U.S. patent number 3,835,777 [Application Number 05/324,113] was granted by the patent office on 1974-09-17 for ink density control system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Harris-Intertype Corporation. Invention is credited to Algirdas J. Krygeris.
United States Patent |
3,835,777 |
Krygeris |
September 17, 1974 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
INK DENSITY CONTROL SYSTEM
Abstract
Control of ink supply in a printing press in accordance with
sensing of the density of ink being printed on imprint-receiving
material, wherein sensing measurements are made and smoothed by
considering previous printing press cycles and wherein the smoothed
measurement is compared to a desired predetermined standard density
and the ink feed is adjusted accordingly. Erratic density
measurements are automatically identified and disregarded.
Interaction between adjacent ink adjustment keys of the ink feed
mechanism is automatically taken into account, and lift-off of keys
from an ink fountain blade of the mechanism is prevented.
Proportional, derivative, and integral control signals are produced
and combined to provide a composite control signal for the ink
feed. The invention may be implemented by analog or digital
embodiments.
Inventors: |
Krygeris; Algirdas J. (Richmond
Heights, OH) |
Assignee: |
Harris-Intertype Corporation
(Cleveland, OH)
|
Family
ID: |
23262135 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/324,113 |
Filed: |
January 16, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
101/350.4;
101/365; 250/226 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B41F
31/045 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B41F
31/04 (20060101); B41c 007/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;101/363-365,349-350,148,426 ;250/226,219 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pulfrey; Robert E.
Assistant Examiner: Coven; E. M.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a printing press, a method of controlling the feeding of ink
from an ink fountain to a printing member for printing images
during successive impression cycles onto a material comprising the
steps of: cyclically measuring the density of ink deposited on the
material and establishing first signals representing the
measurements, establishing second and third signals representing
maximum and minimum acceptable values of density, respectively,
comparing the first signals with said second and third signals,
blocking those of said first signals that are greater than or
smaller than said second and third signals, respectively, and
passing the acceptable first signals whose values are between the
values of said second and third signals, periodically producing a
control signal in dependence upon said acceptable first signals,
and varying the feeding of ink from the ink fountain in response to
deviation of said control signal from a value corresponding to a
specified ink density to reduce said deviation.
2. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim 1
wherein said second and third signals representing maximum and
minimum acceptable values are established by establishing at least
one tolerance signal indicating predetermined tolerance margins
from an effective running average of previous acceptable first
signals, establishing a running density signal indicating an
effective averaging of previous acceptable values of said first
signals, and combining said tolerance and running density signals
to establish the acceptable values for maximum and minimum
measurements.
3. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim 1
and wherein establishing said signals representing the minimum
acceptable values comprises establishing a predetermined first
minimum value signal, establishing a running density signal from an
effective running averaging of previous acceptable first signals,
automatically subtracting a tolerance signal from said running
density signal to produce a second minimum value signal, and
employing the greater of said first and second minimum value
signals to serve as said third signal for comparison with said
first signals.
4. The method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
1 and further comprising the steps of: establishing an error signal
that is representative of said deviation, producing a primary
signal that is responsive to only a present value of said error
signal, producing a secondary signal that is a function of a
derivative of said error signal, said derivative being taken with
respect to a quantity that varies monotonically with time,
producing a tertiary signal that is a function of an integral of
said error signal with respect to said quantity, combining said
primary, secondary, and tertiary signals to produce a composite
control signal, and varying the feeding of the ink from the
fountain in response to said composite control signal.
5. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim 4
and wherein the quantity that varies monotonically with time is the
number of impression cycles of the printing press.
6. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim 1
and wherein said varying of the feeding of ink comprises the steps
of establishing a first error signal indicative of said deviation,
modifying said first error signal to provide a second error signal
which varies disproportionately in accordance with a nonlinear
compression function of said first error signal, the feeding of ink
being varied as a function of said second error signal, whereby a
varying of said feeding of ink is less than a proportionate amount
as said deviation increases.
7. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim 6
and wherein said step of modifying said first error signal in
accordance with a nonlinear compression function comprises the step
of modifying to provide a second error signal which varies in
accordance with the square root of said first error signal when
said first error signal is positive, and in accordance with the
negative of the square root of the magnitude of said first error
signal when said first error signal is negative.
8. In a printing press, a method of controlling the feeding of ink
from an ink fountain to a printing member for printing images
during successive impression cycles onto a material comprising the
steps of: establishing an error signal that is representative of a
desired change in the rate of feeding of ink from the fountain,
producing a first signal that is responsive to only a present value
of said error signal, producing a second signal that is a function
of a derivative of said error signal, said derivative being taken
with respect to a quantity that varies monotonically with time,
producing a third signal that is a function of an integral of said
error signal with respect to said quantity, combining said first,
second and third signals to produce a composite control signal, and
varying the feeding of the ink from the fountain in response to
said composite control signal.
9. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim 8
and wherein the quantity that varies monotonically with time is the
number of impression cycles of the printing press.
10. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
8 and wherein said step of producing said second signal comprises
the steps of storing one value of said error signal as produced
during one cycle of the press, establishing a second value of said
error signal as produced during a later cycle of the press, an
inanimately subtracting said one value of error signal from the
later-produced value of error signal to produce said second
signal.
11. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
8 and wherein said step of establishing an error signal comprises
the steps of cyclically measuring the density of ink deposited on
the material, producing density signals representing said
measurements, establishing at least one reference signal
corresponding to a desired density of ink, and inanimately
subtracting one of said density and reference signals from the
other one to establish said error signal.
12. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
8 and wherein establishing an error signal comprises the steps of:
cyclically measuring the density of ink deposited on the material
and establishing a density signal dependent upon the measurements,
producing a first control signal indicative of deviation of said
density signal from a specified ink density value, modifying said
first control signal to provide a second control signal which
varies disproportionately in accordance with a nonlinear
compression function of said first control signal, said error
signal being varied as a function of said second control signal,
whereby a varying of said error signal is less than proportionate
amount as said deviation increases.
13. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
12 and wherein said step of modifying said first control signal in
accordance with a nonlinear compression function comprises the step
of modifying to provide a second control signal which varies in
accordance with the square root of said first control signal when
said first control signal is positive, and in accordance with the
negative of the square root of the magnitude of said first control
signal when said first control signal is negative.
14. In a printing press, a method of controlling the feeding of ink
from an ink fountain to a printing member for printing images
during successive impression cycles onto a material, comprising the
steps of: cyclically measuring the density of ink deposited on the
material and producing a principal control signal in dependence
upon the measurements, varying the feeding of ink from the ink
fountain by adjusting a setting of at least one ink feed control
element of said fountain in response to deviation of said principal
control signal from a preestablished ink density value, detecting
the occurrence of a change in the printing process that would be
capable of later affecting the density of the ink deposited if no
compensating change were made in the setting of said ink feed
control element, producing an additional signal indicative of said
occurrence before said occurrence has substantially altered said
principal control signal, and additionally adjusting said ink feed
control element in response to said additional signal and
independently of the value of said principal control signal to
effect compensation for said occurrence.
15. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
14 and wherein the step of cyclically measuring comprises a step of
measuring in synchronism with press impression cycles.
16. In a printing press, a method of controlling the feeding of ink
from an ink fountain to a printing member for printing images
during successive impression cycles onto a material, comprising the
steps of: cyclically measuring the density of ink deposited on the
material and establishing a first signal dependent upon the
measurements, producing a first control signal indicative of
deviation of said first signal from a specified ink density value,
and varying the feeding of ink from the ink fountain in response to
said first control signal, wherein said step of varying the feeding
of ink comprises the step of modifying said first control signal to
provide a second control signal which varies disproportionately in
accordance with a nonlinear compression function of said first
control signal, the feeding of ink being varied as a function of
said second control signal, whereby a varying of said feeding of
ink is less than a proportionate amount as said deviation
increases.
17. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
16 and wherein said nonlinear compression function is adjustable as
to degree of nonlinearity of said second control signal with
respect to said first control signal.
18. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
16 and wherein said step of modifying said first control signal in
accordance with a nonlinear compression function comprises the step
of modifying to provide a second control signal which varies in
accordance with the square root of said first control signal when
said first control signal is positive, and in accordance with the
negative of the square root of the magnitude of said first control
signal when said first control signal is negative.
19. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
16 and wherein the varying of the feeding of ink is done in
accordance with a composite signal comprising at least two of the
following three components of signal: (a) said second control
signal, (b) a second component of signal dependent upon an integral
of said first component, and (c) a third component of signal
dependent upon a derivative of said first component, said integral
and said derivative being with respect to occurrences that are
successive in time.
20. In a printing press, a method of controlling the feeding of ink
from an ink fountain to a printing member for printing images
during successive impression cycles onto a material, comprising the
steps of: cyclically measuring the density of ink deposited on the
material and establishing a first signal dependent upon the
measurements, producing a control signal indicative of deviation of
said first signal from a specified ink density value, varying the
feeding of ink from the ink fountain in dependence upon said
control signal, providing a further signal during each cycle
indicative of whether or not said press is currently cyclically
printing onto said print-receiving material, and blocking at least
one of said steps listed preceding said step of providing a further
signal to prevent said varying of the feeding of ink when said
further signal indicates that the press is not currently
printing.
21. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
20 and comprising the additional step, following the step of
providing a further signal, of providing an additional signal
indicative of whether or not a predetermined time delay has expired
since the press started to cyclically print onto said
print-receiving material, and wherein said step of blocking
comprises blocking at least one of the steps listed preceding said
step of providing a further signal of said additional signal
indicates that said time delay has not expired.
22. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
21 and wherein said predetermined time delay corresponds to a
predetermined number of printing impressions.
23. In a printing press, a method of controlling the feeding of ink
from an ink fountain to a printing member for printing images
during successive impression cycles onto a material, comprising the
steps of: providing a plurality of ink feed control elements
laterally spaced along the ink fountain and adjustable by signals
to greater and smaller positions for controlling the flow of ink,
establishing a plurality of signals the value of each of which
represents a tentative position of a group of at least one of said
ink feed control elements, inanimately computing the difference
between a pair of said tentative positions corresponding to a pair
of adjacent laterallyspaced groups of said control elements,
comprising said difference with a predetermined maximum allowable
difference, modifying the value of at least one of said pair of
signals toward the value of the other signal of the pair to reduce
said difference to said maximum allowable difference if said
difference initially exceeds said maximum allowable difference,
substituting the modified value of signal for its pre-modification
value to represent a modified tentative position of the
corresponding group of said control elements, repeating the
foregoing steps of computing, modifying, and substituting with
pairs of said groups of control elements until all pairs have been
modified so as not to exceed said maximum allowable difference, and
adjusting said groups of control elements to positions in
accordance with the modified values of said signals.
24. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
23 and wherein the first pair of tentative positions whose
difference is computed corresponds to an extreme group of control
elements whose tentative position is at least as great as the
tentative position of any other group of control elements, the
other group of the first pair being laterally adjacent to said
extreme group on a first side of said extreme group, and where the
second pair whose difference is computed corresponds to said
extreme group and to an adjacent group on a second side of said
extreme group, and wherein subsequently treated pairs are treated
in descending order of extremity of position similarly until all
adjacent pairs of groups have been treated, and wherein said step
of modifying the value of at least one of said signals of said pair
comprises the step of modifying the signal of said pair
corresponding to the control group having the less extreme
tentative position.
25. A method of controlling the feeding of ink as defined in claim
23 and wherein the pair of laterallyspaced control groups whose
difference is computed first consists of an extreme group whose
tentative position is at least as small as the tentative position
of any other group, the other group of the first pair being
laterally adjacent to said extreme group on a first side of said
extreme group and where the pair whose difference is computed
second consists of said extreme group and an adjacent group on a
second side of said extreme group, and wherein subsequently treated
pairs are treated in ascending order of extremity of position
similarly until all adjacent pairs of groups have been treated, and
wherein said step of modifying the value of at least one of said
signals of said pair comprises the step of modifying the signal of
said pair corresponding to the group having the greater tentative
position.
26. In a printing press which has a printing member printing images
onto a material during successive impression cycles, an ink control
apparatus comprising a source of ink, an inker for feeding ink at a
controllable rate from the source of ink onto the printing member
including first means having at least one adjustable ink control
device for varying said rate of feeding ink, means for successively
measuring printed densities of the images on the material and
successively producing signals in dependence thereon for adjustment
of said first means, means for establishing limiting values between
which said signals are more reliable indicators of density for ink
control purposes than are signals outside of said limiting values,
and circuit means receiving said signals and said limiting values
and comparing said signals with said limiting values for rendering
ineffectual for ink control those of said signals that are outside
of said limiting values.
27. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 26 and wherein
said circuit means further comprises means for producing a
reference signal, and feedback means adapted and arranged for
automatically adjusting said first means in dependence upon said
signals and said reference signal.
