US2928340A - Textile printing machine - Google Patents

Description

M. STEIN EVAL TEXTILE PRINTING MACHINE March 15, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 2l, 1957 lNvENToRs.

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M. sTElN ET AL 2,928,340

TEXTILE PRINTING MACHINE March l5, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 2l, 1957 March 15, 1960 M STEIN ETAL TEXTILE PRINTING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed MarCh 2l, 1957 50,' 'Tlc'..

March l5, 1960 M. STEIN ETAL TEXTILE PRINTING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 2l, 1957 Wm n NNN.-. o NN.. RN wm um EN NQ NN.. N .m 5 n |WR\|I|IV u MA @NSN 1 :mdTHrLr BY M,

March 15, 1960 M. STEIN ETAL 2,928,340

TEXTILE PRINTING MACHINE Tlqllf. 174

Filed March 2l. 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTORS.'

M m 9074 M ATTORN E I Unite TEXTILE PRlNTlNG MACHiNE Max Stein, East Paterson, and Louis FrWerner, Saddie River, NJ.; said Werner assignor to said Stein Application March 21, 1957,.Serial No. 647599 Claims. (Cl. 10i-120) can print patterns using inexpensive silk screens of ordi-V nary kind and which are commercially available.

Still another object is to provide a machine of this kind which can readily be adjusted to printwith uniformly high quality using one of a variety ofk printing substances of various viscosities and drying times upon any one of a variety of different materials.

A further object is to provide such a machine which is inexpensive to manufacture yand which can be operated at low cost and with great saving of labor.

These and other objects will be in part understood from and in part pointed out in the description given hereinafter. s

In silk screen printing of textiles, for example, it is still frequent practice, ink spite of the many machines which have been developed in the past, to appiy the printing ink through the screen to the textile by hand using a squeegee. An important reason for this is that even though labor costs are high, these are more thanoifset by the low invest rent in equipment. which is possible with hand operation, by the fact that relatively very inexpensive silk screens can be used, and by the higher p quality of the printing which can be obtained incomparison to the usual machine operation.

Previous machines for screen printing textiles have frequently required expensive screens of metal, for example, which are relatively difficult to produce and which to recoup the initial investment must be used to produce a fairly large amount of printed'goods. However it often is desirable to produce only a-very limited amount of goods printed with a given pattern. Under such conditions the high initial cost of setting up a machine able to take the place of hand operationis not justified. Again, where highest quality in the printing on the `goods is required there previously has been no completelyV satisfactory substitute for hand printing. This'is true because of the difficulty of using certain printing inks and dyes'. Some inks are more easily applied than others andare more easily applied at one time than lanother time depending on temperature and humidity, for example. VPrior textile printing machines have been diihcult to control in regard to the amount and uniformity of ink applied to the goods and in regard to printing in exact registry a pattern in one color over. another color already printed on the goods. The present invention seeksfto avoid these diicultes with prior machines andv to provide: a textile printing machine which israble to use ordinary silk screens such as are commonly available for hand operation to States Patent *i ice 2 Agive' high quality printing with a relatively very smallcost each time in setting up the'machne to run a given pattern.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a" nearly completely automatic machine for print' f ingdesigns upon textiles and the like, this machine having one or more uniquely mountedand driven hollow drums each of which is adapted to carry a flat rectangular silk screen held in cylindrical form. Each drum of this machine is adapted to rotate its respective silk screen in contact along a tangent line against a strip of material being printed upon. Provision is made so that each drum can automatically be controlled during at least once each revolution to raise the screen out of contact with the material, to rotate the screen to an index point, and then again to lower the screen into printing` contact. Thereafter, the strip material and drum are moved relatively'to one another lengthwise of thevstrip, and the drum is rotated at a peripheral speed equal to the relative speed of translational movement of the strip and drum so that the pattern carried on the silk screen is printed upon the material.

