits representing a
selected page number and selected column positions at which the ink
supply rate is to be adjusted and a selected direction and
magnitude for the adjustment to be effected in the ink supply rate,
control means including a storage unit for storing data correlating
the numbers of pages being printed with the particular printing
cylinders and plate positions at which the respective pages are
being printed, said control means being responsive to said first
electrical signal for generating a second digital electrical signal
comprising data bits representing a selected printing cylinder, a
selected plate position, and selected column positions at which the
ink supply rate is to be adjusted, and a selected direction and
magnitude for the adjustment to be effected in the ink supply rate,
and receiver means associated with each printing unit and
responsive to said second electrical signal for automatically
enabling the adjusting means at the selected cylinder, plate
position, and column positions, and for automatically energizing
said adjusting means in the selected direction until an adjustment
of the selected magnitude is effected and then automatically
de-energizing said adjusting means.
2. A printing press control system comprising the combination of a
plurality of printing units each of which has at least two printing
cylinders with each cylinder having a plurality of plate positions
and a plurality of column positions within each plate position, an
ink supply system associated with each printing cylinder in said
press and including means for separately adjusting the ink supply
rate at each of said column positions, a solenoid matrix including
a multiplicity of solenoids for actuating the multiple adjusting
means in the ink supply system, with the position of each solenoid
in a first direction determining the cylinder and plate position of
the adjusting means associated therewith, and the position of the
solenoid in a second direction determining the column position of
the adjusting means associated therewith, drive means for driving
said adjusting means when actuated by said solenoids, and digital
electronic control means connected to said solenoid matrix and
responsive to a digital electronic signal containing a plurality of
data bits, said control means including means for enabling all of
said solenoids corresponding to a selected column position in
response to a first data bit in said signal, means for enabling all
of said solenoids corresponding to a selected cylinder position in
response to a third data bit in said signal, and means for
energizing said drive means in a selected direction in response to
a fourth data bit in said signal.
3. A printing press control system comprising the combination of a
plurality of printing units each of which has at least two printing
cylinders with each cylinder having a plurality of plate positions
and a plurality of column positions within each plate position,
means for generating a first digital electrical signal representing
a plurality of pages to be printed and the printing unit, cylinder,
and plate position where each of said pages is to be printed, means
for storing said first signal, means for generating second digital
electrical signals representing the number of a selected one of
said pages, the magnitude and direction of a desired adjustment in
the printing of said selected page, and the column positions at
which said adjustment is desired, means responsive to the second
electrical signal representing said selected page for producing
third digital electrical signals representing the particular
printing unit, cylinder, and plate position where said selected
page is being printed in said press, means responsive to the third
electronic digital signal representing the particular printing unit
at which said selected page is being printed for transmitting the
other third signals and said second signals to said particular
printing unit, and means responsive to said other third signals and
said second signals for effecting a press adjustment of the
magnitude and direction represented by the second signals at the
column positions represented by said second signals and at the
cylinder and plate positions represented by said other third
signals.
4. A printing press control system comprising the combination of a
plurality of printing units each of which has at least two printing
cylinders with each cylinder having a plurality of plate positions
and a plurality of column positions within each plate position,
electronic digital storage means containing electronic signals
representing the pointing unit, cylinder, and plate position where
each of a plurality of pages is to be printed, electronic digital
control means operatively connected to said storage means and
programmed to respond to a series of applied signals representing
the number of a selected one of said pages, the magnitude and
direction of a desired adjustment in the printing of said selected
page, and the column positions at which said adjustment is desired
to produce a corresponding series of output signals representing
the particular printing unit, cylinder, and plate position where
said selected page is being printed in said press, the column
positions where the adjustment is desired, and the magnitude and
direction of the desired adjustment, means responsive to said
output signals for automatically transmitting said signal
representing the magnitude and direction of the desired adjustment
to said particular printing unit, cylinder, plate position and
column positions, and means responsive to said signals representing
the magnitude and direction of the desired adjustment for effecting
said adjustment in the press.
Description
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to printing presses and,
more particularly, to an improved printing press control system for
automatically adjusting variable press functions such as the ink
supply rate and the like, both in the presetting of the press and
during the operation thereof.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an
improved automatic control system for a printng press which is
capable of making precisely controlled automatic adjustments at any
of many specific locations in the press, from a single control
station remote from the press, and in response to a few simple
input instructions. A related object of the invention is to provide
such an improved control system which is readily adaptable to a
computer-controlled input.
Another object of the present inventon is to provide an improved
automatic control system for a printing press of the foregoing type
which is capable of controlling virtually any press function that
can be made responsive to an electrical signal. A more particular
object of this aspect of the invention is to provide such an
improved control system for controlling the ink supply system,
compensator settings and both axial and circumferential cylinder
positions.
It is a further object of this ivention to provide an improved
automatic control system for a printing press of the type described
above which is capable of controlling the ink supply rate, or other
press variables, at a specific portion of the press printing a
particular page, by simply supplying an input representing the page
number and the type of adjustment desired.
A still further object of the invention is to provide such an
improved automatic control system for a printing press which is
capable of presetting the press for a printing run, as well as
making adjustments during a printng run. In this connection, a
related object is to provide such a control system which is capable
of automatically selecting the presetting stations in the press in
response to input data representing the page numbers and the press
settings therefor.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such an
improved automatic control system for a printing press which is
highly reliable and accurate, and yet can be efficiently and
economically manufactured and maintained.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent
upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference
to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing press and associated
control system embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a keyboard for supplying input
signals to the control system of FIG. 1 to effect desired
adjustments in selected press variables;
FIGS. 3a and 3b are a schematic diagram of the input and
transmission portion of the control system;
FIGS. 4a and 4b are a schematic diagram of the receiver portion of
the control system; and
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a plate cylinder and mechanism for
adjusting the axial and circumferential positions of the
cylinder.
While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and
alternative forms, certain specific embodiments thereof are shown
by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail
herein. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended
to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosd, but, on
the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,
equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of
the invention as expressed in the appended claims.