28. In a printing press which has a printing member printing images
onto a material during successive impression cycles, an ink control
apparatus comprising a source of ink, an inker for feeding ink at a
controllable rate from the source of ink onto the printing member
including means comprising at least one adjustable able ink control
device for varying said rate of feeding ink, first means for
periodically measuring printed densities of the images on the
material and periodically producing measurement signals in
dependence thereon, data memory means for storing indicia of
density of print determined as a function of the measurements of
said first means, second means for receiving said measurement
signals and said indicia from said data memory means and
periodically combining them to produce a new indicia and for
replacing the previous indicia with said new indicia in said data
memory means upon production of each new indicia, and circuit means
for successively receiving said new indicia for use in adjusting
said ink control device in dependence thereon, said second means
comprising means for discounting said previous indicia at a
predetermined rate when combining them with said measurement
signals.
29. In a printing press which has a printing member printing images
onto a material during successive impression cycles, an ink control
apparatus comprising a source of ink, an inker for feeding ink at a
controllable rate from the source of ink onto the printing member
including means comprising at least one adjustable ink control
device for varying said rate of feeding ink, first means for
periodically measuring printed densities of the images on the
material and periodically producing measurement signals in
dependence thereon, data memory means for a storing a running value
indicating density of print determined as a function of the
measurements of said first means, second means for receiving said
measurement signals and said running value from said data memory
means and periodically producing a new running value and for
replacing the previous running value with said new running value in
said data memory means upon production of each new running value,
and circuit means for successively receiving said new running value
for use in adjusting said ink control device in dependence
thereon.
30. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 29 and wherein
said circuit means further comprises means for producing a
reference signal, and feedback means adapted and arranged for
automatically adjusting said ink control device in dependence upon
said new running value and said reference signal.
31. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 29 and wherein
said second means comprises means for combining each measurement
signal with the running value stored in said data memory means in a
weighted average in which the stored running value has (K-1) times
as much weight as does said measurement signal, K being a
predetermined number greater than 1.
32. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 31 and wherein
said means for combining comprises filter means having a nominal
cutoff frequency for attenuating signals which are above said
frequency much more than signals which are below it, said filter
means comprising a one-pole, electrical analog low-pass filter.
33. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 32 and wherein
said filter means further comprises means for sensing frequency of
impressions made by said printing press, and means for altering
said nominal cutoff frequency to maintain said cutoff frequency
proportional to said frequency of impressions.
34. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 31 wherein digital
computer means provides said data memory means and said second
means for computing said weighted average.
35. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 34 and wherein
said digital computer means further comprises means for storing the
latest-received signal, D, of said measurement signals and said
number K; means for subtracting said running value from said signal
D to produce a difference; means for dividing said difference by
said number K to produce a quotient; and means for adding said
quotient to said running value stored in said data memory means to
produce said new running value.
36. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 29 and wherein
said circuit means for adjusting said ink control device comprises
a source of reference signals, a comparator connected to receive
and compare said new running value and said reference signals and
to produce an error signal proportioned to a difference between
them, and sub-circuit means receiving said error signal and
connected with said adjustable ink control device for adjusting
said device as a compression function of said error signal, said
sub-circuit means comprising means receiving said error signal and
providing nonlinearly therefrom a second signal for adjusting said
ink control device, whereby a varying of said rate of feeding ink
is less than a proportionate amount as said error signal increases
in magnitude.
37. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 36 and wherein the
magnitude of adjustment of said ink control device produced by said
sub-circuit means is porportioned to the square root of the
magnitude of said error signal, and a directional sign of said
adjustment tracks the sign of said error signal.
38. In a printing press which has a printing member printing images
onto a material during successive impression cycles, an ink control
apparatus comprising a source of ink, an inker for feeding ink at a
controllable rate from the source of ink onto the printing member
including means comprising at least one adjustable ink control
device for varying said rate of feeding ink, means for successively
measuring printed densities of the images on the material and
successively producing measurement signals in dependence thereon, a
source of reference signals, a comparator connected to receive and
compare said measurement signals and said reference signals and to
produce an error signal proportioned to a difference between them,
and circuit means receiving said error signals and connected with
said adjustable ink control device for adjusting said device as a
compression function of said error signal, said circuit means
comprising means receiving said error signal and providing
non-linearly therefrom a second signal for adjusting said ink
control device, whereby a varying of said rate of feeding ink is
less than a proportionate amount as said error signal increases in
magnitude.
39. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 38 and wherein the
magnitude of adjustment of said ink control device produced by said
circuit means is proportioned to the square root of the magnitude
of said error signal, and the directional sign of said adjustment
tracks the sign of said error signal.
40. In a printing press which has a printing member printing images
onto a material during successive impression cycles, an ink control
apparatus comprising a source of ink, an inker including a fountain
for adjustably feeding ink from the source of ink onto the printing
member including means comprising a plurality of ink control
devices laterally spaced at locations along said fountain and
adjustable to different settings for varying rates of feeding ink
respectively at said locations, means for producing a plurality of
signals corresponding to proposed settings for said ink control
devices, means for computing data for each subject ink control
device representing af inal setting which provides the greater ink
flow of the following two settings: said proposed setting, or, a
setting which is less than the final setting of an adjacent ink
control device by a predetermined amount, memory means for storing
said data until said data has been computed for all of said
plurality of ink control devices, and means for reading said data
from said memory means and simultaneously adjusting all of said ink
control devices to said final settings in accordance with said data
automatically when all of said data have been computed.
41. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 40 and wherein
said means for producing a plurality of signals corresponding to
proposed settings comprises a plurality of means connected
respectively with said ink control devices for sensing actual
settings thereof and producing indicia respectively of said actual
settings, and means for algebraically adding proposed increments
and decrements to said indicia to produce said plurality of signals
corresponding to proposed settings.
42. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 41 and wherein
said means for simultaneously adjusting all of said ink control
devices to said final settings comprises actuator means drivably
connected with said ink control devices for adjustably driving said
ink control devices by electrical drive signals, and said means for
computing comprises computer means receiving said indicia of said
actual settings and receiving said signals corresponding to
proposed settings for providing said electrical drive signals, said
computer means comprising arithmetic means for adding said
predetermined amount to said proposed setting of said subject ink
control device to produce a sum and subtracting said sum from the
prospective setting of said adjacent ink control device to produce
a difference, means for ascertaining whether or not said difference
has a positive sign, means for enabling said electrical drive
signal of said subject ink control device only if said difference
has a positive sign, and means for establishing a value of said
electrical drive signal of said subject ink control device
proportioned to drive said subject ink control device to a final
actual setting which is less than the final actual setting of said
adjacent ink control device by said predetermined amount.
43. In a printing press which has a printing member printing images
onto a material during successive impression cycles, an ink control
apparatus comprising a source of ink, an inker including a fountain
for adjustably feeding ink from the source of ink onto the printing
member including means comprising a plurality of ink control
devices laterally spaced at locations along said fountain and
adjustable to different settings for varying rates of feeding ink
respectively at said locations, means for producing a plurality of
signals corresponding to proposed settings for said ink control
devices, means for computing data for each subject ink control
device representing a final setting which provides the smaller ink
flow of the following two settings: said proposed setting, or, a
setting which is greater than the final setting of an adjacent ink
control device by a predetermined amount, memory means for storing
said data until said data has been computed for all of said
plurality of ink control devices, and means for reading said data
from said memory means and simultaneously adjusting all of said ink
control devices to said final settings in accordance with said
data.
44. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 43 wherein each of
said ink control devices comprises a group of one or more
contiguous ink control elements.
45. In a printing press which has a printing member printing image
onto a material during successive impression cycles, an ink control
apparatus comprising a source of ink, an ink fountain having at
least one ink feed control element for feeding ink to the printing
member from said source, means for producing a first control
signal, means for varying the feeding of ink from the ink fountain
by adjusting a setting of at least one ink feed control element of
said fountain in response to said first control signal, means for
detecting the occurrence of a change in the printing process that
would be capable of later affecting the density of the ink
deposited on the material if no compensating change were made in
the setting of said ink feed control element, means for producing a
second signal indicative of said occurrence before said occurrence
has substantially altered said ink density, and means for
additionally adjusting said ink feed control element in response to
said second signal and independently of the value of said first
control signal to effect compensation for said occurrence.
46. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 45 and wherein
said fountain includes means comprising a plurality of groups of at
least one ink feed control element laterally spaced at locations
along said fountain and adjustable within limits to different
settings for varying the rates of feeding ink at said respective
locations, and wherein said means for producing a first control
signal comprises means for producing a command signal for
establishing a proposed rate of ink feed for at least one of said
ink control elements, means including computer means for detecting
a condition wherein a proposed setting corresponding to said
proposed rate of ink feed would exceed one of said limits and would
leave a deficiency portion in said proposed rate, said ink control
apparatus further including master control means for altering rates
of feeding ink simultaneously across the entire fountain upon
receiving a master signal, and means for producing a master signal
to adjust said master control means to bring said element as
adjusted by said first control signal within said limits, and
wherein said means for producing a second signal comprises means
responsive to the occurrence of the adjustment of said master
control means, and wherein said means for additionally adjusting
comprises means for adjusting the others of said elements to
counteract their change in ink feed due to the change in said
master control means.
47. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 46 and wherein
said means for producing a command signal and said means for
detecting a condition and said means for producing a master signal,
comprise digital computer means.
48. In a printing press which has a printing member printing images
onto a material during successive impression cycles, an ink control
apparatus comprising a source of ink, an inker for feeding ink at a
controllable rate from the source of ink onto the printing member
including means having at least one adjustable ink feed control
element for varying said rate of feeding ink, means for
establishing an error signal that is representative of a desired
change in the rate of feeding ink from said ink feed control
elements, means for storing data defining a functional relationship
between values of said error signal and amounts of change of
setting of said feed control element which would substantially
effect said desired change, means for using said error signal to
inanimately compute as a function of at least said error signal and
said stored relationship an amount representing the change of
setting of said feed control element which would substantially
effect said desired change in the rate of feeding ink, means for
sensing the current position of said feed control elements and
producing a position-indicating signal accordingly, means for
algebraically adding the computed amount to said
position-indicating signal to produce a sum signal representing a
prospective new position for the feed control element, and means
for operating said feed control element to said prospective new
position, said means for establishing an error signal comprising
means for cyclically measuring the density of ink deposited on the
material and establishing a first signal dependent upon the
measurements, and means for producing said error signal in response
to deviation of said first signal from a specified ink density
value.
49. In a printing press which has a printing member printing images
onto a material during successive impression cycles, an ink control
apparatus comprising a source of ink, an ink fountain for feeding
ink to the printing member from said source, means for cyclically
measuring the density of ink deposited on the material and
establishing a first signal dependent upon the measurements, means
for producing a control signal indicative of deviation of said
first signal from a specified ink density value, means for varying
the feeding of ink from the ink fountain in dependence upon said
control signal, means for providing a further signal during each
cycle indicative of whether or not said press is currently
cyclically printing onto said print-receiving material, and means
for disabling at least one of the aforesaid elements to prevent
said varying of the feeding of ink when said further signal
indicates that the press is not currently printing.
50. In a printing press which has a printing member printing images
onto a material during successive cycles, an ink control apparatus
comprising a source of ink, an inker including a fountain for
adjustably feeding ink from the source of ink onto the printing
member including means comprising a plurality of ink control
devices laterally spaced at locations along said fountain and
adjustable by means of signals to different settings for varying
rates of feeding ink respectively at said locations, means for
producing a plurality of data corresponding to proposed changes of
settings for those of said ink control devices whose settings it is
currently desired to change, memory means for storing said data
until said data are available for all of said plurality of ink
control devices, and means for reading said data from said memory
means and simultaneously adjusting all of said ink control devices
whose settings it is currently desired to change to proposed
settings in accordance with said data automatically when all of
said data are available in said memory means.
51. In a printing press which has a plurality of printing units
each having a printing member printing images onto a material
during successive impression cycles and an ink control apparatus
comprising a source of ink for each printing unit and an inker for
each printing unit for feeding ink at a controllable rate from the
source of ink onto the printing member including first means having
at least one adjustable ink control device for varying said rate of
feeding ink, a plurality of sensor means each to be selectably
associated with a respective one of said printing units for
successively measuring printed densities of the images placed on
the material by the associated printing unit and successively
producing signals in dependence thereon for adjustment of the
respective first means for the printing unit, and switching means
having a switch status for every permutation in which said sensor
means can be associated with the various printing units and
selectively actuatable to any one of said statuses for selecting
one such permutation.
52. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 51 and further
comprising a plurality of display means each one of which remains
associated with the same respective printing unit irrespective of
the status of said switching means.
53. An ink control apparatus as defined in claim 51 and wherein
said switching means comprises a digital computer including memory
means for storing data descriptive of all of said permutations,
said computer including means responsive to input data for
selecting one of said permutations.
Description
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Two co-pending U.S. applications which involve ink density control
systems and that are related to the present application are:
application Ser. No. 73,319, of Jean R. Gaillochet, filed Sept. 18,
1970, and entitled "An Automatic Device for the Remote Adjustment
of the Inking Blade of a Printing Machine" and a continuation
application Ser. No. 182,538 now U.S. Pat. No. 3747524 of James N.
Crum, filed Sept. 21, 1971, and entitled "Ink Fountain Key Control
System."