Within each screen-supporting drum of this machine there is provided a distributor head for the ink or other printing substance to be applied through the screen onto the strip material. The distributor head and its associated parts do not rotate with the drum. Flow of ink from this head onto the silk screen is turned on or off` in accordance with whether the drum is in printing or non printing position. When the drum is in printing. position, this distributor head is pressedV against the inside surface of the silk screen and acts as a squeegee to force the ink through the screen. The force with which the distributor head bears against. the silk screen, which in turn determines the force of the screen against the strip material, canY readily be adjusted While the machine is in operation so that it is very simple to obtain optimum transfer of ink through thesilk screen onto the strip ma! terial. The inkV supplied to the silk screen from the dis.- tributor head is supplied under pressure which can be adjusted while the machine isin .operation so that re'- gardless of temperature and humidity variations, uni.- forrnhigh qualityrof printing isobtained.

The repeat lengthof apatternpr-inted by this machine is not restricted to the. circumferential length of the silk screen mounted on its supporting drum but. can be any fraction or. sub-multiple. of this length. ln other words, a patternA can beV repeatedin lessV than one revolution of thedrum.y

In one specific4 embodiment ofthe invention nine separate screensupportingdrums and their associatedscreens are mounted in a row extending over and along the line of travel ofv an endlessbelt conveyor along whichmoves a strip of material to be printedwith a vari-coloredpatf circumferencejof thedrum. Thus the'beginning line of the color` pattern printedby each drum will notcoincidc with the beginning line of the pattern fortheadjacent drum and thishelps. to minimize any slight irregularities which may occur in the positions ofy these beginning lines.

TheV endless conveyor which carries the material'being printed uponis advantageously madeof sheet metaL-.such

as thin. steel. `The material is held from'slipping on this belt by a unique arrangement of adhesive spots whichV are applied to the belt and warmed andcooled alternately to grip and to release thematerial. Iny addition, the

belt itself is heated somewhat tospeed thedryingzof theprinting ink applied to the materialY carried on topof the belt, thussimplfying the printing, of one, color. inmedif ately uponanotlierin a continuous. operation.'V

The nine drums of this specic embodiment oftheV invention are each separately mounted for rotation in unison with the other drums and also mounted for up and down movement in unison with each other out of and into contact with the material to be printed upon. Each drum is individually removable from the machine but its mounting is indexed so that each time the drum is inserted into the machine, itwill occupy a given position relative to the other drums.

A better understanding of the invention together with a fuller appreciation of its many advantages will best be gained from a study of the following description given in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side perspective view of a single drum embodiment of a textile printing machine incorporating features of the invention;

Figure 2 shows a flat rectangular silk screen mounted in a flexible metal frame so that it can be mounted in cylindrical form on the support drum of the machine in Figure 1; f

Figure 3 is a perspective view taken from a point somewhat above and to one side of the machine of the support drum with screen removed;

Figure 4 is a front view of the drum somewhat reduced in scale and broken away to show the interior of the drum with the ink distributor head in raised position; l Figure 5 is an enlarged sidesection view of the support drum and distributor head taken as indicated by lines 5-5 in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the :carriage track and,

brake taken along lines 6-6 in Figure 1;

Figure 7 is an enlarged view of `a carriage supporting wheel in engagement with the track takenas indicated by lines 7--7 in Figure l; v

Figure 8 is a block schematic diagram of the air pressure lines which are connected to the machine and which energize certain of its operations;

Figure 9 is a schematic circuit diagram of the electrical switches which control air pressure in the various lines shown in Figure 8 and which also control the electric drive of the machine;

Figure 10 is a side perspective view of another embodiment of the invention showing a machine adapted to print up to nine different colors of a pattern on a strip l 'of material which is carried through the machine on the top run of an endless conveyor belt;

Figure 11 is an enlarged sidevew taken as indicated by lines 11-11 in Figure 10 showing'two of the screensupporting drums and the means for rotating and for lifting them; A

. Figure 12V is a'top viewrtaken as indcated by lines 12-12 in Figure 11 of one end of the drive rolls;

Figure 13A is an enlarged detail of thenshaft support for one of the drums showing how it is indexed;

Figure 14 is an enlarged section view takenas indicated by lines 14-14 in Figure l0;