It is well known by those familiar with the art of printing presses
that a printing press of the type used to print newspapers
comprises a series of printing units for printing the various pages
of the newspaper, and at least one folding unit for receiving the
printing pages and folding them to form the newspapers. Each
printing unit includes at least one "printing couple" and typically
from two to four printing couples, depending upon whether it has a
single color deck, a double color deck, or no color deck at all;
each printing couple has a plate cylinder which is typically four
pages wide and two pages around so that it is capable of printing
eight pages, although it is to be understood that the present
invention is applicable to printing couples having virtually any
number of pages along its width and/or around its circumference. If
a printing cylinder has a four-page width, it is generally
considered to have four "plate positions", although the cylinder is
actually capable of receiving eight or more printing plates, i.e.,
two or more at each plate position. The four plate positions are
generally identified as "near", "near center", "far center " and
"far".
For the purpose of supplying ink to the printing rolls, each
printing cylinder is conventionally associated with an ink fountain
having an adjustable means for controlling the rate at which ink is
supplied. To permit adjustment of the ink supply rate, the
adjustable means is typically provided with a number of separate
adjusting stations spaced along the length of the cylinder. As is
well known to those familiar with the press art, both blade type
and injector or pump type ink supply systems are conventionally
used with printing presses, and the present invention is equally
applicable to any of these systems.
To control the registering of the printing pages which are cut and
folded by the folder unit, each printing cylinder also has
associated with it a compensator unit which can be actuated to
shift the longitudinal position of the particular pages being
printed to achieve the desired register of all the printed pages at
the folder unit. Other adjusting stations are provided to control
the "cylinder register", including both "sidelay" (axial) register
and circumferential register, i.e., to position each printing
cylinder properly with respect to other cylinders or other portions
of the press.
Turning now to the drawings, in FIG. 1 there is illustrated an
exemplary printing press with an associated control system in block
diagram form. The press includes a plurality of printing units 10
each of which has one or more lower printing cylinders or couples
10 a, and some of which have "deck" cylinders or couples 10b. One
of the printing units has a center color cylinder 10c. For the
purpose of folding the various webs printed by the units 10, the
press also includes two folding units 11.
As will be described in more detail below, there are a number of
different adjusting stations located throughout the press for
controlling press variables such as the ink supply rate and the
like. In order to provide automatic control of these adjusting
stations, a separate unit receiver UR or folder receiver FR is
operatively associated with each unit, and each of these receivers
is operatively connected to one of two press consoles 12 and 13.
Each console 12 and 13 receives input data from a teletypewriter 14
and a keyboard (FIG. 2) located on the console, and transmits
electrical signals to selected receivers UR or FR to automatically
effect desired adjustments at selectd adjusting stations throughout
the press. The electrical system included in each console 12 or 13
is shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, while the electrical system of a
typical receiver UR is shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, which will be
described in detail below.
In accordance with the present invention, a control system is
associated with the printing press comprising means for generating
an electrical signal representing a selected printing cylinder, a
selected plate position, and selected column positions at which the
ink supply rate is to be adjusted, and a selected direction and
magnitude for the adjustment to be effected in the ink supply rate.
The control system also includes receiver means associated with
each printing unit and responsive to the generated electrical
signal for enabling the adjusting means at the selected cylinder,
plate position, and column positions, and for energizing the
adjusting means in the selected direction until an adjustment of
the selected magnitude is effected and then automatically
de-energizing the adjusting means. Thus, in the illustrative
embodiment of the control system illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, a
teletypewriter 20, or an equivalent device, is used to feed
information concerning a particular printing run into a computer
21, such as the "SPC-12 Stored Program Controller" manufactured by
General Automation, Inc. The SPC-12 is a binary, parallel, single
address processor with the capability of addressing eight-bit bytes
of data stored in a memory, and data may be loaded from the memory
into the central processing unit either twelve bits at a time or
eight bits at a time. In addition, the SPC-12 may perform
arithmetic (add, subtract), logical, store, shift, test, and
input-output operations on a byte basis. Further information on
this particular stored program controller is, of course, readily
available, and such information will not be repeated herein.
Assuming that the particular press variable to be controlled by the
illustrative system shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is the ink supply rate,
the information initially fed into the controller 21 via the
teletypewriter 20 for any given printing run, is the number of each
page to be printed, the particular printing unit, cylinder, and
plate position where each page is to be printed, the color (if any)
to be printed on each page, and the setting for the ink supply
system at each column position within the plate position where each
page is to be printed. In response to this input data, the
controller 21 stores data in its memory correlating the numbers of
the pages to be printed with the particular printing units,
cylinders, and plate positions at which each of the pages is to be
printed. At this point, the controller 21 is programmed to adjust
the press variables, such as the ink supply rate, automatically in
response to input signals representing the adjustments desired
either for presetting the press or for making adjustments during a
printing run. For example, to preset the ink supply system in the
press, the teletypewriter may be operated to feed the controller 21
input data representing each page number and the ink setting for
each column position for each page, and the controller 21 is
programmed to automatically transmit a signal representing each
such setting to the specific receiver associated with the
particular printing unit at which the corresponding page is being
printed. That is, the controller 21 responds to the input data to
produce a series of output signals representing the receiver to
which each instruction word is to be transmitted; the cylinder,
plate position, and column position to which the instruction word
applies; and the magnitude and direction of the adjustment to be
effected.