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates primarily to a system for controlling the
printing occurring in a printing press, by constantly monitoring or
sensing the resultant print placed on print-receiving material,
comparing it with a desired predetermined standard, and varying the
feed of ink to said material in accordance with deviations from
said standard.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Attempts to accomplish this result have become increasingly
apparent in recent years. In an approach as shown and described in
U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,484, issued to Koyak on Nov. 21, 1968, the
thickness of ink on selected lateral portions of a printing press
inker is monitored, and ink fountain keys aligned with the
monitored section of the inker are adjusted correspondingly. Both
the monitoring means and the adjusting means move laterally across
the press inker and ink fountain and perform their monitoring and
control function on a periodic basis.
Another form of apparatus for performing the general objectives of
this invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,567,923, issued to
Hutchison on Mar. 2, 1971. In this latter approach, the color
density of ink on a printed web is sensed in a plurality of
locations across the web and the speed of an ink fountain roll is
increased or decreased according to an average of the several
density measurements. Slight variations in density within a certain
"dead band" of a reference signal are ignored and do not effect a
control function. At selected periods controlled by a timer, sample
measurements are made, and if the control signal is outside the
predetermined "dead band," a control function occurs to increase or
decrease the flow of ink across the entire width of the inkers.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,969,016 for Colour Printing issued to J.F.
Crosfield et al. on Jan. 24, 1961, describes apparatus for
measuring ink density by scanning printed patches, and suggests
that corrections to the ink flow could be made automatically.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An inker control suitable for closed-loop or open-loop operation is
provided with a plurality of ink density sensors located to monitor
ink laid on print-receiving material across its width. Keys of an
ink fountain are similarly located in line with the sensors and are
individually or group responsive to the sensors to maintain ink
feed from the fountain at a rate required to maintain the print
density at the level of a predetermined standard with which signals
from the sensors are compared.
Since various printing jobs are run at different press speeds, and
since each printing job is normally run at a slower speed during a
"make-ready" period as compared to a production speed, periodic
control signals are related to press cycles or revolutions instead
of to time. In addition, in order to establish each control signal,
a plurality of density measurements are made, and these
measurements are combined to provide an error signal which is
indicative of many samples taken during different press cycles.
Especially in lithographic printing, where the combined effects of
ink and water may provide a large error in a single sample, this is
important to avoid overcompensating. This system provides a
"smoothing" action in the response of the ink feed to the cyclical
measurement, and is relatively non-responsive to such occurrences
as an ink-water imbalance due to a press trip-off for only a few
press cycles.
Another aspect of the invention relates to control of neighboring
or adjacent ink keys in a fashion which would prevent a tendency to
destroy the effectiveness of the system resulting from certain of
the keys moving out of contact relative to the ink fountain blade
with which they cooperate.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Other aspects and features of the invention will become more
apparent upon consideration of the following description taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 shows one printing unit of a printing press having an ink
fountain and an ink density control system;
FIG. 2 is a mechanical schematic view of an ink fountain showin
individual control elements such as keys for controlling the
lateral distribution of ink;
FIG. 3 shows a cylinder of the printing unit, several printed
density test patches, and desitometer sensing heads for inspecting
the test patches;
FIG. 4 shows an edge view of a cylinder of the printing unit and
the placement of a densitometer head for reading optical densities
from printed material;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electronic control circuit of an
analog embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a graph of optical density of test patches as a function
of the number of impression imprinted on material passing through
the press, a first curve being shown for a prior art system and
another for the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a graph of ink key position for a typical ink key as a
function of the number of impressions imprinted on material passing
through the press before and after a sudden change in optical
density of printing is detected;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a portion of an electronic control
circuit for an alternate form of analog embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 8A shows an analog embodiment switching circuit for
associating each densitometer channel with a printing unit in a
multiple-unit press;
FIG. 8B is a table of possible pairings of densitometer channels
with printing units in a multiple-unit press;
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of portions of the electronic control
circuit for a digital computer embodiment of the invention showing
especially the optical density sensing portions of the
equipment;
FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram of internal components of a
digital computer employed in the digital embodiment of the
invention;
FIg. 11 is a block diagram showing some details of the digital
computer which relate to interfacing of the computer with external
circuits;
FIG. 12 is a flow chart of "interrupt" controls of the digital
computer;
FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the utilization of press
on-pressure signals and time-delay signals by the computer when
obtaining density data from the density sensors;
FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing processing of sensed densitometer
data in the digital computer embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 15 is a graph illustrating the operation of a density reading
validity test subroutine, by which erratic density readings are
identified and rejected in both the analog and digital embodiments
of the invention;
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing portions of a digital embodiment
which are related to actuators for operating ink keys of the ink
fountains of the printing unit; and
FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing steps in a process for preventing
lift-off of keys from the fountain blade in presses in which a
unitary fountain blade is employed.
ANALOG COMPUTER EMBODIMENT
Press Inking
Referring now to the drawings, which are only for illustrating the
preferred embodiments and not for limiting the invention, FIGS. 1,
2, 3 and 4 illustrate the invention in conjunction with a
conventional sheet-fed lithographic printing press. The press
includes a plate cylinder 10, a blanket cylinder 12, an impression
cylinder 14, and a transfer or delivery cylinder 16. The plate
cylinder is inked by a conventional inker 18 comprising an ink
fountain 20, an adjustable ducting mechanism 22 including a duct
roll 24, and a plurality of ink transfer and vibrating rolls 26 and
28 located between the ducting mechanism 22 and the plate cylinder
10.
The ink fountain 20 includes a fountain roll 30 which rotates in
the ink fountain to form an ink film on the roll 30. The duct roll
24 is reciprocated between a position in engagement with the
fountain roll and a position in engagement with one of the
vibrating rolls 28. While the duct roll 24 is in engagement with
the fountain roll 30, the latter is rotated an angular amount
determined by the setting of an adjustable mask 32 of a pawl and
ratchet drive 34 for the fountain roll. The extent of rotation of
the fountain roll 30 while in engagement with the duct roll
determines, for a given film thickness on the fountain roll, the
amount of ink transferred from the fountain roll to the duct roll
and, in turn, the amount of ink transferred to the plate
cylinder.
The ink fountain 20 includes in addition to fountain roll 30, a
fountain blade 36 which extends for substantially the length of the
fountain roll. The blade is flexible and is urged into engagement
toward fountain roll 30 by means of a plurality of ink keys in the
form of screws, such as key 38, shown in FIG. 1, by reversible
motors 40, 42, 44 and 46 (FIG. 2) so as to control the flow of ink
at various sections across the length of fountain roll 30. Although
the preferred embodiment has 46 such ink keys and motors at each
ink fountain, only four are shown in the drawing, FIG. 2, for
simplicity. For a more complete description of inker 18 and ink
fountain 20, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,088 to R.K.
Norton, and assigned to the same assignee as the present
invention.
Each ink fountain key 38 can be moved to different positions by
means of an actuator motor such as motor 40 in order to admit more
or less ink to the portion of the ink fountain which it controls.
Changes in the position of the ik fountain keys 38 are not apparent
at a printed sheet 50 immediately; in inker train delay occurs. Ink
emitted to the ink fountain duct roll 24 must be transported around
several inker rolls 26, 28 in succession to the printing plate 10,
then to the blanket 12, and thence onto the printed sheet 50.
Consequently, a delay of a number of impressions occurs before a
change in ink fountain key setting can have any effect on the
printed sheets 50.
Even at the end of the inker train delay time, the thickness of ink
deposited on an ink test patch printed on each sheet 50 does not
rise immediately to a steady state value corresponding to the new
ink key settings when, for example, the ink flow is increased. Some
of the recently admitted ink is wiped back along the inker roll
train, so there is a further delay in the increase of printed image
density following a step change in the setting of an ink key.
When no ink whatsoever is on the printed sheets 50, a small
increase in amount of ink thereon makes a big difference in the
printed density. On the other hand, when the density of ink being
printed is already high, a similar small increase in ink film
thickness makes very little difference. That is, the optical
density of a test patch as a function of ink film thickness is,
therefore, very nonlinear. The density nonlinearity becomes part of
the transfer function of the principal loop of the ink control
servomechanism.
Control System, General
In accordance with the present invention, a densitometer head 41 is
adjustably positioned on a support bar 48 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4
so as to monitor sheet material 50 carried by the impression
cylinder 14. On multi-unit sheet-fed presses, the densitometer head
41 is preferably located at an impression cylinder 14 of the last
color printing unit as illustrated herein. On web-fed presses the
densitometer head 41 is preferably located after the dryer and the
chill rolls, where the ink is dry.
As will be described in detail hereinafter, the densitometer head
41 includes a light source for transmitting light to sheet 50 to
impinge simultaneously on at least one printed test patch surface
area thereof and on an adjacent reference surface area, together
with a pair of sensors for receiving light reflected from the two
surface areas and providing output signals indicative of the amount
of reflected light received. These signals are applied to a gated
densitometer circuit 51 which determines the optical reflection
density of the ink on the test patch surface area and provides
output signals for application to a control computer 53 for
controlling motors 40, 42, 44 and 46 to operate the keys 38 to
control the positioning of the fountain blade 36 in dependence upon
the measured ink density. Also, the gated densitometer circuit 51
and control computer 53 may provide signals to a suitable visual
display M to indicate to the pressman the density of ink
reproduction. The densitometer head 41 and circuit 51 are described
in detail in the co-pending U.S. application of John M. Manring,
Ser. No. 79,952, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,725, filed Oct. 12, 1970,
and entitled "Measurement and Control of Ink Density."
The operation of the densitometer head 41, of gated densitometer
circuit 51, and of control computer 53 are synchronized with the
movement of the sheet member 50, as with a cam 52 provided with a
lobe 54 for camming against a movable switch member 56 to contact
electrically a stationary contact 58 so that an electrical signal,
such as that taken from a DC voltage supply source B+, may be
applied to gated densitometer circuit 51 and control computer
53.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 3 and 4 which are schematic
illustrations of the impression cylinder 14 carrying the sheet 50
past the densitometer head 41. As shown in FIG. 3, a transversely
arranged colored ink test patch 60 is provided on the trailing edge
of the sheet 50. Immediately adjacent the test patch 60 is the
associated reference surface area 68. This surface are is an
uninked area on sheet 50, although it may be printed in advance to
provide a reference level of ink density if desired. The test and
reference areas are each of small size, such as three-eighths inch
by one-half inch. The test patch 60 printed on the paper is
ordinarily solid printing but may be a half-tone.
After being printed, the paper 50 bearing the test patch 60 travels
through the press to the densitometer head 41. There the optical
reflection density of the test patch 60 is measured and compared
with the reference surface area 68 while the paper 50 is in motion.
The gated densitometer circuit 51 is gated on for a short enough
time so as to inspect only when the test patch is present at its
field of view. A lamp 61, associated with and inside the
densitometer head 41, is flashed to illuminate the test patch 60
and the reference area 68 at the time of measuring the density. The
optical reflection density of the test patch 60 is ascertained by
comparing light which is reflected from the test patch 60 with
light reflected from the unprinted reference area 68, which is
illuminated by the same flash of light from lamp 61. The ratio of
the two reflected lights is used by the gated densitometer circuit
51 to determine the optical reflection density of the printed patch
60. The gated densitometer circuit 51 produces an analog output
voltage 69 which is proportional to the logarithm to base 10 of
that ratio, the lagarithm being called, in this art, the optical
reflection density.
Included in the gated densitometer circuit 51, near its output, is
a holding circuit which holds the results of each density reading
until the next succeeding density reading is made. Thus, the gated
densitometer circuit always provides an output signal 69 indicative
of the most recently completed density reading.
In the analog circuit embodiment now being described, a separate
complete system is shown for each individual longitudinal stream of
test patches such as test patch 60, to simplify the description.
The separate systems can communicate with each other, as will be
illustrated below. If desired, the equipment can easily be arranged
to share circuits among several streams of test patches such as
patches 62, 64 and 66 (FIG. 3), and to provide for a plurality of
colors as will be shown in the description of the digital
embodiment below.
Filter and Reference Comparator
The density signal voltages 69 produced by the gated densitometer
circuit 51 are conducted to the control computer 53, a block
diagram of which is shown in FIG. 5. In the analog embodiment,
control computer 53 is an analog circuit. At the input of control
computer 53 is a filter 71 for smoothing of the measured density
data. The filter 71 is a one-pole low-pass type having a cutoff
frequency above which the density signals are greatly attenuated
and below which the signals are not attenuated appreciably. The
low-pass filter 71 prevents occasional erratic density readings 69
from excessively influencing the settings of the ink keys 38.
Erratic readings may be caused by electrical noise and other
factors. The filter 71 averages the density readings 69 appearing
at its input, and produces at its output a voltage 73 which is
influenced by previous readings as well as the most recent density
readings 69. If the press were always to be run at a constant speed
so that successive density readings were produced at a constant
rate, the cutoff frequency of the data smoothing filter 71 could be
constant. In the usual situation, however, in which variations in
press speed occur, a different number of printing impressions and,
therefore, a different number of density readings would occur
within the time constant of the filter if the time constant were
not adjustable. A low-pass filter with a controllable variable
cutoff frequency is, therefore, employed, having a cutoff frequency
that is proportional to the press speed, and therefore proportional
to the number of density readings per unit time that are being
produced. A tachometer 76 on the press provides a control signal to
relays 78 which connect and disconnect shunt capacitors in the
filter to adjust the cutoff frequency, as is known in the prior
art.