Figure 15 is a perspective View of a portion of the strip of material and the belt conveyor showing the spots of adhesive which temporarily unite the two; and Y Figure 16 is a side view of the input end ofthe ma? chine of Figure 10 showing a modied arrangement where -an intermediate layer of absorbent material such as paper is intersposed between the conveyor belt and the material to be printed upon. Y

Referring rst to Figure 1, the machine 10 includes a self-propelledcarriage 12 adapted to ride along the geared tracks 14 iXed to a long support table 16. Between the tracks and stretching down the length of table 16 is a strip of material 18, such as cloth, which is to be printed with a pattern by machine 10. This strip is attached to the table along its edges at 19. Rotatably mounted in a yoke 20 carried on machine carriage 12 is a silk screen supporting drum 22 which is adapted to roll along in contact with Amaterial 18 and to print a pattern thereon. The drum 22 (but not the parts located the drum) is rotatably mounted in the end bearings 24 which are in turn supported by the yoke 20. The drum is provided at its opposite ends with ring gears 28,

by means of which it is positively rotated atall times during operation of the machine by a pair ofgears 26 which engage the ring gears and are driven in a manner described below. Yoke 20 is pivoted at its right end to carriage 12 at points 29 and its left end is movable up and downto raise or lower the drum out of contact with the strip of material 18.1 1

The cylindrical portion of drum 22 comprises a silk screen 30 that is wound into a cylindrical eoniiguration. As shown in Figure 2, this screen is held in a rectangular frame of ilexible metal strips having two end strips 32 and 34 which, as seen in Figure 1, are held edge to edge together on drum 22. The metal strips which hold During operation of machine 10, carriage 12 is driven along the tracks 14 being supported by the four freely rotatable wheels 40, each wheel being mounted near a respective corner of carriage 12 as shown in Figure 7. Each wheel 40 bears against a flat portion 41 of a rail 14, the toothed portion 42 of the rail being engaged by parts mounted on the carriage in the following manner. Motive power for the carriage is supplied from the motor 44, mounted on the right end of carriage 12 as seen in Figure 1, through the gear speed reducer 46 and the gear train generally indicated at 48 to the clutch operated gear 50. This gear meshes with the toothed `portion 42 of track 14'and when the gear rotates the carriage is driven along the track. Gear 50 is connected to or disconnected from gear train 48 by theelectrically operated clutch 52.

While the carriage is moving, drum 22 is rotated by gears V26 which in turn are driven through a belt 54 from one of the' continuously rotation pinions of gear train 48. Assuming that carriage 12 is moving to the right in Figure 1, drum 22 would be rotated clockwise so. that it rolls but does not slide in contact with material 18.

Whentheframe strips 32, 34 have rotated on drum 22 with toothed portion 42 of'track 14 as indicated in Figt ure 6. At the same time drive gear 50 is temporarily disconnected from the motor44 by de-energization of clutch 52. -In this condition drum 22 continues to rotate until strips 32,34 can no longer ,contact material 18. Thereupon a cam 38 actuates another electric switch A39 which causes drum 22 to be lowered and carriage 12 once againtof be driven Valong tracks 14. Duringthe times Vthat drum 22 is raised, no ink is applied, and the ink distributor head is withdrawn from contact with the screen. This withdrawal permits the ink-impervious end strips 32 and 34 and their supporting member to rotate freely past the `distributor head which doesv not itself rotate. i

Drum`22 is shown in Figure 3 with screen 30 removed. Joining ring gears 28 is a rib 60 which carries a number of the pins 36 adapted to engage with the holes in strips carriage 12 and which is also shown in [Figure l.

external ink reservoir 68 seen in Figure 1. fixed to yoke 2t) and does not rotate.

As seen in Figure 4, an ink distributor head '78 is suspended from axle 62. It is spring urged upward to the position shown so that there is clearance Vfor rib 69 to rotate beneath it. Head 70 is meved down to printing position by the two air cylinders 72 which can be: adjusted in the downward force they exert by the magnitude of air pressure applied to them. Cylindersv 72Y are energized by the air-lines 74 from an external air supply.