Each output signal generated by the controller 21 appears as an
eight-level binary output signal on lines 22a through 22h. When the
particular controller employed is the SPC-12 identified previously,
the eight lines 22a through 22h comprise eight of the twelve
available input/output bus lines. The eight-level binary signal
generated by the controller 21 is transmitted via data bus lines
22a through 22h to a function address register 24 and a
transmission register 25. The first output signal generated by the
controller 21 is strobed into the function address register 24 in
response to a function address pulse, referred to hereinafter as
the FAP pulse, generated at the FAP terminal of the controller 21;
the FAP terminal is a conventional part of the SPC-12 controller
identified previously, and produces a signal which strobes the
information on the eight input/output lines 22a through 22h into
the corresponding eight bits A1-A8 of the register 24. The first
three bits (A1, A2 and A3) of the function address register 24 are
connected to a conventional binary to octal converter 26, such as a
Signetics N8250A converter, for example. The converter 26 is also
connected to the transfer output pulse terminal of the controller
21; the transfer output pulse terminal, referred to hereinafter as
the TOP terminal, is a conventional part of the SPC-12 controller
identified previously, and produces a singal which strobes the
information on the lines 22a through 22h of the input/output bus
into the portion of the transmission register or receiver selector
register selected by the outputs from the converter 26. More
particularly, whenever an output pulse is produced by the transfer
output pulse terminal of the controller 21, the converter 26
produces an output signal on one of the seven output lines 27a
through 27g representing the data stored in bits A1 through A3 of
the function address register 24, and this signal is transmitted
via data bus lines 27a through 27g to enable a selected portion of
the transmission register 25, the receiver selector register 28, a
"transmit" register 29, or a pair of AND gates 30 and 31. More
particularly, a signal appearing on one of the first four lines 27a
through 27d enables a corresponding one of four AND gates 32, 33,
34 and 35 connected to the respective lines 27a through 27d, and
the enabled gate in turn enables a corresponding group of eight
bits A9-A16, A17-A24, A25-A32, or A33-A36 of the transmission
register 25. A signal appearing on the fifth line 27e enables an
AND gate 36 associated with the receiver selector register 28; a
signal appearing on the sixth line 27f enables an AND gate 37
associated with "transmit" register 29; and a signal appearing on
the line 27g enables the two AND gates 30 and 31.
As mentioned prevously, the information that is intially fed into
the controller 21 via the teletypewriter 20 determines the initial
settings to be made on the press via the automatic control system.
For example, if the particular variable being controlled is the ink
supply rate, the initial information might establish the precise
settings to be made at each of the adjustment points on the ink
fountain blade, or other adjustment means in the ink supply system.
To permit subsequent adjustments during a press run, a manually
operated keyboard 40 is connected to the contoller 21 via an
eight-level encoder 41 and the input/output lines 22a through 22h.
An illustrative keyboard design shown in FIG. 2, although it is to
be understood that a number of different keyboard designs may be
utilized to permit different types of information to be fed into
the controller 21. Operation of the keyboard shown in FIG. 2 can be
most easily understood by reference to a specific example. Thus, if
the operator wishes to increase the ink supply rate to column
positions 1 and 5 for the first page, he depresses a key 50
representing the page number 1, and then an "enter" key 54 which
causes the controller 21 to search its memory to determine the
particular portion of the press where the page selected by key 50
is being printed. Next the operator depresses key 51 representing
the direction of the adjustment desired, namely, an increase in the
ink supply rate; then keys 52 and 53 representing the selected
column positions; and finally key 55 representing the magnitude of
the desired adjustment. The operator then again depresses the enter
key 54, which signals the controller 21 that the data input for
this particular adjustment has been completed.
In the exemplary key operation described above, depression of the
key 50 causes the controller to locate the particular cylinder and
plate position where black ink is being printed on page number 1.
If a color is also being printed on the same page, depression of
the key 50, representing the page number, plus one of four color
selector keys 56, causes the controller to locate the particular
cylinder and plate position where the selected color is being
printed on the selected page. If an error is made by the operator
depressing the keys, he simply presses a "clear" key 57 to clear
the data fed into the controller before occurrence of the
error.
Additional keys on the keyboard shown in FIG. 2 permit the operator
to select an adjusting station in the press by selecting a
particular unit, cylinder, and plate position rather than a page
number. More particularly, the unit is selected by depressing a
"unit" key 58 plus one of the numbered keys such as the key 50, the
cylnder is selected by depressing one of four cylinder selector
keys 59, and the plate position is selected by depressing one of
four plate position selector keys 59a. For example, if the operator
wishes to make an adjustment at the near plate position of the left
deck cylinder of unit 1, he depresses keys 58 and 50, the "left
side deck" key 59, and the "near" plate position selector key 59a.
The magnitude and direction of the adjustment to be effected at the
selected position is then selected in the same manner described
previously, e.g., by depressing keys 55 and 51.
For the purpose of determining when a instruction word on the
input/output lines 22a through 22h is to be transmitted into or out
of the controller 21, bits A4 through A6 (bits A7 and A8 are
reserve bits) of the function address register 24 supply control
signals to a binary to octal converter 43, which responds to the
signals from bits A4 through A6 to produce an enabling signal on
either of two output lines 43a or 43b. If an enabling signal
appears on line 43a, all of the gates associated with the converter
26 are enabled, so that the particular gates selected by the
eight-level output signal from the converter 26 actuate the
registers associated therewith to receive an instruction word from
the controller 21 in response to the next TOP pulse. More
particularly, if the converter 43 produces an enabling signal on
line 43a, and if gate 32 is enabled by a signal on line 27a, the
next TOP pulse causes the data bits on lines 22a through 22h to be
strobed into bits A10 through A16 of the transmission register 25.
Similarly, if enabling signals are produced on lines 43a and 27e,
gate 36 causes the data on lines 22e through 22h to be strobed into
bits A37 through A40 of the output selector register 28 in response
to the next TOP pulse. The other output from the converter 43, i.e,
the output signals on line 43b, are used to enable the encoder 41
to permit data to be fed into the controller 21 in response to
operation of the keyboard 40.
It will be appreciated from the description thus far that several
instruction words may have to be produced by the controller 21 on
the lines 22a through 22h in order to provide all the necessary
information for a complete instruction in the bits A10 through A40.
In this case, of course, it is necessary for the controller 21 to
transmit several instruction words to the bits A10 through A40,
with a different function address word being transmitted to the
function address register 24 in response to an FAP pulse preceding
the transmission of each instruction word to the bits A10-A40. It
will be understood that the controller 21 will be programmed to
automatically carry out the necessary cyclic transmission in
response to input data from either the teletypewriter 20, for
presetting the press, or the keyboard 40, for making adjustments
during a press run.