An output voltage 73 from the low-pass filter 71 represents the
filtered actual density; it is connected to one input of a
comparator 75. There it is compared with a density reference signal
77' from a DC reference source 77 connected to a second input of
the comparator 75, whose signal value is manually adjustable. The
density reference signal 77' minus the output voltage 73 from the
data smoothing filter 71, constitutes an error signal 79 which is
sent out by the comparator 75. Error signal 79 represents a
discrepancy between the desired density and the actual density. It
serves as an input to the remainder of the system to control the
settings of the ink keys 38 so as to correct the density and
thereby to reduce the error signal 79 to a negligible amount.
The error signal 79 is amplified by an amplifier 81 whose gain is
not constant, but instead depends upon the magnitude of the error
signal itself. For high magnitudes of input error signal 79,
irrespective of their sign, the gain of the amplifier 81 is less
than its gain for lower values of the error signal. Consequently, a
final output voltage from the amplifier 81 is a nonlinear function
of its input voltage 79. This characteristic reduces and controls
the amount of ink key overshoot that would otherwise result from
the delays in the press. The sign of the output signal of amplifier
81 is responsive to the sign of signal 79. The nonlinear gain
characteristic of the amplifier 81 can be manually adjusted by
increasing the attenuation setting of an attenuator 80 which
precedes the amplifier and at the same time decreasing the
attenuation setting of another attenuator 82 which follows the
amplifier, or vice versa. The proper attenuator settings for a job
depend upon ink opacity, viscosity, and other factors.
Integrating and Differentiating Circuits of the Controller
An error signal voltage 83, which is present at the output of the
attenuator 82, is effectively transmitted to three essentially
parallel circuit channels in each of which that signal is treated
differently. In one channel 92, the error signal 83 simply passes
through, essentially unmodified, to a summing junction 94. In
another of the channels 96 the signal is integrated with respect to
press impressions, and connected to the same summing junction 94 as
the essentially direct signal 92. The third parallel channel 100
has a differentiating circuit for anticipating future requirements
for ink flow. An output voltage 102 of the differentiating circuit
100 is connected to the same summing junction 94 as are the other
two channels 92 and 96.
Further details of the three parallel circuit channels are as
follows:
Error signal 83 is connected to a first sample-and-hold module 104
for storing temporarily the most recent reading of the error
signal. The first sample-and-hold module 104 accepts the most
recent value of the error signal 83 which is presented at its input
and holds that value available at its output until such time as a
new value of signal 83 is made available and is accepted.
Acceptance by module 104 occurs upon issuance of a pulse on a
circuit 86 from a synchronizing circuit 84, as is conventional with
sample-and-hold modules. The output of the first sample-and-hold
module 104 connects to the summing junction 94 and serves as a
proportional signal or direct essentially unmodified error signal
components into that summing junction.
The output signal 83 of the potentiometer 82 is also connected to a
sampling switch 85. Switch 85 closes and reopens once for each new
reading 69 of density made for the inker keys being controlled. The
functions of switch 85 can be performed by either a static or a
mechanical switching device under indirect control of the
synchronizer 52, which paces the synchronizing circuit 84.
The length of time during which switch 85 remains closed is always
the same irrespective of its frequency of closing because of the
manner of operation of circuit 84. While contacts 85 are closed,
the voltage 83 derived from the output of the nonlinear amplifier
81 is applied to an input of an integrating amplifier 98. Small
errors in density will therefore accumulate and cause a correction
in ink key position to be made after a time.
A circuit 87 applies the output signal from the first
sample-and-hold module 104 to a second sample-and-hold module 106
which stores the error signal reading of the immediately preceding
press impression. At the time of occurrence of a pulse on a strobe
circuit 88, which is shortly before the pulse on circuit 86, the
second sample-and-hold module 106 accpets into its hold circuit the
voltage that is standing on its input terminal at that time. This
is the same voltage that was standing at the output terminal of the
first sample-and-hold module 104 immediately prior to the most
recent pulse mentioned above on circuit 86. Upon the pulse on
circuit 88, the second sample-and-hold module 106 produces at its
output terminal 108 a voltage equal to the previous press
impression density error signal. Thus, upon each occurrence of
pulse pair 88, 86, each sample-and-hold module 106, 104,
respectively, produces at its output terminal a new value of
voltage, the value appearing at the output of the second sample-and
hold module 106 being the same value as that which was appearing
previously at the output of the first sample-and-hold module 104.
In this way, two voltage readings are made available at any time.
One reading represents the most recently produced error signal 83;
the other represents the error signal from the immediately
preceding reading.
The output voltages of the two sample-and-hold modules 104, 106 are
applied to a subtracting circuit 110, with such polarity that the
previous reading's error signal 83 is subtracted from the most
recent error signal 83 to produce a further signal representing the
change which occurred between the most recent signal and the signal
immediately preceding it. This change, which is of the nature of a
derivative, is applied to an amplifier 112. The output voltage 102
of amplifier 112 therefore represents a rate of change of error
signal 83 with respect to press impressions. Output signal 102 is
applied to the summing junction 94 with the same polarity as were
the proportional signal 92 and the integrated signal 96 described
above.
Without the differentiating channel 100, the density of the printed
test patch 60 would recover to its desired steady state value
rather slowly following a sudden change in density caused by an
external disturbance. This is shown in FIG. 6, as curve A, for a
sudden decrease of density caused by something other than ink key
settings. The number N.sub.A of printing pmpressions that must be
made before the optical density has substantially returned to its
initial and correct value is considerably reduced by temporarily
opening the inker keys extra far, in anticipation of the setting
delay N.sub.A, when the sudden change of density occurs. The
exaggerated opening of the ink key settings then causes a
compensatory excess of ink to flow at the beginning of the
correction period, which reduces the required number of settling
impressions from N.sub.A to N.sub.B, as shown in curve B of FIG.
6.
FIG. 7 shows a typical graph of ink key position versus impression
count, which is carried out by the fountain keys 38 in order to
compensate to the extent possible for the settling phenomenon.
After an appropriate amount of extra ink flow has occurred through
the unusually enlarged ink gap opening, the gap opening is reduced
by circuit 100 to its steady state value so that the density
actually printed on the train of test patches 60 will not overshoot
its desired final value. As a result, the ink density patches 60
rises rapidly to a value close to its final value, and then tapers
into its final value asymptotically at a somewhat earlier number of
impressions N.sub.B than it would have without the compensatory ink
flow. This compensatory ink key behavoir is accomplished by the
differentiating channel 100 of the three-channel signal-processing
circuit in the manner just described. To summarize, differentiating
circuit 104, 106, 110, 112 produces a signal proportional to the
first derivative of the error signal present at its input; the
total signal that drives the ink keys therefore has a component
which forces a rapid correction of density variations.
Actuator Drive Circuit
An output signal 114 from the summing junction 94 connects to an
input 116a of a driver amplifier 116 for producing a signal 117
driving a duty cycle modulator 118. The duty cycle modulator 118
converts the signal 117 to a series to pulses or bursts of AC wave
120, to produce step changes in key positions. One group of the
keys 38 are driven by key actuators 40, which are connected to
modulator 118 in the simplified analog embodiment being described.
Keys are selectively associated with particular densitometer heads
41 by patch connections 121 at the inputs to the actuators 40. (The
modulator 118 can instead be connected to control the inker pawl
and ratchet 34 is desired, or several densitometer heads can be
multiplexed in an analog embodiment to control several groups of
keys 38 independently, as described in the digital embodiment
hereinbelow.)
A sample of the output signal 120 of the duty cycle modulator 118
is also rectified and smoothed by a diode and filter circuit 124
and applied to the input of an integrating amplifier 126, which
serves as an accumulator. This accumulator 126 is resettable to
zero by means of a momentary-acting relay 89 which is controlled by
the synchronizing circuit 84. The accumulator 126 is reset to zero
when a pair of contacts 89' or relay 89 close briefly immediately
before the time of the strobe pulse on circuit 88. Contacts 89'
close only long enough to short-circuit a capacitor 128 connected
from input to output of the accumulator amplifier 126 so as to
reset the accumulator amplifier's output signal 130 to zero;
thereafter, the accumulator amplifier 126 accumulates a voltage at
its output 130 which corresponds to whatever changes in position of
the actuator occur during the current press impression interval,
which is an error-correction interval. The output signal 130 from
the accumulator 126 is connected as a feedback signal to a second
input 116b of the driver amplifier 116 so as to subtract from the
principal input signal 114 of the driver amplifier. During an
error-correction interval, after the actuators 40 have been driven
far enough for the signal 120 to build up a voltage 130 at the
output of the accumulator 126 and at input 116b which is equal in
magnitude but opposing the voltage 114 at the input 116a of the
driver amplifier 116, the output signal 117 of the driver amplifier
116 becomes zero. The amount of ink flow correction that was
required during the subject correction interval has then been
accomplished and no further correction will be made until the next
correction interval. Ordinarily, the full correction that is called
for by the signal 114 will be completed before the next density
error reading is obtained.
Alternative Actuator Drive Circuit
FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of portions of the control
computer 53 related to the actuators 140. This is an alternative to
the portion of the aforedescribed circuits which follow the summing
junction 94. The alternative actuator circuit of FIG. 8 differs
from the first actuator circuit (FIG. 5) in that the alternative
circuit has feedback from an actuator-driven potentiometer 136,
while the actuator circuit uses, instead, an accumulator amplifier
126. Moreover, in the alternative circuit, duty cycle modulation is
not employed. The alternative circuit of FIG. 8 has an inker
ratchet-control feature also.
A signal 114 for the alternative actuator circuit is obtained from
the summing junction 94, and is connected to a principal input 132a
of an amplifier 132.
Another input 132b of amplifier 132 receives a positive feedback
signal 134 indicative of the present position of a key actuator
122. Voltage 134 is derived from the potentiometer 136 whose
movable arm is driven by actuator 122. The signals 114 and 134 are
added in amplifier 132. Their sum represents a desired new position
of the actuator, because it represents an actual present key
position as indicated by signal 134 plus a desired change as
indicated by signal 114. An output signal 138 of amplifier 132
connects to a third sample-and-hold module 140. A command pulse
occurs on synchronizing circuit 89' shortly after occurrence of the
pulse, mentioned above, on circuit 86. Thereupon, the third
sample-and-hold module 140 accepts and provides at its output
terminal a voltage 142 representative of a desired new position of
the actuator 122, and holds it essentially throughout of the
subject correction interval. The voltage 142 is maintained constant
by the sample-and-hold module 140 even though a correction is being
carried out by the actuator 122 during the present error-correction
time interval.
The output signal 142 of the third sample-and-hold module 140
connects to a combining junction 144 where it is combined with the
voltage 134 which represents the instantaneous position of the
actuator 122. The voltage 134 is subtracted in the combining
junction 144 from the desired position of the actuator 122, which
is represented by the output signal 142, to produce a signal
146.
The signal 146 is connected through a relay contact D to an
amplifier 148 and is an error signal, which at all times
corresponds to the amount of correction remaining to be made by the
reversible actuator 122 during the current error-correction
interval. The actuator motor 122 receives a voltage output from
amplifier 148 which drives the actuator 122 to change the position
of corresponding ink keys 38, and also to move the transfer arm of
the potentiometer 136, which affects the voltage 134 at the
transfer arm. After key 38 and the transfer arm of the
potentiometer 136 have been completely driven to a desired new
position, the voltage 134 equals the voltage 142 held by the third
sample-and-hold module 140; the error signal 146 is zero, and the
actuator 122 does not operate any further during that correction
interval.
Where one densitometer and control circuit must actuate a plurality
of keys 38, each key has an individual respective actuator, all
actuators of the same group are driven in common by amplifier 148,
and only one of the keys 38 is selected to have its potentiometer
136 provide the signal 134 for its group of keys.
Ratchet Pullback, Analog
A ratchet pull-back circuit is provided to sense when any ink key
38 (or key group) has approached too closely to either limit of its
possible range of adjustment. When any key has been adjusted to
such a close position, the pawl and ratchet drive 34 for the ink
fountain 20 is automatically re-adjusted. Ratchet re-adjustment
changes the amount of ink provided, without a change in ink key
positions, and therefore changes the density of all of the test
patches. The equipment of FIG. 8 thereupon automatically responds
by actuating the keys to a more central position where no ink key
is near a limit. The ratchet change is accomplished by sensing the
position of the arm of the feedback potentiometer 136 and comparing
the position signals 134 produced by potentiometer 136 with
key-limit reference voltages.
