US 6,981,444 B2 | ||
Seamed sleeved printing blanket | ||
Joseph L. Byers, Inman, S.C. (US); Leslie Scott Hix, Covington, Ga. (US); Timothy F. Badowski, Chicago, Ill. (US); and Michael F. Stock, Johnsburg, Ill. (US) | ||
Assigned to MLP U.S.A., Inc., Lincolnshire, Ill. (US) | ||
Filed on Dec. 16, 2004, as Appl. No. 11/14,321. | ||
Application 11/014321 is a continuation of application No. 10/110356, granted, now 6,848,364, filed on Feb. 01, 2005, previously published as PCT/US00/28379, filed on Oct. 13, 2000. | ||
Application 10/110356 is a continuation in part of application No. 09/419493, filed on Oct. 15, 1999, abandoned. | ||
Prior Publication US 2005/0139101 A1, Jun. 30, 2005 | ||
Int. Cl. B41F 13/193 (2006.01); B41F 30/04 (2006.01); B41F 13/08 (2006.01) |
U.S. Cl. 101—217 | 15 Claims |
1. A seamed sleeved blanket for use in an offset lithographic printing press having a plate cylinder that has an axial, a
radial, and a circumferential direction, said plate cylinder also having an outer circumferential surface, said outer circumferential
surface of said plate cylinder being interrupted by a plate cylinder gap extending in a direction substantially parallel to
the axial direction of said plate cylinder, with said plate cylinder gap having a plate cylinder gap width measured in the
circumferential direction of said plate cylinder across said plate cylinder gap, and said printing press having a printing
plate mounted substantially radially outwardly of said plate cylinder, said printing plate having a leading end, a trailing
end, and two sides, said leading and trailing ends of said printing plate being tucked into said plate cylinder gap when said
printing plate is mounted on said plate cylinder, said printing plate having an image-bearing surface that does not include
said leading and trailing ends of said printing plate, said image-bearing surface of said printing plate being the radially
outwardmost surface of said printing plate when said printing plate is mounted on said plate cylinder, said image-bearing
surface being capable of bearing an inked image, and said printing press further having a blanket cylinder that has an axial,
a radial, and a circumferential direction, said blanket cylinder having a continuous outer circumferential surface, wherein
said seamed sleeved blanket comprises:
an expandable cylindrical sleeve, said cylindrical sleeve having an axial, a radial, and a circumferential direction, said
cylindrical sleeve also having a continuous outer circumferential surface;
a sheet of pre-made blanket material having a leading edge, a trailing edge, and two side edges, said pre-made blanket material
comprising multiple attached layers and being wrapped around the outer circumferential surface of said cylindrical sleeve,
with said pre-made blanket material being adhered to the outer circumferential surface of said cylindrical sleeve such that
both the leading edge and the trailing edge of said pre-made blanket material extend in a direction substantially parallel
to the axial direction of said cylindrical sleeve, and wherein said leading edge and said trailing edge of said pre-made blanket
material define a blanket gap;
wherein said blanket gap extends in a direction substantially parallel to the axial direction of said cylindrical sleeve;
wherein said pre-made blanket material adhered to said cylindrical sleeve has an axial, a radial, and a circumferential direction,
as well as an outer circumferential surface, said outer circumferential surface of said pre-made blanket material being interrupted
by said blanket gap;
wherein said blanket gap has a blanket gap width measured across said blanket gap in the circumferential direction of said
pre-made blanket material adhered to said cylindrical sleeve;
wherein one layer of said multiple attached layers of said pre-made blanket material adhered to said cylindrical sleeve is
a print layer, said print layer being the radially outwardmost layer of the multiple attached layers of said pre-made blanket
material adhered to said cylindrical sleeve, said print layer having a printing surface located on the radially outwardmost
surface of said print layer capable of receiving an inked image from said image-bearing surface of said printing plate and
capable of transferring said inked image to a surface to be printed;
wherein another layer of said multiple attached layers of said pre-made blanket material adhered to said cylindrical sleeve
is a volume compressible layer located radially inwardly of said print layer;
wherein yet another layer of said multiple attached layers of said pre-made blanket material adhered to said cylindrical sleeve
includes a supportive substrate being located radially inwardly of said volume compressible layer;
wherein said plate cylinder gap width is greater than or equal to said blanket gap width;
wherein said blanket contains filler material within said blanket gap to form a seam; and
wherein said pre-made blanket material is adhered to said cylindrical sleeve using adhesive.
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