The specific information represented by the bits A10 through A36 of
the transmission register will be described hereinafter in
connection with the receiver system for decoding such bits and
actuating the appropriate press adjustment means in response
thereto. At this point, it will suffice to state that bits A10
through A36 correspond to bits B1 through B27 of the receiver
system to be described below. The receiver system will be described
with specific reference to an instruction for controlling the ink
supply rate to the various printing cylinders, but it will be
understood that the system provided by this invention may be used
to control virtually any press function which can be made
responsive to an electrical signal, by simply programming the
controller 21 to produce the necessary data bits in response to
appropriate input data derived from the teletypewriter 20 or the
keyboard 40. It should also be noted that bit A9 is not used in the
illustrative system, and simply comprises a reserve bit for use in
modifications of the illustrative system, such as feeding data
serially into the transmission register 25.
The receiver system to be described below in connection with FIGS.
4a and 4b serves only a single printing unit. Since a typical press
involves multiple printing units, as mentioned previously, it is
necessary for the transmission system to select the particular
receiver to which each instruction stored in the transmission
register 25 is to be transmitted. This selection is made in
response to the data stored in the receiver selector register
comprising bits A37 through A40. More particularly, bits A37
through A40 supply signals to a pair of binary to octal converters
60 and 61, which respond to the signals from bits A37 through A40
to actuate a receiver selector 62 to select any one of a number of
different receivers. In the particular system illustrated in FIG.
3b, the converters 60 and 61 and the receiver selector 62 are
adapted to choose any one of sixteen different receivers, but it
will be understood that the system may be readily modified to serve
a larger or smaller number of receivers, depending upon the
particular press being controlled. The receiver selector 62 may
comprise a series of relays which are energized in response to
different signals received from the converters 60 and 61 to
automatically connect the transmission system to the particular
receiver system designated by the data stored in bits A37 through
A40.
After a complete instruction has been stored in the transmission
system, including a receiver selection signal in the receiver
selector register 28, the controller 21 sends a function address
signal to the function address register 24 to actuate the
"transmit" register 29, via AND gate 37, in response to the next
TOP pulse. More particularly, when the AND gate 37 receives
enabling signals both from the converter 43 and from the converter
26, in response to a TOP pulse, it triggers the flip-flop 29 to
supply a signal to the "shift enable" input of each of the four-bit
registers included in the transmission register 25, e.g., register
A33-A36; the shift enable input is a conventional input in such
four-bit registers, such as the Signetics 8271 four-bit register.
The output signal from the flip-flop 29 also actuates a shift pulse
generator 70 to supply shift pulses to the transmission register 25
so as to shift the bits A10 through A36 out of the transmission
register 25, in serial fashion, into a data and shift pulse mixer
71. As the data pulses representing the bits A10 through A36 are
supplied to the mixer 71, shift pulses are also supplied thereto
from the shift pulse generator 70, and the mixer 71 responds to the
incoming data and shift pulses to produce an output signal
comprising a series of alternate data and shift pulses. For
example, each data pulse may be a negative-going pulse, and each
shift pulse a positive-going pulse, it being understood that data
pulses appear only between selected pairs of successive shift
pulses according to the data stored in bits A10-A36. This output
signal is transmitted serially to the receiver selector 62, which
directs the signal to the particular receiver system selected by
the bits A37 through A40 via the converters 60 and 61.
When the entire instruction has been shifted out of the
transmission register 25, an AND gate 72 senses identical signals
from all the bits A10 through A36, and responds thereto to return
the flip-flop 29 to its original state, thereby removing the
enabling signal from the shift enable input to the transmission
register 25 and de-actuating the shift pulse generator 70.
Consequently, it can be seen that the transmission of each signal
to a selected receiver is controlled by the flip-flop 29, which in
turn is controlled by signals from the two gates 37 and 72.
To prevent the controller 21 from transmitting instructions while
an instruction previously stored in the bits A10 through A40 is
being transmitted to a selected receiver, the AND gate 30 is
enabled by the same output signal from the flip-flop 29 which
actuates the shift pulse generator 70. The other inputs to this
gate 30 are connected to the line 43a from converter 43 which
controls the loading of the various registers, and to line 27g from
the converter 26 which is responsive to the TOP pulses. If the
flip-flop 29 has not been triggered to actuate the shift pulse
generator 70, the gate 30 is disabled and has no effect on the
controller 21, so that loading of the bits A10 through A40 may
proceed. If, on the other hand, the flip-flop 29 has been triggered
to actuate the shift pulse generator 70, the AND gate 30 is enabled
to produce an output signal which is applied to the controller via
input line 22b to prevent the transmission of any instructions from
the controller 21. A similar function is served by AND gate 31,
which receives the same two input signals received by gate 30 from
lines 27g and 43a. The third input to AND gate 31 is derived from a
receiver status detector 73 which detects whether the particular
receiver selected by the receiver selector 62 is already carrying
out a press adjustment in response to a previous instruction. As
will be described below, the receiver system includes means for
generating a "busy signal" as long as a press adjustment is being
carried out in response to a signal previously transmitted to that
particular receiver system. This busy signal is transmitted back to
the receiver selector 62 and detected by the receiver status
detector 73. The detector 73, in turn, enables the AND gate 31 in
response to such a busy signal, and the AND gate 31 produces an
output signal which is transmitted to the controller 21 via input
line 22a to prevent the transmission of a further instruction to
the busy receiver until the pending adjustment is completed.
It will be appreciated that an output signal from either of the
gates 30 and 31 only prevents the controller 21 from transmitting
instructions. That is, the controller 21 is still able to receive
input data from the keyboard 40 while gate 30 or 31 is producing an
output signal. Also, the receiver status detector 73 and its
associated gate 31 only prevent the transmission of a signal to the
particular receiver system which is busy; that is, signals may be
transmitted to other receiver systems which are not producing busy
signals. In other words, the receiver selector 62 is normally
connected to only one receiver system at any given time, so that a
busy signal is detected by the detector 73 only if such signal is
received from the same receiver to which the next instruction is to
be transmitted, as determined by the data stored in bits A37
through A40 of the receiver selector register.