A high-low comparator 150 has a sensing input terminal 151
connected to the actuator position-indicating potentiometer 136. If
the actuator position voltage 134 becomes too great or too small by
comparison with high and low DC reference voltages 152, 153, which
are put into the high-low comparator from a circuit 162a, the
high-low comparator 150 produces an output signal which operates a
relay 154. The high and low reference voltages 152, 153 are
predetermined percentages of whatever voltage 162a exists over-all
on the potentiometer 136. Contacts 154a of the relay 154 are shown
in a de-energized position D of the relay, in which the output 146
of summing junction 144 is connected to the input of amplifier 148.
This is the normal position of the relay 154 and is its position
when the key 38 being controlled is not out of range in either
direction. When the relay 154 is actuated by the high-low
comparator 150 as a result of the key's traveling too far in either
direction, the output signal 146 from the combining junction 144 is
connected by means of a relay contact E to a summing resistor 155.
The summing resistor 155 and other summing resistors of the same
type from other key groups on the same printing press (color) unit
are connected to an input of a summing amplifier 156. The summing
amplifier 156 is used in common by all of the key groups for one
color unit. An output of the summing amplifier 156 drives a
bi-directional ratchet motor 158, which in turn moves the ratchet
assembly 34, of which there is only one for each color unit. A
ratchet position potentiometer 160 has its transfer arm controlled
by the ratchet assembly 34 so as to produce a position signal 162.
The ratchet position signal 162 is connected to one extreme
terminal of every actuator position potentiometer 136. As a result,
the output signal 162 of the ratchet position potentiometer 160
serves as a multiplying factor upon the position of the transfer
arm of every potentiometer 136 and therefore the ratchet position
signal 162 is one factor of the voltage signal 134 produced at the
transfer arm of each actuator potentiometer 136. Each group of keys
is represented by a potentiometer 136 and a signal 134.
The operation of the ratchet pullback circuit is as follows. When
no key 38 is near a limit, the high-low comparator 150 outputs a
zero signal, and the relay 154 is de-energized. The control loops
behave routinely as described above. If, however, one key group's
representative key 38 approaches too closely to a limit of its
range of travel, the high-low comparator 150 puts out a signal to
the relay 154, which energizes the relay, placing its contacts 154a
in the position E. The amplifier 148 and the actuator 122 for the
subject group of keys 39 thereafter receive a zero input signal and
the actuator 122 does not move for the remainder of the correction
time interval which is currently in progress. Instead, the error
signal 146 from the combining junction 144 is connected through the
relay contact E to the summing register 155 and hence to the
summing amplifier 156. The amplifier 156 and the motor 158 operate
the ratchet 34 to a new position to provide the remaining
correction signal required through the circuit consisting of the
potentiometer 160, its output signal 162, the potentiometer 136 and
its output signal 134 for the subject group. The ratchet 34
operates during the current correction interval until such time as
the feedback signal 134 is equal in magnitude to the signal 142
from the sample-and-hold module 140. At that time, the combining
junction 144 puts out a zero signal 146 and the ratchet motor 158
stops.
While the ratchet 34 is being operated to its new position, the
ratchet position signal 162 is changing; that signal 162 is applied
not only as a reference for the comparator 150, and to the actuator
position potentiometer 136 for the group of keys which has
encountered a limit, but also to the corresponding actuator
position potentiometer for other groups of keys through bus 157.
Consequently, each of the other groups of keys experiences a change
in its reference signal 134 within the same current correction
interval. The other groups of keys have not caused their comparator
relays (corresponding to relay 154) to operate, so the error signal
146 produced by the combining junction 144 of each of the
unlimiting key groups passes through the normal position D of
respective relay contacts 154a to amplifier 148 in each such group.
Amplifier 148 in each such unlimiting group operates its respective
actuator or actuators 122 until the feedback potentiometer 136
representing each group has changed to such a new position as to
cause its error signal 146 to be zero. Actuators 122 for the
unlimiting groups then have zero signals, and stop moving. This
circuit permits unlimiting key groups to correct their actuator 122
positions in response to a change of ratchet 34 position without
relying upon the principal feedback loop through the inker and the
printed paper and the densitometers to perform the correction. The
necessary changer are therefore made before the density readings
are substantially affected, and are made independently of the
deviations of the principal error signal 114. The term ratchet is
used herein to represent any ink feed rate-control technique other
than keys, which simultaneously affects an entire fountain, such as
the ratchet itself, speed of the fountain roll, or duct roll dwell
time.
In a similar manner, other changes in the printing process which
are capable, in the absence of a change in the setting of the ink
keys 38 of later affecting the density of ink deposited on the
paper, can provide compensatory signals to change the key settings
to prevent changes in ink density, without waiting for a density
error to occur. Another example of such a change is a change in the
water feed rate.
SEQUENCE OF OPERATION
A time sequence of operation of the analog system of FIG. 5 is as
follows.
Usually the ink keys 38 have been set by the press operator to
provide approximately correct ink feed for the job layout which is
to be produced, when a printing unit first goes on impression. The
inker rolls 26, 28 have ordinarily been pre-inked before a printing
unit goes on impression. To illustrate the system's operation, a
situation will be described in which the press goes on impression
with some of the ink keys 38 initially too far closed and therefore
with insufficient ink on the corresponding lateral portion of the
inker 18. When the press goes on impression, auxiliary contacts 164
(FIG. 5) of an impression on-off solenoid, which is part of the
press' electrical controls, start a delay device 166, which counts
to a predetermined number of impressions and then puts out a signal
168 to enable the densitometer 51 and the modulators 118. This
activates the controller.
In the example presently being described, insufficient ink is
deposited on the paper at first, so the area of a test patch 60 has
a semi-blank appearance not much different from the appearance of
the neighboring blank reference area of the paper. After passing
the blanket cylinder 12, the lightly-printed test patch travels a
distance to a place where it passes under the densitometer head 41.
The densitometer head 41 and the gated densitometer circuit 51
inspect the paper at the first test patch area 60 and find that not
enough ink has been printed on it. The gated densitometer circuit
therefore outputs a low voltage signal 69 corresponding to a low
density reading.
The low signal voltage 69 from the gated densitometer 51 is
conducted to the control computer 53, where it is filtered by the
filter 71, which is storing zero voltage initially. The filter 71
averages the new low reading 69 with the previous zero initial
condition, and outputs a low voltage 73 to the comparator 75. If
desired, an additional impression-count or time-delay relay may be
employed to permit a number of density readings to be accumulated
before any ink keys are moved to new positions.
This low smoothed density reading is compared with the reference
voltage 77 which has previously been adjusted to correspond to some
non-zero desired value of density. Of course, a great error signal
79 results, which is applied to the non-linear amplifier 81.
The non-linear characteristic of the non-linear amplifier 81 has
very little effect upon the servo operation unless there is a large
error signal. For example, when there is almost no ink on the
paper, a very large error occurs; because of the nonlinearity,
signal 83 from amplifier 81 is not large in the same proportion. On
a basis of error size alone, the nonlinear amplifier therefore acts
as a signal compression circuit for large error signals to prevent
over-shoot of the density correction.
A large signal 83 from the output of the nonlinear amplifier 81 is
stored in the first sample-and-hold module 104. Because
insufficient ink has been printed in this example, the proportional
circuit channel 92 provides a large component of error signal to
the summing junction 94. Also, a great rate-of-change-of-error
signal 102 is created by the derivative circuit 100 and applied to
the summing junction 94 because the second sample-and-hold module
106 stores zero error signal at the start. The integrating channel
96 provides only a moderate signal component. The three channel
signals 92, 96, 102 are summed at the junction 94 and applied to
the driver amplifier 116 of FIG. 5, whose other input signal 130 is
zero because the accumulator 126 was recently reset to zero by
relay contacts 89. The driver amplifier 116 puts out a large error
signal to the duty cycle modulator 118, which starts to drive the
ink keys 38 open rapidly by means of the actuators 40. Ink flows to
the inker rolls 24, 26, 28.
More low density readings are made by the densitometer while the
increased ink flow is being transported through the series of inker
rolls 26, 28 to the paper 50, and the ink keys are driven open
relatively far. When the increased ink flow reaches the paper 50
the optical density of the test patch 60 increases. After a time,
the optical density becomes great enough that the signal 69 from
the gated densitometer 51 is of such magnitude as to make the
signal 79 become zero at the non-linear amplifier 81. Shortly
thereafter, the key actuators 40 cease to receive any significant
correction signal 120 from the duty cycle modulator 118. The
control system is in equilibrium and is automatically controlling
the optical density of the printed test patch 60 by controlling the
ink keys 38.
Additional identical control systems are provided for other lateral
portions of the fountain roll; the additional systems include
densitometer heads 43, 45, and 47 of FIG. 3, more gated
densitometer circuits for processing the signals, and actuator
motors 42, 44, 46 (FIG. 2).
Open Loop Operation
The ink keys 38 can be controlled in open-loop fashion by a press
operator instead of by the closed-loop method described above. In
open-loop operation, which is simpler, the operator may manually
adjust DC signals and apply them through a manual-or-automatic
selection switch 170 from a point 172 in the circuit of FIG. 8, in
place of the automatic signals 142. The same manual input
provisions serve for pre-adjustment of keys before starting. A
digital embodiment to be described below can also be operated
either open-loop or closed-loop, with a press operator observing a
display of density readings and making corresponding adjustments in
the open-loop mode of operation by holding a switch depressed.
Associating Densitometer Channels with Printing Units &
Displays
In a printing press having a plurality of printing units, each unit
ordinarily prints a different color of ink. It is sometimes
desirable to change the assignments of colors among the plurality
of printing units so that, for example, yellow images may be
printed by unit no. 1 on one job and by unit 2 on a different
job.
It is convenient to associated a particular sensor channel in
densitometer head 41 and a particular gated densitometer circuit of
densitometer 51 always with the same color, regardless of the
particular printing unit by which that color is printed. For
example, the sensor channel A and the gated densitometer circuit
channel A may always be associated with the color yellow. This is
convenient because the location of the densitometer head 41 is
usually fixed with respect to the press frame, the color filter
used for each color is installed in a particular position of the
densitometer head 41, and the test patch of that color is always
printed in the same lateral position on the paper irrespective of
which printing unit is employed to print that particular color.
Also, a calibration adjustment peculiar to each color is made in
the gated densitometer channels. Consequently, to avoid having to
relocate the color filters and to recalibrate the densitometer
channels, the electrical output of each measurement channel,
consisting of a sensor and a channel of the gated densitometer
circuit, is most conveniently associated always with the same
printed color. When changes are made in the printing unit upon
which the colors are to be printed, therefore, the outputs of the
various gated densitometer channels, which remain with the same
color, must be switched so that they control the different printing
unit.
It is more convenient for the operator if each printing unit
display be associated always with a particular printing unit rather
than with a particular color. Therefore, when colors are
interchanged among the printing units, each display, M, remains
with the same printing unit rather than follow any particular
color. This situation requires that the various gated densitometer
channels be switchable at their outputs so as to operate different
display units that are permanently associated with the printing
units.
FIG. 8A shows a switching circuit for associating colors with
printing units and displays. Three channels A, B and C are shown,
each more or less permanently associated with a respective color A,
B or C to be printed. Three printing units and displays M are
shown, No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. A six-position switch 174 is
arranged so as to connect the outputs of the gated densitometer
channels A, B and C in six different permutations to the three
printing and display units No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, FIG. 8B. In
switch position 2, for example, the output of the dated
densitometer circuit A is connected to control the printing unit
and display No. 1, the output of gated densitometer circuit C is
connected to control the printing unit and display No. 2, and the
output of gated densitometer circuit B is connected to control the
printing unit and display No. 3. Switch 174 has additional poles,
omitted to simplify the drawing.
DIGITAL COMPUTER EMBODIMENT
A second embodiment of the invention utilizes, as part of the
control computer 53 of FIG. 1, a digital computer instead of an
analog computer. FIG. 1 applied to both the analog and digital
embodiments. In the latter, the output voltage 69 of the gated
densitometer circuit 51 passes through an analog-to-digital
converter (which is an input portion of control computer 53),
before being presented to the digital computer itself, which is
also included in control computer 53.
FIG. 3 shows an arrangement for controlling only one printing unit.
Where several colors are printed, as in the present embodiment,
additional test patches, not shown, similar to patch 60, and
additional reference areas similar to area 68 are provided.
Additional sensors with color filters are incorporated in
densitometer heads for measuring light reflected from the
additional color patches, which should not be confused with patches
62, 70, etc., for other parts of the roll width. Only one lamp is
provided in each densitometer head for serving all colors in
common, but every printed surface area and reference area to be
measured requires an individual sensor to receive reflected light
from the area.
Control equipment for the digital embodiment is shown in FIG. 9 for
a three-color press having eleven densitometer heads arranged
laterally across the width of the press. The purpose of the
densitometer heads, the gated densitometer circuits, and the
analog-to-digital conversion equipment is to measure the optical
reflection density of each test patch and to present the results to
a digital computer 208 in the form of digital data.
Densitometer Multiplexing
Some components of the densitometer equipment are used in common
for several measurement channels. They are time-shared by means of
multiplexing equipment.
As shown in FIG. 9, eleven densitometer heads 180 to 190 are
provided. Each densitometer head includes one flash lamp 180L to
190L.