Axle 562 is Ink is supplied to head 70 from tank 64 by the four lines 76 Figire 5 shows headt in cross section. The bottoni part of the head is formed by a curved plate 78 which is adapted to bear against the inside of screen 3i) to apply ink thereto. This plate acts as a squeegee.. A narrow central slit iid runs the length of plate 78 between it and the front wall 82 of the head. This slit permits the ink to pass under pressure from an inside chamber 84 with'- in head 70 to the screen. Slidably mounted with plate 78 is a blade 86 which can be adjusted externally to control the amount of ink passing through slit 88 for a given pressure.

Head 78 at its rear is pivotally supported at points 88 by two spaced plates 98 (see also Figures 3 and 4) which are rigidly fixed to the non-rotating axle 62. The front end of the head is adapted to be pushed down by air cylinders 72 when they are energized. When lthey are not energized, a compression spring 92 in each cylinder acts to lift the head upward from the position shown in Figure 5 out of contact with screen 3i?. It should be re- .rnernbered that ordinarily when the head is lifted, drum 22 will also be lifted.

underside of the conveyor belt.

tions of machine 1d are shown schematically in Figure 8. These lines* are all connected at the left to a main supply'line 96 via the manifold 98. The iirst line, line 180, leading from the manifold is connected via the manually controlled pressure regulator 102 to the main ink reservoir 68. ink supply line 66 leads from the res` ervoir to supply tank 64, as previously explained, the flow of ink through it being turned on or off by the electrically operated solenoid valve 104, which when energized i's open.

Also leading from manifold 98 is air line 74 which controls the head lowering cylinders 72 within drum 22. Line 74 is opened or closed by the electric solenoid valve 186, open when energized, so that when air pressure is vapplied to cylinders `72 the ink distributor head is pressed downward into contact with screen 3i?. Valve 166 is manually adjustable externally of drum 2'2-so that the 'pressure of head '7G against screen 30 can bevaried if desired while the machine is in operation. Y

A third air line 108 leading from manifold 98 controls the lift cylinders 56 which raise or lower yoke 2t). When air pressure is applied through line 108 cylinders`56 raisel yoke 20. This air pressure is turned on when the electric 'solenoid valve 110 in line 188 is energized.

The forth line from manifold 98, line 112, controls the air-operated brake generally indicated at 114 mounted on This brake is provided in addition to electric brake 58; it is kunlocked when there is air pressurcin line 112Yand locked when there is no pressure therein, this pressure being turned on or off by the electric solenoid Valve 116.

Figure 9 shows schematically the electric control'circuit for the motor drive, the brake and the solenoid valves of machine 10. Electricity is supplied to the machine from a power line 120 through the main switch 122. Drive motor 44 is connected to the power line through switch 122 and the reversing switch 124 which can be set for forward or for reverse operation as indicated. Connected to the motor side of switch 122 is the lead 126 which runs to one of the switches 39, normally closed, and to the energizing coil of the relay 128. This relay 'spaanse ,controls the 'single 'p'ole double throw switch contacts 130, 132 and 134. When relay 128 is energized, switches j is de-energized by the opening of the switch 39 in lead i l yConnected to lead 126 is a lead 136 which connects through the other switch 39 to the relay 138. When this relay is energized it holds the switches and 142 up thereby opening, respectively, the air valve 186 and the ink valve 104. With both relays 128 and k138 energi'zed, machine 10 will operate to print on material strip 18. Y l

The two cams 38, one carried on each end of rotating drum 22, are adjusted so that the two switches 39 operate to de-en'ergize relay 128 and 138 approximately at the same time. Thus carriage 12 will be stopped, yoke 20 raised, head 70 raised and the ink feed cut oif in the proper sequence and for the length of timenecessary for drum 22 to rotate to its starting position. Thereupon, the switches 39 will be permitted to close andthe ends of this conveyor belt are supported respectively by Y the left and right pulley arrangements 156 and 158. Each of these arrangements includes grooved wheels, such as wheels 160 seen in Figure 14, which engage corresponding drive belts of vrubber or the like vulcanized to the I The wheels 160 in ar# rangement 156 are mounted on a freely rotatable axle 164 supported from the frame of the machine. The wheels in arrangement 158 are similarlymounted on an axle but this axle Vis positively driven through a mechanical drive clut'ch 166, the drive shaft 168 and the hydraulic motor 170. Pulley arrangement`158, during operation of the machine, can be started and stopped pe- ,Y

riodically and can be locked in ston y y position by the electrically controlled brake 172.