At this point, it will be recognized that the controller 21
receives inputs from several different sources, including the
teletypewriter 20, the keyboard 40, the AND gate 30, and the AND
gate 31. However, as mentioned previously, the presence of an input
signal from one of these sources does not necessarily disable the
controller 21 for the duration of such signal. For example, while
the controller receives a signal from gate 30 or 31, it cannot
transmit any further signals to the transmission register, but it
can still receive an input from the keyboard 40. Thus, the
controller 21 is programmed to scan all the available inputs
cyclically so that it operates at maximum efficiency.
Turning now to the receiver system illustrated in FIGS. 4a and 4b,
whenever an instruction word is transmitted to the receiver, a
series of data pulses and shift pulses are transmitted serially
over a single line 110 to a pulse detector and separator 111. The
detector and separator 111 separates the data and shift pulses and
passes the data pulses on through a pulse shaper 112 to a 27-bit
(B1-B27) shift register 113. Each word fed into the shift register
113 comprises 27 bits, corresponding to the 27 bits A10-A36 of the
transmission register 25, so that each word fills the shift
register 113. It will be understood that each of the 27 bits B1-B27
in the shift register 113 has two outputs referred to hereinafter
as the "1" output and the "0" output. In the initial or reset state
of the register, all the bits contain zeros, but when the first
data pulse and shift pulse is applied to the register, the first
bit B1 receives and stores a one, indicated by a 1 output. The
second data pulse and shift pulse then transfer 1 output of B1 to
the next bit B2 and store the next data bit in B1, thereby shifting
each data bit along the shift register until 27 shift pulses have
been received. In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, each
data pulse is negative-going, and each shift pulse is
positive-going, so that each negative-going pulse between a pair of
successive positive pulses represents a logic 1, and the absence of
a negative pulse between successive positive pulses represents a
logic 0.
When a complete 27-bit instruction has been stored in the register
113, bits B1, B26 and B27 are used to determine whether the
instruction is a legitimate one. More particularly, the 1 output
from bit B1, the 0 output from bit B26, and the 1 output from bit
B27 are all connected to a NAND gate 115 having a fourth input
connected to a NAND gate 138 to be described in more detail later.
When bits B1 and B27 contain 1's, bit B26 contains a zero, and an
enabling signal is received from gate 138, gate 115 supplies a
disabling signal to one of two inputs to an AND gate 117. As will
be apparent from the ensuing description, if all the necessary
inputs are not supplied to the NAND gate 115, e.g., if bits B1, B26
and B27 do not contain 1, 0, 1, respectively, the resultant
enabling of gate 117 causes a reset pulse to be applied to the
shift register 113, thereby indicating that the instruction
supplied to the register was not legitimate.
Turning now to the receiver system illustrated in FIGS. 4a and 4b,
whenever an instruction word is transmitted to the receiver, a
series of data pulses and shift pulses are transmitted serially
over a single line 110 to a pulse detector and separator 111. The
detector and separator 111 separates the data and shift pulses and
passes the data pulses on through a pulse shaper 112 to a 27-bit
(B1-B27) shift register 113. Each word fed into the shift register
113 comprises 27 bits, corresponding to the 27 bits A10-A36 of the
transmission register 25, so that each word fills the shift
register 113. It will be understood that each of the 27 bits B1-B27
in the shift register 113 has two outputs referred to hereinafter
as the 1 output and the 0 output. In the initial or reset state of
the register, all the bits contain zeros, but when the first data
pulse and shift pulse is applied to the register, the first bit B1
receives and stores a one, indicated by a 1 output. The second data
pulse and shift pulse then transfer 1 output of 81 to the next bit
B2 and stores the next data bit in B1, thereby shifting each data
bit along the shift register until 27 shift pulses have been
received. In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, each data
pulse is negative-going, and each shift pulse is positive-going, so
that each negative-going pulse between a pair of successive
positive pulses represents a logic 1, and the absence of a negative
pulse between successive positive pulses represents a logic 0.
When a complete 27-bit instruction has been stored in the register
113, bits B1, B26 and B27 are used to determine whether the
instruction is a legitimate one. More particularly, the 1 output
from bit B1, the 0 output from bit B26, and the 1 output from bit
B27 are still connected to an NAND gate 115 having a fourth input
connected to an NAND gate 138 to be described in more detail later.
When bits B1 and B27 contain 1's, bit B26 contains a zero, and an
enabling signal is received from gate 138, gate 115 supplies a
disabling signal to one of two inputs to an AND gate 117. As will
be apparent from the ensuing description, if all the necessary
inputs are not supplied to the NAND gate 115, e.g., if bits B1, B26
and B27 do not contain 1, 0, 1, respectively, the resultant
enabling of gate 117 causes a reset pulse to be applied to the
shift register 113, thereby indicating that the instruction
supplied to the register was not legitimate. To prevent the
enabling of AND gate 117 during the shifting of an instruction into
the shift register 113, a single shot multivibrator 132 is
triggered by the first data pulse from the pulse shaper 112. The
resulting output signal from the multivibrator 132 supplies a
disabling signal to the AND gate 117 for a predetermined time
interval longer than the time required to feed a legitimate
instruction into the shift register 113. If a legitimate
instruction is received, the gate 115 supplies a disabling signal
to the AND gate 117 before the termination of the time interval
measured by the single shot multivibrator 132. If a legitimate
instruction is not received, the enabling signal from gate 115
continues, so that when the time interval measured by the
multivibrator 132 is terminated, gate 117 will be enabled thereby
applying a reset pulse to the shift register 113.
Returning now to the shift register 113, bits B2 through B9, which
correspond to bits A10 through A17 of the transmission register 25,
are used to select any of eight column positions at which the ink
supply rate is to be adjusted within a given plate position, at a
given impression cylinder, by automatic control of the ink supply
system. Bit B10 is provided to permit selection of a ninth column
position when necessary, but will not be referred to again herein
because the illustrative system is to be described with particular
reference to a press having only eight column positions within each
plate position.