In a three-color press, each flash lamp is positioned so as to
illuminate three test patches of different colors and three
unprinted reference areas near the test patches. (Instead, one
unprinted reference area could serve three colors, if desired.)
Each densitometer head 180 to 190 receives reflected light from the
three test patches and from the three unprinted reference surface
areas under it. In this way, each densitometer head obtains data
regarding three colors. Four densitometer heads 41, 43, 45, 57,
each having one pair of light-sensitive detectors for measuring the
density of one color, were described above in connection with the
analog embodiment of the invention; the digital embodiment is
similar except that there are eleven densitometer heads 180 to 190
distributed across the width of the press and each densitometer
head has three pairs of light-sensitive detectors to accommodate
the three colors being printed. A synchronizing device 52' connects
a lamp trigger signal to a trigger signal input 202L of a lamp
multiplexer 191. Another set of input terminals for the lamp
multiplexer 191 is connected to receive data on lines 194 from a
ring counter 196 for selecting one lamp at a time. The multiplexer
191 has eleven outputs, each of which connects to and operates one
of the eleven flash lamp units 180L to 190L.
For each printed color A, B, C, the eleven sensors which receive
light reflected from test patches are all connected to a
multiplexer 192A, 192B, 192C, respectively. Also connected to the
multiplexers 192A, B, C, are digital data lines 194 from the ring
counter 196, which is further described below, for selecting one of
the eleven sensors. Only one output signal 193A, B, C is connected
from each test signal multiplexer 192A, B, C, respectively, to each
gated densitometer circuit 198A, B, C.
For each color A, B, C, the eleven sensors which receive light
reflected from the unprinted reference areas are connected to
another multiplexer 200A, B, C, respectively. Only one selected
output signal 195A, B, C, is connected at a time from each
multiplexer 200A, B, C, to a second input of the gated densitometer
circuits 198A, B, C, respectively. Also connected to the gated
densitometer circuits is a pulse signal 202 derived from the
synchronizer 52' The synchronizing device 52' is of the type 52
described above in connection with the analog embodiment. The
output pulses 202 on a bus from the synchronizer 52' are conducted
to gate inputs 202A, B, C, of each gated densitometer circuit 198A,
B, C, respectively, for gating purposes.
An output of each gated densitometer circuit 198A, B, C, is an
analog voltage signal representing the density of whichever one of
the eleven heads 180 to 190 was most recently sampled. Each analog
density signal is connected to an analog-to-digital converter 204A,
B, C, whose digital output lines are connected through switching
gates 206A, B, C, respectively, to the digital computer 208.
Thus, identical sets of density measuring equipment are provided
for each of the color units of the printing press, except that the
flash lamps, synchronizer, ring counter, and digital computer and
some miscellaneous components are used in common by all of the
color units.
Forty-six ink keys 38 collectively span the width of the printing
press, but only eleven densitometer heads 180 to 190 are provided
to span the same width. Consequently, some of the densitometer
heads 180 to 190 must serve to control more than one fountain key
38. One approach to distributing the fountain keys among the
densitometer heads is to have nine of the densitometer heads each
control four fountain keys and to have the other two densitometer
heads each control five of the keys. It is more satisfactory,
however, to group the keys 38 in accordance with the form density
of the images to be printed, form density being the dependence of
required ink flow upon the form of the images currently being
printed by the press at various positions across the width of the
press. At portions of the press where the form density changes
rapidly (laterally across the width), each densitometer head 180 to
190 may control relatively fewer of the fountain keys 38.
Sequence of Operation of Density Measuring Equipment
The density measuring equipment operates as follows. Let the ring
counter 196 be assumed to have a count of 1 standing at its output
terminals, before a synchronizing pulse 202 occurs. The ring
counter's output data 194, which is this count of 1, is connected
to an input of the lamp multiplexer 191; it causes the trigger
input 202 to the lamp multiplexer 191 to be connected internally in
multiplexer 191 to lamp 180L and not to any of the other ten
outputs of lamp multiplexer 191. Lamp 180L does not yet flash,
however. When the press reaches a particular phase position, a cam
54' similar to cam 54, of the synchronizer 52' actuates a movable
arm 56' similar to arm 56 and causes a voltage to be applied to the
synchronizing line 202 which is connected to the trigger input of
the lamp multiplexer 191 and to the gate terminals 202A, B, C, of
the gated densitometer circuits 198A, B, C, respectively. The
synchronizing device 52' produces a pulse 202 once for each
impression time interval of the press. The leading edge of the
synchronizing pulse 202 is timed to cause a selected lamp, in this
example lamp 180L, to flash when the corresponding printed test
patches are in a proper position for measurement, under the density
head 180. The leading edge of the synchronizing pulse 202 triggers
a flash unit of the lamp 180L, causing light to fall on three
colored test patches and on three unprinted reference areas
adjacent to them. None of the other printed test patches or
reference areas are illuminated by their flash lamps during this
particular measurement interval, that is, at the time of this
printing impression.
Light is reflected from the three colored test patches into three
sensors of densitometer head 180. Each test multiplexer 192A, B, C,
connects only this one input (from head 180) of its eleven inputs
through to its single data output 193A during the present
measurement interval, the choice of input being under control of
the ring counter 196 through data lines 194 connected from the ring
counter's output to the test multiplexers 192A, B, C. While the
ring counter's count is 1, each of the three test multiplexers
192A, B, C, connects a density signal received from density head
180 to its output and therefore to the test signal input 193A, B,
C, of the gated densitometer circuits 198A, B, C, respectively, for
the color involved.
Light is also reflected at the same time from the three unprinted
reference areas into three reference sensors of density head 180.
The three reference multiplexers 200A, B, C, connect the three
reference signals to the respective three reference data inputs
195A, B, C, of the three gated densitometer circuits 198A, B, C.
The multiplexers 200A, B, C, are under the control, (via lines 194)
of the ring counter 196, which has selected the signals from
density head 180 in the present measurement interval. Each of the
three gated densitometer circuits 198A, B, C, receives a gating
signal 202A, B, C, from the synchronizing device 52' which is the
leading edge of the same synchronizing pulse that triggered the
flash lamp 180L. The gated densitometer circuits 198A, B, C,
thereupon accept both the test data and reference data into their
circuits.
Each gated densitometer circuit 198A, B, C, produces an analog
output signal which represents the optical reflection density of
the test patch of its respective color. The three optical density
signals, one for each color, are connected to the inputs of
analog-to-digital converters (A/Ds) 204A, B, C, which convert them
into binary data and apply them to output terminals of the three
A/Ds.
The trailing edge of the aforementioned synchronizing pulse 202
sets a device flag flip-flop 210A, B, C, corresponding to each of
the three A/D converters 204A, B, C, respectively, the pulse 202
having persisted long enough for the A/D converters to settle to
steady output values. This digital information from the A/Ds is
connectable to the computer 208 through the switching gates 206A,
B, C. The data stand at the output of each of the gated
densitometer circuits and of the A/Ds throughout one full
impression time interval, because each gated densitometer 198A, B,
C, includes a sample-and-hold module near its output which holds
the analog density signal until another density reading has been
obtained to replace it.
The computer 208 then reads the data sequentially from all three
A/Ds 204A, B, C, within a single impression time interval. It does
so by successively enabling only one at a time of the three sets of
switching gates 206A, B, C, as will be described in more detail
hereinbelow under the heading "Input Interfacing." The computer 208
also reads the status of the ring counter 196 on lines 207, after
which the computer 208 outputs a pulse 212 to the ring counter 196
to increment it by one step. The ring counter 196 thereafter
contains a 2.
A second measurement interval then begins, corresponding to the
next impression interval of the press. The lamp multiplexer 191
internally reconnects its input trigger terminal 202L so as to be
able subsequently to trigger lamp 181L. Each of the three test
multiplexers 192A, B, C, is reconnected ss that it can put out a
signal to be received from a second input of its eleven inputs. The
reference multiplexers 200A, B, C, do the same. Density head 181 is
now being employed. Upon a second occurrence of a synchronizing
pulse 202 from the synchronizer 52', the operation described above
is repeated, with three new values of density signals (one for each
color) being accepted into the computer from the three A/Ds 204A,
B, C.
Each of the eleven densitometer heads 180 to 190 is utilized in
turn during eleven successive impressions or density reading
intervals.
The ring counter 196 recycles to a count of 1 following a count of
11 so that it counts repeatedly from 1 to 11. For each impression
of the printing press, the density measuring equipment measures as
many optical reflection densities as there are color units, and
puts the resulting digital data into the computer 208.
The full complement of eleven densitometer heads 180 to 190 need
not always be used. The ring counter 196, which selects the heads,
has a skip facility for selectively skipping heads, under control
of the digital computer 208.
As is shown on FIG. 9, there is a separate analog-to-digital
converter 204A, B, C, for each of the three gated densitometer
circuits 198A, B, C. Each has a 12-bit output. The most significant
bit position from each analog-to-digital converter contains the
sign of the density. The other eleven bits of information state the
density's magnitude. Negative density signs are made available for
the printing of fluorescent inks, the light from whose test patches
can be brighter than the light reflected from an unprinted
reference test area.
Digital Computer, General
FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram of the digital computer 208
including its console 214 and input and output devices, which
include the A/D converters 204A, B, C. The computer 208 itself
consists of an arithmetic unit 216, a control unit 218, and a
memory unit 220.
The arithmetic unit 216 comprises a 12-stage accumulator 222 and a
one-stage link 224 for storing a carry digit from the accumulator
222 during certain operations. Various electronic circuits, not
shown, are arranged around the accumulator 222 for controlling it
to perform elementary computations such as adding and shifting.
The control unit 218 comprises a program counter 225, which is a
register containing a particular address of the memory unit 220
which it is desired to access next. In routine operation, the
program counter 225 may be incremented one count at a time to
retrieve successive instructions and data from the memory unit 220.
The control unit 218 also has an instruction register 226 which
usually contains a code identifying the instruction currently being
executed. A major state generator 228 is provided to put the
computer into an appropriate state for each computer timing cycle;
typical states are fetch, execute, etc. Several computer timing
cycles may be required to execute one instruction.
The principal component of the memory unit 220 is the core memory
230 itself, which stores 12-bit words at several thousand
addresses. A memory address register 232 is also provided, to
contain the address of the core memory 230 where data are currently
being written or retrieved. A memory buffer register 234 is also
included, for buffering data input and data output from the core
memory 230.
The computer is programmed in accordance with flow charts such as
those shown in FIGS. 12, 13, 14, and 17; programming from such flow
charts is well within the state of the art.
A program is placed in the core memory 230 before starting the
printing press. To execute the program, the program counter 225
starts with the first step of the program by addressing the program
through the memory address register 232. The first 12 -bit word is
then withdrawn from the core memory 230 into the memory buffer
register 234 or the instruction register 226. If the word is an
instruction, it is executed by the computer. The program counter
225 is then incremented one count to produce a new memory address,
and the next instruction or data word from the program is withdrawn
from the core memory 230. The entire program is executed by the
computer in this sequential manner. The instructions themselves can
cause the computer to jump to other addresses, more than one count
away from the present address, when desired.
Input Interfacing at Computer, General
The computer 208 accepts density data at its input terminals from
the three analog-to-digital converters 204A, B, C, via the data
gates 206A, B, C, respectively, and from other devices. The status
of the ring counter 196 must also be transmitted to the computer so
that the computer can determine which of the density heads 180 to
190 is currently providing data. Other information which must go
into the computer includes position feedback data for the ink key
actuators, on-pressure signals from each of the printing units,
positions of open-loop or closed-loop selector switches, status of
the switch which selects a make-ready mode or a run mode of
operation, etc.
A transfer of the data into the computer 208 is accomplished by
passing the data through the accumulator 222 of the computer; this
requires the computer to stop any background program which may have
previously been in progress. This is called a programmed data
transfer. Transfer of density data into the computer will be
described in detail, and will serve as an example of the method of
transfer of other data items also.
Components inside the computer 208 that are involved in
transferring density data into the computer are shown in FIG. 11.
Twelve input terminals 238 of the computer 208, which are provided
for accepting the input data, are connected in parallel to all
three of the gates 206A, B, C. Input data lines 240 from the data
gates 206A, B, C, conduct signals through the terminals 238 to the
accumulator register 222 of the computer. The same lines 240 are
connected in parallel also to other external devices which may at
some time have to provide information by this method. The input bus
240 is time-shared by the external devices; only one external
data-producing device applies data to the information bus 240 at
any one time.