As belt conveyor 154 rotates clockwise as viewed in Figure l0, its top run ydraws alongwith it alstrip 174 of artextile fabric or the like and carries this strip suc'- 'cessively beneath the nine printing drums 176. Each of these 'drums can be substantially'like drum 22 seen in Figure 1 but with suitable modic'ations `to 'be described. Each drum 176 is vadapted to print a different colo'iof ink, for example, so thatrin one pass through `machine. 159, the fabric or material 174 can be imprinted with the pattern having up to nine diierent colors. Material 174Ais`unrolle`d from a supply4 cylinder 178 at the left end of the machine and is taken up on a receiving reel 180 at the right.

When the fabric or material 1,74 cornes into contact,

at the left end of machine 150, with the 'top run of con` veyor belt 154, which Yadvantage .ousl y is a thin band of metal such as steel, the strip is temporarily though firmly 'anchored to the conveyor by means of adhesive previously applied to the outer surface of the belt. Shown in Figure l() just to the right of left pulley assembly l156 near the bottom of the machine, and shown'also in greater detail in Figure 14 isv an arrangement 182 for applying these spots of adhesive, which advantageously Included in this arrangement are a number of toothed Wheels 184 ofa material such as felt suitable for daubing .the adhesive onto the belt in spots. Each wheel 184 rotates in contact with conveyor belt 154 being frictionallydriven thereby and :in turn applying, as seen in Figure 15, spots 186 of adhesive to the belt. The wheels 184 are charged with adhesive from the drum rollers 188 and 190, roller 190 running partly immersed in a trough 192 containing the 'adhesive in liquid form. The adhesive to be applied to the belt is "n'aii'atained heated to vtacky consistency in the rmarmer the strip. This causes a sudden cooling of the adhesive` spots 186 and renders them non-tacky whereupon the strip 174 can be separated from the belt by pulling the strip straight forward while the belt is returned down over pulley 153 back to the left end of the machine. During its return to the left end of the machine, the belt is heated by the elect-ric radiator 196 positioned just beneath and lying across the lower -run`of the belt.v

The heat supplied by radiator 196 warms the belt enough so that the adhesive spots 186 remain tacky as the top run of the belt passes beneath the drums l176. In addition, the heat supplied to belt 154 warms strip 174 from beneath and quickly drives off water or liquid contained in the inks being applied from the drums 176. This heating accelerates the drying of the inkand insures that a pattern of one color can be printed immediately on top of another color without smearing or smudging. Y

When working with a strip of material 1-'74 through which the ink or printing substance being applied bythe drums 176 tends to bleed, it may be desirable to provide between non-pervious belt 154 and the material a layer or strip of absorbent material. An arrangement Vfor doing this'is shown in Figure 16 wherein a paper strip 198 is pulled from a supply roll being positioned between the material 174 and the belt 154. Any ink which may bleed through strip 174 will then be absorbed by the paper strip 198.

Each of the drums176 can have an internal structure substantially the same as that of drum 22 seen in Figures 3, 4 and 5, for'example, and can have mounted around its periphery a silk screen similar to silk screen 30. During operation of the machine 150, each of the vdrums 176 is rotated in unison with the other and is raised or lowered in unison with the others in co-operation with the intermittent forward movement of the strip 174 through the machine. `Each drum 176 as seen in Figures 10, 11 and 12, is rotatably mounted on a yoke 200 on each side of the machine to the frame at points 202. The frontV or left end of each yoke 200 is adapted to be raised or lowered by a wedge block 204 which bears against a cam surface 205 on the underside of the yoke. Each of the wedge blocks 204 is mounted on a commonl shaft 206 which when pushed to the right, as .indicated in Figures lland 12, raises the yokes 200 andlifts each of the drums 176-out of contact with strip 174. While in raised position each Vdrum continues to rotate until it returns to a predetermined angular position.