The illustration system is designed for use with a fountain
adjusting mechanism of the type described in U.S. Pat. No.
2,572,554 to E. M. Worthington, but it will be understood that the
invention is equally applicable to any other type of adjusting
means that is capable of being controlled by electrical signals. In
the system described in the aforementioned patent, blade adjusting
screws are advanced or retracted, to adjust the flexure of the
fountain blade, by means of a shaft which is coupled to selected
adjusting screws by actuating solenoids associated with the
respective screws. When the shaft is turned in one direction, any
adjusting screws coupled thereto are advanced during the interval
that the actuating solenoids are energized; when the shaft is
turned in the opposite direction, the actuated adjusting screws are
retracted during the interval that the solenoids are energized.
In FIG. 4a the circular symbols S1a, S1b, S1c . . . ; S2a, S2b, S2c
. . . ; S3a, S3b, S3c . . . , etc. represent the actuating
solenoids associated with the adjusting screws at the eight column
positions at each of the eight plate positions for the two printing
cylinders in one printing unit. More particularly, the first four
solenoids at each column position, e.g., S1a-S1d, actuate the near,
near center, far center, and far adjusting screws, respectively,
associated with one printing cylinder at that particular column
position, and the last four solenoids, e.g., S1e-S1h, actuate the
near, near center, far center, and far adjusting screws,
respectively, associated with the other printing cylinder at the
same column position. In other words, the vertical position of any
given solenoid in the illustrative solenoid matrix determines the
printing cylinder and the plate position, while the horizontal
position determines the column position. Although the illustrative
solenoid matrix is designed for use with a printing unit having
only two printing cylinders with eight column positions within each
of the four plate positions along each cylinder, it will be
understood that any desired number of solenoids may be provided to
control a corrresponding number of adjusting screws in different
types of printing units, i.e., having different numbers of printing
cylinders and/or column positions.
When an instruction word is transferred out of the shift register
113, bits B2 through B9 determine which of the eight column
positions, represented by the eight horizontal positions of the
solenoids in the illustrative matrix, are to be enabled. More
particularly, any of the bits B2-B9 that contains a 1 supplies an
enabling signal to a corresponding column solenoid driver 114a-114h
which amplifies the signal to the level necessary to enable the
corresponding solenoids. As can be seen in FIG. 4a, an output
signal from any one of the bits B2-B9 enables all eight solenoids
at that particular column position simultaneously; that is, an
enabling signal from bit B2, for example, enables the first column
position solenoid for all eight plate positions, i.e., solenoids
S1a through S1h. Consequently, some further selection is required
to permit adjustment at only selected ones of the eight plate
positions.
Accordingly, the eight solenoids for each plate position, e.g.,
solenoids S1a-S8a, are connected to a corresponding plate position
solenoid driver 121, e.g., solenoids S1a-S8a are connected to
driver 121a. The solenoid drivers 121, in turn, are enabled by
signals from (1) bit B23 selecting the right or left section of the
printing unit; (2) bit B24 selecting the upper (deck) or lower
cylinder of the printing unit, and (3) bits B19-B22 representing,
respectively, the near, near center, far center, and far plate
positions for the selected printing cylinder. To permit selection
of only one printing cylinder in response to the signals from the
cylinder selection bits B23 and B24, the enabling signals from
these two bits are applied to four AND gates 141 through 144
representing, respectively, the right deck cylinder, the left deck
cylinder, the lower right cylinder, and the lower left cylinder.
Thus, the AND gates 141-144 respond to the four different possible
combinations of output signals from the bits B23 and B24 to select
one of the four different printing cylinders. For example, if a 0
signal is received from both bits B23 and B24, AND gate 144
produces an output signal to enable the solenoid drivers 121a-121d
associated with the left printing cylinder. Similarly, if a l
signal is received from bit B23 and a 0 signal from bit B24, AND
gate 143 produces an output signal to enable the solenoid drivers
121e-121h associated with the right printing cylinder. The gates
141 and 142 are not connected to any solenoid drivers in the
illustrative system because the solenoid matrix is designed to
serve only two cylinders, but, as mentioned previously, the
solenoid matrix can be readily expanded to serve additional
cylinders selected by the gates 141 and 142. It will also be noted
at this point that each of the AND gates 141-144 receives a third
input signal, the source and function of which will be described
below
As indicated above, the four bits B19-B22 select the particular
plate position or positions at which the adjustment is to be made
along the cylinder selected by bits B23 and B24. More particularly,
bit B19 enables drivers 121a and 121e associated with the two near
position solenoid groups S1a-S8a and S1e-S8e in the illustrative
embodiment, bit B20 enables drivers 121b and 121f associated with
the two near center solenoid groups S1b-S8b and S1f-S8f, bit B21
enables drivers 121c and 121g associated with the two far center
solenoid groups S1c-S8c and S1g-S8g, and bit B22 enables drivers
121d and 121h associated with the two far solenoid groups S1d-S8d
and S1h-S8h. The other enabling input to the drivers 121a-121h is
supplied by the cylinder selection bits B23 and B24, AND gate 143
enabling drivers 121e-121h associated with the right printing
cylinder, and AND gate 144 enabling drivers 121a-121d associated
with the left printing cylinder.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that even
though the group of eight solenoids at a given column position are
all enabled by a signal from one of the bits B2-B9 of the shift
register 113, any given solenoid within that group cannot be
energized unless it also receives an enabling signal from the
corresponding plate position solenoid driver 121. If an enabling
signal is received from driver 121a, for example, any of the near
plate position solenoids for the first cylinder (solenoids S1a-S8a)
that also receives an enabling signal from one of the column
position bits B2-B9 may be energized. In response to the
energization of any given solenoid, the corresponding adjusting
screw is automatically coupled to the motor-driven shaft as
mentioned previously, and as described in more detail in the
aforementioned Worthington U.S. Pat. No. 2,572,554. As will be
apparent from the ensuing description, any adjusting screw that is
coupled to the motor-driven shaft is not actually turned unless the
driving motor is energized by further selective control functions
to be described below.