Sequence of Inputting Density Data to Computer
A time sequence of operation for transmitting density data into the
computer 208 starts with the production of digital data by the
analog-to-digital converters 204A, B, C, FIG. 9. After these A/D
converters have had time to make the data available, device flag
flip-flops 210A, B, or C, corresponding respectively to the A/D
converters, are set by the trailing edge of the synchronizing pulse
202. A device flag signal 236A, B, or C is transmitted through an
OR gate 237 to a program-interrupt facility 254 of the computer 208
over a program-interrupt request line 256, FIG. 11. When the
computer 208 receives the interrupt flag signal, it finishes the
instruction which it was in the process of executing, then
transfers data relating to the background program which was
previously in progress, if any, into storage 230, as shown in a
flow chart of FIG. 12. By a step 246, the computer 208 transfers
into storage the number in the program counter 225 to save the
address where the background program was interrupted. The contents
of the accumulator 222 and the 224 are also saved in storage 230 in
a step 247. The computer next takes a jump by putting a particular
address in the program counter 225, which directs the computer to
call out from the core memory 230 an "interrupt" sub-routine
starting with a step 249. The interrupt sub-routine is carried out
by having the program counter 225 call out one instruction at a
time from the memory 230 starting at that particular address. A
12-bit instruction word for an input-output transfer instruction
corresponding to analog-to-digital converter 204A, wbich is for
color A, is called out first from the core memory 230 into the
instruction register 226. The instruction register 226 examines the
word and recognizes the first three bits as being a code calling
for an input or an output data transfer (FIG. 11). Bits numbered 3
to 8 of the words, which include a device select code 242, are
supplied to some output terminals 244 of the computer for device
interrogation. Three device decoders 260A, B, C, corresponding to
the A/Ds 204A, B, C, respectively, are connected in parallel to the
terminals 244. In the present example, decoder 260A for the
analog-to-digital converter 204A, color A, is identified by the
current device select code 242, and decoder 260A recognizes its
unique code 242 standing on the terminals 244. Decoder 260A
responds by putting a level on an AND gate 253A, which sets a
flip-flop 251A, whose output goes through an OR gate 255 to a bus
250. The OR function of gate 255 may alternatively be performed
inside the computer as a wired OR. The signal on bus 250 tells the
computer 208 that the A/D converter 204A is not to be skipped
because it is the device, or at least one of the devices, that has
called for an interruption. The skip bus 250 is connected
internally in the computer 208 to a skip flip-flop facility 248 so
as to permit a skip signal to set that skip flip-flop, and the skip
flip-flop is connected in the computer so as to enable incrementing
of the program counter 225.
Upon finding that the first densitometer, for color A, is the one
whose data should be accepted, the computer 208 goes to a
densitometer interrupt service subroutine, point 3, FIG. 13. The
computer accepts the offered density reading, step 251, from the
A/D 204A of color unit A. The density data are connected from the
A/D 204A to the twelve lines of the input information bus 240
through the data gates 206A, which are enabled by the latching
flip-flop 251A. The density information goes into the accumulator
222 of the computer 208, and then into the memory 230. The computer
clears the first densitometer's interrupt flag 236A by resetting
the flag flip-flop 210A and flip-flop 251A, in accordance with FIG.
13, and then goes through certain checks. These include determining
whether or not the color unit in question is on pressure, step 253,
whether or not a control change by the operator is in progress,
step 255, whether the system is in manual or in closed-loop control
mode, and whether or not a required number of printing impressions
have been made since going on pressure, step 259. A delay counter
provides a time delay following the press' going on pressure, after
the expiration of which the density control program is entered. The
results of any of these checks can cause the computer to return to
the main program (point 7) without making any control adjustments.
When external contacts, such as, for example, on-pressure
indicating contacts and make-ready mode indicating contacts, change
their positions from open to closed or vice versa, the change is
communicated to the computer 208 and put in memory 230. Positions
of the contacts can thereafter be ascertained by interrogating the
memory.
If a control adjustment is to be made, the computer goes, via a
point 5 of the flow chart of FIG. 13, to the density control
program of FIG. 14, which will be described in more detail
hereinbelow, and it performs a density computation for the
particular received data.
After the A/D 204A for color unit A has been serviced by the
computer 208, the program returns to the interrupt subroutine by
way of the "interrupt return" terminal (point 7) of FIGS. 14 and
12, and restores the data that was saved from the background
program in the accumulator 222 and the link 224. The ability of the
computer to accept interruptions is again enabled, and the computer
returns to the background program, if any, by putting the
previously stored contents of the program counter 225 back into the
program counter
If an interrupt request is still present, as it will be in the
present example because the A/Ds 204B and 204C for color units B
and C are also calling for interruption, the interrupt program of
FIG. 12 starts all over again. This time, when the A/D 204A for
color unit A is tested by the computer 208 to see whether or not it
was the one calling for the interruption, it is found not to be the
one. The A/D 204A puts a skip signal on the skip bus 250 when the
device select code 242 corresponding to the A/D 204A is applied to
the device select bus 244. The computer skips the A/D 204A.
The computer then extracts from its memory 230 the word that is
stored in the next sequential memory address. That word is another
input or output transfer instruction and it calls for the A/D 204B,
by means of its six identifying bits 242, i.e., the device select
code, in step 261 of FIG. 12. A/D 204B responds with a signal on
the common skip bus 250, to tell the computer 208 that it is the
one (or one of several) which is presently requesting to interrupt
the computer. The computer accepts the density data from the A/D
204B in the same manner as it did for the A/D 204A, and again
returns to the background program after servicing the A/D 204B. The
fact that color unit A was on pressure and its delay had been
fulfilled does not guarantee that color unit B was also ready.
The background program does not as yet get started again, because
in the three-color press being described, A/D 204C is also
requesting to interrupt the computer in step 263. A/D 204C is then
serviced by the computer 208 in the same manner as the others,
after which the computer returns to its background program.
The status of the ring counter 196 is transmitted to the computer
208 to tell the computer which of the eleven densitometer heads 180
to 190 is currently providing density data. The ring counter 196
communicates data to the computer by the same method described
above for A/D converters, so details for this are omitted from the
drawings.
Processing a Density Reading
The flow chart of FIG. 14 shows the steps in processing a density
reading in the computer 208 after a densitometer has interrupted
the computer. Starting at the point 5, the computer already has in
storage 230 the density reading from a densitometer's A/D converter
204A, B, or C, as described in detail above. The computer then goes
through the routine described below, shown in FIGS. 14 and 17, and
finally returns via point 7 to FIG. 12.
Reading Validity Check
The digital computer 208 examines data received from the selected
densitometer A/D 204A, B, or C, and rejects any reading whose value
is so unexpected so as to suggest that the reading is probably
incorrect. A reading validity computation is employed for this
purpose. Such erratic readings are identified as being any reading
which does not exceed a predetermined fixed minimum value 266 (FIG.
15), or any reading which is below a floating minimum value 268, or
any reading which is above a floating maximum value 270. The
predetermined value 266 differs from the floating minimum value 268
in that the predetermined minimum value is semi-permanently
preadjusted, while the floating minimum value may change its value
in response to current conditions of operation, when the press is
in a make-ready mode of operation. Thus, the reading validity
computation accepts as being valid, only data which falls between
certain limits, and disregards data outside of those limits. When
the press is in a make-ready mode of operation, a center value 272
of the valid data range is determined by simultaneously considering
a number of recent data readings. After the system has been put
into a run mode of operation, the center value 272 of a valid range
273 is determined by density reference voltage 274 which is
predetermined for the job. Changeover to the fixed density
reference voltage 274 occurs when the operator switches from a
make-ready mode to a run mode of operation. If the current reading
is invalid, thp computer returns immediately to its main program.
To summarize the reading validity checks, the first step is to
ascertain whether the computer is in a make-ready mode or in a run
mode, by reading its own memory, step 265. This determines the
reference to be used as the center of the valid range. Validity is
then examined in step 267, and if the reading is invalid, the
computer returns to its main program via the point 7.
Data Smoothing
If the density reading is valid, it is used in a data averaging
sub-routine to compute a running smoothed value of the density
readings. This step 269 is for the purpose of data smoothing or
filtering. It is done in a manner which minimizes the number of
storage locations 230 in the computer 208 which must be provided
for storing density readings. The previous smoothed value A,
computed for the immediately preceding density measurement
interval, is subtracted from the most recent density reading D to
obtain a figure representative of the departure of the new reading
from the previous smoothed value A. This departure is divided by a
number K in order to reduce its impact, and the resulting quotient
is added to the previous smoothed value A.
Thus, in the digital embodiment, the low pass filtering for data
smoothing is accomplished by a computation sub-routine which
operates in accordance with the equation A' = A + (D-A)/K. The new
smoothed density reading A' is equal to the smoothed density
reading A for the immediately preceding measurement level, plus an
incremental change which is represented by the second term, namely,
(D-A)/K. The numerator of the second term is the departure of the
new density reading D from the previously smoothed value A. The
denominator K of the second term is a selectable number which
controls the amount of smoothing. The subroutine therefore
discounts previous values at a predetermined rate.
The effect of this equation is to permit the most recent density
reading D to affect the smoothed value A' only by a fractional
amount which is 1/K of the deviation of that new density reading D
from the previously smoothed value A. The smoothing process has a
stabilizing influence on the inking system, giving it better
behavior than it would have if each new density reading were taken
as the only density reading then available for determining the
settings of the ink keys 38. This new data smoothing system differs
from a running average of the K most recent readings, in that this
new system gives some weight not only to the K most recent
readings, but also to earlier readings obtained before them.
The newest smoothed value A' is a weighted average of A and D in
which the old smoothed value A is given (K-1) times as much weight
as the new density reading D. That A' is a weighted average of A
and D is better seen when A' is expressed in the following form,
which is equivalent to the foregoing equation:
A' = (K-1/K) A + (1/K) D
Square Root of Error Signal
The output of the smoothing computation is multiplied by a gain
constant, step 271, and a predetermined density reference value is
then subtracted from that product, step 273. The resulting
difference is multiplied by a second constant to produce a
proportional error signal 280. A variable multiplying factor can be
substituted for the second constant if desired, with its value
dependent upon the present setting of the key involved, to take
account of non-linearities in the system. The non-linear functional
relationship is stored in the computer, and can be dependent upon
actual ink key setting if desired.
Next, the error signal 280 is operated on by the computer 208 to
extract the square root 282 of its magnitude. A subroutine in
computer memory performs the square root computation by a
conventional numerical method. The square root 282 of the error
signal 280 is less responsive than the original signal 280 to
system demands for very great corrections, which may be caused
merely by system delays. The sign of the error signal is not
altered by the square root subroutine, which operates only upon the
magnitude.
Integration and Differentiation of Error Signal
If no error integral component of control signal is desired in the
control loop, the computer next directs the resulting error signal
282 to a ratchet pullback computation, to be described in more
detail below. If, instead, the computer has been directed by means
of an external switch to produce an integral component 284 of the
error signal in addition to a "proportional" component 282 which is
always present, the computer reads and resets an elapsed impression
counter 288. If one or more readings were previously discarded
because of being invalid, the integration over impressions is thus
maintained correct. It then multiplies the result by an integral
gain constant. The product 290 is multiplied by the proportional
error 282, and added to the previous value of integral error in a
step 291. The new value 284 of integral error is then added to the
proportional error 282 to produce a total error signal 292. A
derivative term may be added to the error signal also, when
desired, by a derivative subroutine, not shown. The effects upon
system behavior of a derivative component of error signal were
described in detail above in connection with the analog embodiment,
and are the same here.
If integral control has been selected, the signal 292 is employed
for the remaining steps; if integral control has not been selected,
signal 282 is, instead, employed. In either case, a determination
is made in step 293, FIG. 14, as to whether or not the density
reading which is being processed came from the last (eleventh)
density head. If it did not, a computed prospective change in
actuator setting is merely stored for later use and more density
readings are obtained. If it did, the actuators of one printing
unit are all then moved simultaneously to their prospective new
positions, in accordance with the error signal 282 or 292, as
modified, perhaps, by some ratchet pullback and anti-lift-off
computations that are now to be described.
Ratchet Pullback, Digital
The output data 282 or 292 resulting from the foregoing
computations is further processed by a "ratchet pullback"
subroutine 294, similar to that which was described in connection
with the analog embodiment above. Briefly, when one of the keys 38
is prospectively directed to a position which is undesirably close
to either one of its limits of travel, the ink fountain ratchet 34,
which independently controls the amount of ink flowing at all of
the keys 38 of one color unit, is operated to a new position. This
changes the ink flow at all of the ink key positions in such a
direction that the particular key which was becoming too close to
one of its limits need not go any closer, and may nevertheless
fulfill its ink demand. All of the other keys 38 are then moved
automatically to compensate for the change in ratchet 34 position
in order to recover their original ink flow rates. In the digital
embodiment, prospective positions of the actuators and the ratchet
motor 297 are computed, but the actuators and ratchet motor are not
moved immediately. A key liftoff prevention routine, about to be
described, is computed before anything is moved. Routine details of
the ratchet pullback concept are described in the analog embodiment
and not in the digital embodiment.
Key Liftoff Prevention
Following the ratchet pullback routine shown as step 294 in the
flow chart of FIG. 14, the information flow of the digital
embodiment goes to a key liftoff sub-routine starting at a point 4.
The key liftoff subroutine, which is shown in the flow chart of
FIG. 17, will first be described broadly without reference to the
flow chart, then in more detail with the flow chart. The key
liftoff subroutine is especially desirable in the invention if a
single continuous duct blade instead of a segmented duct blade is
used in the ink fountain. It corrects the following problem. If a
desired position of a first key were a much more open position than
that of an adjacent key, the adjacent key would prevent a single
continuous duct blade from following the first key outward as it
opens. The first key would then lift off of the duct blade, and for
positions of the first key farther open than its liftoff position,
the first key would have no further control of the blade, the blade
being restrained by the adjacent key.