As seen in Figure l2, each drum 176 is supported at each end by a `non-rotatable stub axle 208 which is notched, as shown in Figure 13, to mate with the tongue 210 of a shaft 212 non-rotatably mounted on yoke 200. This arrangement permits the quick removal of each of the drums `176 so that its silk screen can be replaced as -desired and provides positive indexing of the distributor head within each drum relative to the frame of the rotated through the drive chain 226 from the drive shaft Y 168 and the main drive motor 170. Also driven from shaft 168 are the two control drums 228 and 230 which revolve in synehronism with the drums 176 and which control the microswitches 232 and 234 to start and stop the machine in the same way that machine 10 is controlled by the switches 39.

During operation of machine 150 the strip of 4material 174 is drawn to the right through the machine, being` contacted by the drums 176 whichroll in contact with it. When theV drums 176 have completed a pre-determined` portion of a revolution, depending on the repeat length of the particular pattern being printed, the switches 232 and 234 are actuated whereupon clutch 166 which drives belt 154 is de-energized, brake 172 is energized to positively stop the belt, `wedge blocks 204 are pushed to the right by the solenoid 236 acting on the left end of shaft 206, and the ink distributor headv within each drum is raised out of contact with its respective silk screen. The drums 176 then continue torotate for an amount determined by the rotation of the drumsV 228 and 230 after which the switches 232 and 234 are again acutated causing the drums 176 and theirink distributor heads to be lowered and conveyor belt 154 once more to be driven clockwise.

The above description is intended in illustration and not in limitation of the invention. Various changes or modifications in the embodiments shown may occur to those skilled inthe art and these can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth.

We claim:

l. A textile printing Ymachine of the character scribed comprising, in combination, means for supporting a length of material to be printed `with a patterna machine carriage positioned closely adjacent a portion of said material, a screen supporting drum mounted on saidA carriage and rotatably and orthogonally movable, said drum having an opening in its periphery and including means to support therearound in cylindrical form a rectangular thin exible cloth-like member such-as a silk screen carrying a pattern to be printed on said material, a distributor head non-rotatably mounted within said drum and adapted to move toward or` away from said material to press saidcloth-like member against and to transfer a printing substance therethrough onto said material, said head having a squeegee plate adapted to contact the inside of said cloth-likermember and having at least one printing substance feed aperture therethrough, means to move said carriage and said length of material longitudinally t past leach other, means to rotate said drum,` means to move said drum toward or away from said material into and'out of printing contact, means to move said head against said cloth-like member to press its. into printing contact with said material, means to supply printing substance to said head, and means coordinating `said above named means so that at least once each revolution of machine. The outer periphery of each drum 176, upon which ismounted its respective silk screen, is. rotatably driven in a way similar to ring gears28 of drum 22, through the dog 214 which joins the outer rim of each drum with a respective one of the continuously rotating gears 216, each of which idles on the shaft 212 of its respective yoke. Each gear 216 is driven in unison with the others through a corresponding idler wheel 218 and a gear 220 which inturn is driven from the worm shaft and worm gear 222, these worm shafts being all carried on the single rotating shaft 224.

Referring to Figure l0, the right end` of shaft 224 said drum, said material and carriage are held from moving relative to each other, said head is moved out of contact with said cloth-like member, the flow of printing substance to said head is turned off, and said drum is rotated a certain amount whereupon said drumis lowered to put said cloth-like member in contact with said material,y said head is moved into contact with said cloth-like member, the flow of printing substance is turned on, and said carriage and material are `again moved relative to `each other; t

2. The combination of elements as in claim`1 Wherein said drum has two rotatable end-members rigidly` joined by a rib upon which the two ends of said clothlike member are fastened and wherein said coordinating Ameansincludes-at least one switch-engaging earn carried on one ofV said end members and adapted to actuate a switch when said drum reaches a predetermined angular through which the printing substance is adapted to be'- forced.

4. The combination of elements as in claim 2 wherein said coordinating means includes a multiple-switch relay controlled by the position of said switch-engaging cam and in turn controlling a plurality of electric solenoid valves to energize or tie-energize said other means.