The signals described thus far serve to select the particular
printing cylinder, plate position, and column positions at which
the automatic adjustment of the ink supply rate is to be effected.
In addition, the magnitude and direction of the adjustment must be
selected. For the purpose of selecting the desired direction of the
adjustment, bit B25 supplies enabling signals to selected motor
control solenoid drivers 124, 125, 126 and 127 which in turn
control the energization of corresponding motor control solenoids
124a, 125a, 126a and 127a to control the direction of rotation of
the two drive motors associated with the two printing cylinders.
More particularly, if the ink supply rate is to be increased, bit
B25 enables motor control solenoid drivers 124 and 126; if either
of these drivers also receives an enabling signal from one of the
AND gates 143 and 144, the corresponding motor control solenoid
124a or 126a is energized to drive the corresponding motor in a
first direction for retracting the adjusting screws associated
therewith. If the adjusting screw is to be advanced to decrease the
ink feed rate, bit B25 enables motor control solenoid drivers 125
and 127; if either of these drivers also receives an enabling
signal from one of the AND gates 143 and 144, the corresponding
motor control solenoid 125a or 127a is energized to drive the
corresponding motor in the other direction for advancing the
adjusting screws associated therewith. It will be understood that
the two output signals from the one bit B25 can be used as the two
direction control signals because only one of the two motor control
solenoids associated with each motor, e.g., solenoids 124a or 125a,
can be energized during any given adjustment.
For the purpose of controlling the magnitude or degree of any
adjustment initiated by the control system described above, a
conventional down counter 130 is preset by bits B11-B18 in the
shift register 113. This counter 130 counts pulses generated in
response to rotation of the motor-driven shaft controlling the
adjusting screws, e.g., at a rate of one pulse per revolution, with
the count stored in the counter being reduced from the preset count
in response to each input pulse, until it reaches zero. When the
count reaches zero, an output signal is generated and fed to
terminate the adjustment and reset the shift register 113, as will
be described in detail below.
When an instruction word is fed into the shift register 113, bits
B11 through B12, which correspond to bits A19 through A26 of the
transmission register 25, represent the magnitude of the desired
adjustments in the form of a binary number which is strobed into
the down counter 130 simultaneously with the initiation of the
desired adjustment. More particularly, enabling signals from the
bits B11-B18 are applied to corresponding AND gates 131a through
131h, which also receive input signals from an AND gate 133. This
AND gate 133 receives an input signal from the single shot
multivibrator 132, which enables the AND gate 133 during the time
interval measured by the multivibrator 132 after it is triggered by
the first data pulse from the pulse shaper 112. When the gate 115
determines that a legitimate instruction has been received, it
supplies an enabling signal to the second input AND gate 133, via
inverter 116, thereby producing an output signal from gate 133.
Thus, it can be seen that the AND gate 133 does not produce an
output signal until it has been confirmed that a legitimate
instruction word has been stored in the shaft register 113
(indicated by the output signal from AND gate 115) and this output
signal will continue only for the duration of the time interval
measured by the multivibrator 132. In response to the output signal
from the AND gate 133, AND gates 131a through 131h are enabled to
strobe the binary number represented by bits B11-B18 into the down
counter 130 before energization of the adjusting means. Although
one particular form of a down counter 130 has been illustrated in
the drawings, comprising a series of eight flip-flops
interconnected in a conventional manner, it will be understood that
any suitable down counter may be used for this purpose.
The single shot multivibrator 132 also functions to initiate the
adjustment operation by controlling the energization of the
selected column solenoids and the selected motor control solenoids
124-127. More particularly, after termination of the time interval
measured by the single shot multivibrator 132, an enabling signal
is supplied to an AND gate 140, which also receives an enabling
signal from the inverter 116 when a legitimate instruction word has
been stored in the shift register 113. Thus, after a complete word
has been stored in the shift register 113, and after the preset
count has been strobed into the down counter 130, the AND gate 140
produces an output signal which enables the four AND gates 141
through 144 which also receive enabling signals from bits B23 and
B24 as described previously. Thus, regardless of which printing
cylinder is selected by bits B23 and B24, the selected motor
control solenoid and column solenoids are not energized until the
AND gates 141-144 receive the enabling signal from the AND gate
140. In other words, the solenoids will be energized at the end of
the time interval measured by the single shot multivibrator
132.
After energization of the selected motor control solenoid, count
pulses, which are generated in response to rotation of the
motor-driven shaft controlling the adjusting screws, are received
at an input terminal 135 and pass through a pulse amplifier and
shaper 136 to the counter input 137. As will be apparent to those
skilled in the art, the count stored in the counter 130 is
progressively reduced in response to the input pulses until it
reaches zero, at which point a NAND gate 138 senses a zero signal
from each of the eight flip-flops comprising the counter 130. The
resulting output signal from the NAND gate 138 disables NAND gate
115, thereby enabling AND gate 117 to apply a reset signal to the
shift register 113 and to the down counter 130 via OR gate 146.
The resetting of shift register 113 disables the gates 141-144,
thereby deenergizing the previously selected adjusting motor, and
the entire receiver system shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b is then in
condition to receive the next instruction word.
To insure that the shift register 113 and the down counter 130 are
in the reset state whenever power is applied thereto, a "power on"
reset pulse generator 147 produces a reset signal in response to
application of the power. This signal is passed through the OR gate
146 to both the shift register 113 and the down counter 130.
For the purpose of generating the busy signal referred to
previously in the description of the transmission system of FIGS.
3a and 3b, the NAND gate 115 supplies an enabling signal to a busy
signal generator 150 during the same interval that it supplies a
disabling signal to the AND gate 117. Consequently, a busy signal
is generated and transmitted back to the receiver status detector
73 via line 110 and receiver selector 62, continuously from the
time the NAND gate 115 detects a legitimate instruction until the
receiver system is reset. As described previously, this busy signal
prevents the transmission of another instruction to the receiver as
long as a press adjustment is being carried out in response to a
signal previously transmitted to that same receiver.