Typical experimental data obtained with a particular duct blade
show that control by each individual key (or key group) can be
maintained for several thousandths of an inch beyond the position
of adjacent keys (or key groups), but that further movement of the
key has no effect. If a required rate of ink flow has not yet been
fulfilled by the time the key being adjusted lifts off of the duct
blade, additional fountain opening must be accomplished by moving
the adjacent keys or gey groups farther open. A similar situation
occurs when one key is turned very far inward with respect to
adjacent keys. The inward-going key would lift the duct blade off
of the stationary adjacent keys, absent some preventive measures.
The purpose of the ink key liftoff subroutine is to prevent ink
fountain key liftoff from the fountain blade, while at the same
time fulfilling the commanded ink flow requirements, to produce the
desired optical density of printing. When ink flow requirements
call for an ink key position which would be expected to result in
key liftoff, the adjacent key positions are adjusted to prevent key
liftoff so that all key groups remain in contact with the ink
fountain blade and are capable of control without lost motion.
The principle of operation of the key liftoff sub-routine involves
the following steps. First, the desired changes in key positions,
which are ordinarily indicated by optical density readings on the
printed material, are computed for all of the keys or key groups.
Prospective positions of keys are then computed by adding the
desired changes to the actually existing key positions. Before any
of the keys are moved to the prospective positions, however, the
prospective position for each key (or key group) is compared with
the prospective positions of adjacent keys to ascertain whether or
not liftoff would occur if the prospective positions were to be
taken by all of the keys. If any liftoffs are predicted, the keys
are not driven to the prospective positions. Instead, the
prospective position information is modified so that the maximum
difference of offset between positions of acjacent keys does not
exceed a difference .DELTA. , below which liftoff is certain to be
prevented. In comparing the prospective position of each key with
that of adjacent keys, it is convenient to start with the key whose
prospective position or gap is the greatest of any of the keys, and
proceed to consider all of the keys in a sequence of decreasing
magnitude of key position. The subroutine could equally well have
called for starting instead with the key having the smallest
prospective position and proceeding to treat the keys in ascending
order of prospective position.
Each key is offset from an adjacent key by some amount; if that
amount exceeds the maximum permissible amount .DELTA. beyond which
liftoff may occur, an additional adjustment is required for an
adjacent key. An amount X by which the offset between a key and an
adjacent key exceeds the permissible offset .DELTA. is computed by
the following formula: x= (P.sub.K + C.sub.K) - (P.sub.A - C.sub.a
+ .DELTA. ). In this equation, X is a tentative computed excess of
offset between a key and an adjacent key. The maximum allowable key
offset distance is .DELTA. . The current actual position of any
particular key is designated as P, followed by a subscript. The key
under examination is indicated by the subscript K. An adjacent key
is indicated by the subscript A. A prospective change in key
position is C, followed by a subscript. The primed quantities to be
introduced below designate final values, while unprimed quantities
represent original values. If X is negative or zero, the offset is
not excessive and no adjustment of the adjacent key is required. If
X is positive, the offset is so great that liftoff is likely to
occur if the keys are moved to the indicated positions; the
adjacent key must therefore be moved enough to bring the final
offset down to the maximum permissible offset value .DELTA. . Thus,
if X is positive, liftoff is predicted, and new prospective
positions and corrections must be calculated as follows: P'.sub.A =
P.sub.K - .DELTA. ; C'.sub.A = P'.sub.A - P.sub.A ; C'.sub.K =
C.sub.K (unchanged); P'.sub.K = P.sub.K +C.sub.K (unchanged).
Actual present positions of the keys are sensed by individual
feedback potentiometers 295, each of which is mechanically
connected to the actuator of one key, FIG. 16. All of the
potentiometers 295 are energized at their extreme ends by a power
supply and, by means of a movable contact, each sends an analog
signal indicative of its key's position to a position feedback
multiplexer 297. Under control of the digital computer 208, the
position feedback multiplexer 297 selects the position data of one
of the keys at a time, and sends this one analog signal to an
analog-to-digital converter 299. The analog-to-digital converter
299 produces a digital output signal and transmits it to the
digital computer 208. By the same interfacing means which was
described above in detail, the digital computer accepts data into
its memory 230 from the key position feedback potentiometers,
details being omitted this time.
A patch panel 301 is provided for specifying to the digital
computer 208 the grouping of the ink keys, a group of one or more
keys being controlled by each density sensing head. The patch panel
301 is a manual data input device by which a set-up man can specify
which of the ink keys are to be controlled by each of the density
sensing heads.
In the flow chart for performing the key liftoff subroutine, shown
in FIG. 17, the steps of the process are numbered. In general, the
first six steps compute prospective positions and identify the key
currently to be examined. The seventh step performs the computation
of the quantity X in the formula above, with respect to an adjacent
key in an adjacent group. If liftoff is predicted by the seventh
step, an adjacent key correction is made in the eighth step, and
the new information is substituted for old values in storage 230.
Details of the steps of the key liftoff subroutine are as follows:
In the first step, the key actuator, (for example, one of the
actuators in the set 300A) which corresponds to the left-hand end
of a first group of keys, is identified. In the second step, the
position of that actuator is determined by the computer by reading
the actuators's feed-back potentiometer 295. In the third step, a
prospective position of the subject actuator is calculated by
algebraically adding a calculated correction to the present actual
key position. The correction can be based upon either density
readings or manual commands. The prospective key position datum
which is thus computed is stored in a temporary table of the
computer memory. In the fourth step, the first three steps are
repeated for the actuator which is at the right-hand end of that
same group. In the fifth step, prospective positions for the
left-hand end and the right-hand end of each of the other groups of
fountain keys are computed, and stored in a temporary table in the
computer memory. In the sixth step, the particular key, of those
listed in the tamporary table, which has the greatest prospective
position (i.e., ink gap), is identified. It will be the first one
which will be studied to determine whether or not it will lift off.
In the eighth step, the quantity X of the foregoing equation is
computed for that key. If X is positive, indicating that liftoff
would occur, the correction for the adjacent key, in a different
group from the subject key, is changed to a value C'.sub.A such
that its new position would be P'.sub.A as shown in the equations.
As a result, this new prospective position P'.sub.A of the adjacent
key is different from the position of the subject key which is
being studied by an amount exactly equal to .DELTA. , so that
liftoff should not occur. The new values replace the old values in
all the stored data regarding prospective positions. If, instead,
the computation of the seventh step shows that liftoff will not
occur because the offset is not excessive, no adjustment need be
made in the adjacent key's prospective correction value as
previously computed. In the ninth step, the subject key which was
just taken care of is deleted from the temporary table so that the
second greatest key position of the original array is now the
greatest key position still remaining in the temporary table. A
check is made in the tenth step as to whether or not all of the
keys have as yet been studied, for this particular printing unit;
if they have not, the subroutine returns to the sixth step and
operates on the highest remaining key position in the temporary
table. If, upon the tenth step, all of the actuators for the
printing unit are found to have been done, the computer goes to the
eleventh step and transfers the data describing the final
prospective changes through an external output decoder and
multiplexer 296 to a corresponding data register of the printing
unit, for example, data register 298A, FIG. 16. Also in the
eleventh step, the computer issues a command to a gate flip-flop
303 which enables pulses from an AC source 305 to actuate all of
the keys 38 to take up their final prospective positions as
computed above by computer 208. All of the keys which are to be
moved are moved simultaneously by their actuators. More details of
the operation of the actuator circuits of FIG. 16, that is, the
last step of the key liftoff routine, are given below. The end of
the key liftoff subroutine is indicated by a point 6 which returns
the control of the computer to the main program as shown on FIG.
14.
Actuator Circuits
The last step of the key lift-off routine involves the following
details. The computer 208 sends signals to the external output
decoder and multiplexer 296, FIG. 16. The output decoder and
multiplexer 296 multiplexes the computers's output to data
registers such as register 298A, for the various actuators such as
actuators 300A, preparatory to later driving those actuators
simultaneously to their new positions.
Each of the actuators 300A, B, C, FIG. 16, includes groups of
bi-directional synchronous motors 302A, B, C, one motor being
associated with each key. The motors are driven by short bursts
304A, B, C, of AC voltage from the AC source 305, transmitted
through logic gates 306A, B, C, for the actuators 300A, B, C,
respectively. In the sequence of operation, information intended
for the actuators 300A, B, C, is multiplexed out of the computer
208 to the groups of data storage registers 298A, B, C. The
direction of each motor is controlled by a direction flip-flop
stage or sign bit of each register. Each register, such as register
298A, accommodates eleven words. All 33 storage registers 298A, B,
C, (three for each of the eleven densitometer heads 180 to 190) are
first preset by the computer 208. Then all of the actuators which
are to move during an adjustment interval are moved simultaneously,
to minimize transverse slipping of the ink keys 38 on the inker
blade 36.
The ink keys 38 are moved in discrete steps. As a numerical example
of one typical embodiment, each step of a key 38 moves the key
0.000125 lineal inch. Four steps are accomplished per second when a
maximum rate of change of key position is called for. The key then
travels at an average speed of 0.0005 inch per second. Typically,
one impression per second may be made on a sheet-fed press, in
which case the keys can travel 0.0005 lineal inch per impression.
If a density reading is made by a particular one of the eleven
density heads 180 to 190 only upon each eleventh impression, a
corresponding key has time to travel 0.0055 inch for each density
reading interval of that particular key 38. Full scale travel of
the keys is approximately 0.03 inch, as an example.
The burst signals 304A, B, C, of AC voltage, in addition to driving
the actuators, are rectified and filtered by rectifier-filters
308A, B, C, to produce groups of pulses 310A, B, C, which
count-down the data registers 298A, B, C. The data registers 298A,
B, C are pre-settable down-counters which stop at zero reading and
thereupon produce a pulse. When the count in a data register 298A,
B, C becomes zero, the pulse thereupon produced disables the gates
306A, B, C by means of an OR gate 313 whose output resets the gate
flip flop 303. This turns off the AC signals 304A, B, C to the
corresponding actuators 300A, B, C, and stops the actuators.
End of a Density Data Interrupt
After the key liftoff routine of FIG. 17 has been completed, the
computer is at a point 6 of FIG. 14. It then returns to the main
program by going first to the terminal 7 of FIG. 12, where it
performs a few interrupt return steps 136, 318 and 320. Step 316
involves putting back into the accumulator 222 and into the link
224 the data from the background program which had been stored in
the memory 230 when the background program was interrupted. The
capability of the computer to be interrupted is then re-enabled in
the step 318, and the computer returns to the interrupted
background program in the step 320.
If another densitometer channel, such as the channel for color B or
for color C, then has some data ready, (and it should have), the
computer then goes through another entire interrupt routine,
starting again at the top of FIG. 12, before accomplishing anything
on the background program.
When the density readings obtained from the printed sheet 50 become
equal to the reference density settings called for by the operator
and stored in the computer, the error signal 292 is zero and the
actuators 300A, B, c do not operate until the next occurance of an
error signal.
Prospective changes in key positions are computed and stored in the
computer for all of the keys or key groups of a printing unit
before any of the keys of the unit are adjusted. Then all keys of
the unit are adjusted simultaneously upon a command generated by
the computer.
Other Controls
The actuators can be controlled manually also, in an open-loop mode
of operation, by the operator, who may observe density readings and
intervene at the digital computer 208 by interjecting control
signals 312, FIG. 16. To adjust an ink key, the operator holds a
spring-return manual switch down; the ink key moves as long as the
switch is held down.
All of the features of the digital embodiment can be provided also
in the analog embodiment and vice versa although not all of them
are shown in both embodiments.
It is necessary to associate the various sensors of the
densitometer heads 41 and the channels of the gated densitometer
measuring circuits 51 with the various printing units, in the
digital embodiment of the invention, for the same reasons which
were described in connection with the analog embodiment, FIG. 8A
and FIG. 8B. In the digital embodiment, a single six-position
selector switch 174', FIG. 9, is provided for setting by the
operator. Each of the six positions of switch 174' correspond to a
different permutation of connections between densitometer channels
and printing units, as shown in FIG. 8B. The position of switch
174' is read by the digital computer in the course of executing its
program. On the basis of the switch's position, a correct set of
printing unit and display pointers is selected and stored for
program use. The selection information may be entered into the
computer from a keyboard or other data input device instead of from
the manual selector switch 174' if desired.
The ink keys 38 can be present to provide approximately correct ink
feed for each job in accordance with data entered either manually
by the operator or automatically from a data storage and handling
device, such as a reader for punched paper tape. Both of these
methods are indicated in FIG. 16 by the block "various inputs from
operator." The data thus entered are stored in the computer's
memory 230 until a command occurs to call it forth to be utilized
for control.
Data stored in the computer 208 and data available to the computer
can be read out by various methods. For example, a successful set
of key settings for a particular job can be read out and stored on
punched paper tape for future use in presetting the keys.
A single computer can be employed for a plurality of printing
presses if desired.
* * * * *