5. dn a machine of the character described, in combination, drnm means for supporting a ilat rectangular silk screen in the form of a cylinder, said drum means including two circular end members rigidly joined by a transverse rib upon which the two ends ot' said screen are adapted to be fastened, means for supporting in close proximity to said drum means a portion of a long strip of material to be printed on, means for rotating said drum means with said screen tangentially and non-slidably in contact with said material, an ink distributor head non-rotatably mounted within said drum means and adapted to press against the inside of said screen to apply ink thereto and to act as a squeegeerin transferring the ink to said material in accordance with the pattern on said screen, means to retract said head out of contact with said screen to permit said rib to pass between said head and said material each revolution of said drum means, means to retract said drum means from said material during passage of said rib between said head and said material, o

means coordinated with said retracting means for holding said material and said drum means intheir same longitudinal positions when said drum means is retracted, and means to supply ink to said head when it presses against said screen and to stop said supply when said head is retracted.

6. The combination of elements as in claim 5 in further combination with external means to control said means to supply ink to adjust the dow of ink while said machine is in operation whereby the best quality of printing can be obtained under a variety of temperature and humidity conditions and using inks of various compositions.

Y with said material and to apply ink to said screen, means to move said head into contact with said screen during a printing operation and alternatively'to raise it out of contact in order not to print, ink supply means at least partly within said head adapted to supply ink when said head is in contact with said screen and to stop said supply when said head is not'in contact with said screen, means to move the unpivoted end of said yoke toward or away from said carriage to move said drum into or out of contact with said material to print or not print as desired, means to move said carriage longitudinally along said material and simultaneously .to rotate said drum in non-sliding contact with said material, means periodically at least once each revolution of said drum to stop said carriage and to per- 7. A textile printing machine arrangement comprising i a dat long table, two parallel tracks positioned thereon, a strip of material to be printed upon positioned on said table between said tracks, a self-propelled carriage mounted on said tracks and adapted to travel therealong, a silk screen supporting drum, a yoke pivotally mounted on said carriage and supporting said drum rotatably, the unpivoted end of said yoke being movable toward and away from said carriage, a dat rectangular silk screen supported in the form of a cylinder on said drum, a distributor head non-rotatably mounted in said drum within the cylinder enclosed by said silk screen and adapted to slidably press against the inside of said screen to force it into contact mit said yoke to be moved out of contact ,with said material, said head to be moved out'oi contact with said screen, said drum'to be rotated Va given amount and thereafter said drum to be moved into contact with said material, said head to be moved into contact with said screen andtomove said carriage longitudinally.

8. The combination of elements as in claim 7 wherein said drum includes two parallel-spaced ring gears and a screen supporting rib laterally joining said gears rigidly together, said rib being adapted to rotate between said head and said material once each revolution of saiddrum.

9. A machine for printing on a continuous strip of fabric or the like a multi-color pattern having any given repeat size withinV a wide range, said machine comprising a frame, an endless metal band conveyor belt having a top run and a bottom run, a plurality of printing drums spaced apart in a row over the top run of said conveyor, means to supply a continuous strip of material to be drawn by said conveyor belt along the top run' thereof beneath said printing drums, means to drive said conveyor belt in one direction, means to rotate said drums in unison, each drum being mounted for movement into or out of contact with the top run of said conveyor belt, each drum supporting a screen pattern in the form of aY cylinder containing within it an ink distributor head which is nonrotatably mounted for movement into or out of Contact with the inside of said screen pattern, means for holding said strip rmly against said belt along the top run thereof, and means to drive said conveyor belt forward when said drums bear against said conveyor and to stop said conveyor belt when said drums are raised therefrom.

10. The combination of elements as in claim 9 wherein each drum is mounted on a yoke pivoted to the frame of said machine, and whereinY the free end of said yoke is raised orlowered by a slidable wedge.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 606,878 Rouse r July 5, 1898 2,217,133 Overlack Oct, 8, 1940- 2,359,825 Campbell Oct. 10, 1944

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