Although the invention has been described with particular reference
to the use of the illustrative control system to control the ink
supply rate, it will be apparent that the system provided by this
invention is equally applicable to the control of other press
variables that can be made responsive to electrical signals, either
for presetting the press or for making adjustments during a press
run. For example, both sidelay register and circumferential
register of the printing cylinders can be controlled by the system
of this invention. A typical mechanism for adjusting both sidelay
register and circumferential register is illustrated in FIG. 5, in
which a plate cylinder 210 is journaled at one end for rotation in
a housing 211. Bearings 212 are secured within the housing 211, and
the entire housing 211 is mounted for movement axially in response
to axial movement of a shaft 213 which is threaded into a
stationary bracket 214 connected to the press frame. Axial movement
of the shaft 213 and the housing 211 is effected by means of a gear
215 connected to the free, outer end of the shaft 213, the gear 215
meshing with a gear 216 driven by a reversible electric motor 217.
As the motor 217 drives the shaft 213 via gears 215 and 216, the
housing 211 and thus the plate cylinder 210 are moved in the axial
direction so as to effect axial or sidelay register of the plate
cylinder. It will be understood that sidelay registration is
typically utilized in a press to achieve proper alinement of each
plate cylinder with respect to other plate cylinders in the press
as well as the web that is being printed.
To effect circumferential register of the plate cylinder 210, the
opposite end thereof is connected to a motor-driven mechanism for
displacing the cylinder 210 in the circumferential direction. This
end of the plate cylinder 210 is journaled in a housing 218 which
is also mounted for axial movement relative to the press frame so
as to accommodate adjustments in the axial position of the cylinder
as effected by the motor 217. To adjust the circumferential
position of the cylinder 210, the end of the plate cylinder
projects beyond the housing 218 where it carries a drive gear 219
which is splined to the cylinder shaft so that the cylinder is free
to move axially relative to the gear. The gear 219 is a helical
gear and meshes with co-acting gears in the drive train.
The hub 220 of the gear 219 is connected through a bearing 221 to a
shaft 222 that is threaded through a stationary bracket 223 secured
to the press frame. The free, outer end of the shaft 222 is
connected to a reversible drive motor 224. Consequently, when the
drive motor 224 is energized in either direction, the gear 219 is
moved axially relative to the plate cylinder journal, and since the
gear 219 is of the helical type, the axial movement thereof
advances or retracts the plate cylinder 210 relative to the drive
train and the cylinders of adjacent units to bring the printed
impressions into register with each other.
As can be seen from FIG. 5 and the foregoing description thereof,
in order to effect sidelay register of the plate cylinder 210 it is
necessary to energize the reversible motor 217 in a selected
direction for a selected time, and to effect circumferential
adjustment of the cylinder it is necessary to energize the
reversible drive motor 224 in a selected direction for a selected
time. It is also necessary to select the drive motor 217 and/or 224
associated with the particular plate cylinder to be adjusted. In
the illustrative control system described previously, these
variables can all be automatically controlled by using the bits in
the output selector register to select the particular receiver
system (or printing unit) to which each instruction signal is to be
sent, using bits B23 and B24 in the receiver system to select the
particular cylinder to be adjusted at the selected printing unit
(either for presetting or for adjustment during a run), using bits
B11-B18 to select the magnitude of the adjustment, and using bit
B25 to select the direction of the cylinder adjustment. An
additional bit may be provided in both the transmission and
receiver systems to discriminate control signals for cylinder
registration adjustments from control signals for adjusting other
press variables. Other aspects of the system, including use of the
stored program controller 21 to select a specific cylinder in
response to an input signal representing a page number, are the
same as described above for control of the ink supply rate, except
that there is no need to select column and plate positions.
Similarly, the illustrative control system may be used to adjust
the compensators which control "cut-off" or longitudinal register
of the printed webs. Compensator adjustment mechanisms are well
known in the art, and are exemplified by Frommer U.S. Pat. No.
3,031,118 and Corlett U.S. Pat. No. 2,521,691, for example. As in
the case of the cylinder registration system described above, the
bits in the output selector register may be used to select the
particular receiver system (or printing unit) to which each
instruction signal is to be sent, using bits B23 and B24 in the
receiver system to select the particular compensator to be adjusted
at the selected printing unit (either for presetting or for
adjustment during a press run), using bits B11-B18 to select the
magnitude of the adjustment, and using bit B25 to select the
direction of the compensator adjustment. An additional bit may be
provided in both the transmission and receiver systems to
discriminate control signals for compensator adjustments from
control signals for adjusting other press variables. Other aspects
of the system, including use of the stored program controller 21 to
select a specific compensator in response to an input signal
representing a page number, are the same as described above for
control of the ink supply rate, except that there is no need to
select column and plate positions.
Other press functions that can be controlled by the illustrative
system are "margin control" (transverse register of the printed
web), web tension, folders and the like; as in the case of the
cylinder register and compensator adjustments, each of these
functions can be controlled by using bits A37-A40 of the output
selector register to select the particular receiver system to which
each instruction signal is to be sent, using bits B23 and B24 to
select the particular adjusting mechanism to be actuated by the
instruction signal (either for presetting or for adjustment during
a run), using bits B11-B18 to select the magnitude of the
adjustment, and using bit B25 to select the direction of the
adjustment. Also, as in the case of the cylinder register and
compensator, additional bits may be provided in both the
transmitter and receiver systems to discriminate among the control
signals for the various adjusting mechanisms and to direct each
signal to the appropriate adjusting station in the press. Such
additional bits may be included in the instruction signals
generated by the stored program controller 21 in response to
additional input signals produced, for example, by depression of
supplementary buttons 200 on the keyboard 40 shown in FIG. 2. The
system of the invention may also be used to control appropriate
variables in offset presses, such as water control or dampening and
the like.
It is understood that the term "column positions" as used herein
simply refers to a plurality of adjustment stations spaced along
the width of a printing cylinder, and does not necessarily
correspond to the actual columns on the printed page. Indeed, in
the printing of a tabloid newspaper, it is conventional to have the
columns extending across the width of the web, so there is no
relationship whatever between the printed columns and the column
positions in the press.
* * * * *