JP2000066411A - Shielding member mounting structure of photosensitive material processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shielding member mounting structure of a photosensitive material processing device which is capable of easily mounting the shielding member with decreased man-hours for assembly. SOLUTION: A frame 130 is formed with a fitting recessed part 136 formed from a backing plate 130A, a bottom plate 130B and a projecting part 130C. The base part 132 of the shielding member 116A is press fitted and fixed into the fitting recessed part 136. As a result, the shielding member 116A is surely fixed to the frame 130 and a blade part 134 is pressed to a transporting roller 32, thereby preventing the exposure of a developer to the outdoor air. The shielding member 116A may be mounted simply by press fitting the shielding member into the fitting recessed part 136 of the frame 130 and, therefore, the assembly stage for mounting the shielding member is simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing a processing solution while transporting the photosensitive material, and relates to a shielding member mounting structure of the processing apparatus for preventing the processing liquid from being exposed to the outside air. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A photosensitive material, for example, a photosensitive lithographic printing plate (hereinafter, referred to as "PS plate") is treated with a processing solution by a photosensitive lithographic printing plate processing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as "PS plate processor"). In this PS plate processor, a PS plate on which an image is recorded is immersed in a developer stored in the developer tank while being transported in the developer tank, and the PS plate is rubbed by a rotating brush roller or the like in the developer. The photosensitive layer in the non-image portion is removed. The PS plate thus processed with the developing solution is rinsed with rinsing water in a rinsing part (rinsing treatment), and then a gum solution is applied in a desensitizing part (desensitizing treatment) to protect the plate surface. Are continuously performed.

[0003] The developer used in this developing process is required to be shielded from the outside air because it is deteriorated by carbon dioxide gas and evaporates moisture in the developer when it comes into contact with the outside air. Therefore, the developing tank is provided with a liquid surface cover to reduce the contact between the developing liquid surface and the outside air, and a flexible blade is disposed on the conveying roller provided along the conveying path to thereby convey the conveying roller. This prevents the developer from being exposed to the outside air.

[0004]

A method for mounting a blade on a conventional photosensitive material processing apparatus will be described below. First, the blade is fixed to the support plate with a screw in order to give strength to the flexible blade. This support plate is fixed to a bracket or the like of the photosensitive material processing apparatus with screws. Therefore, the number of parts is large and the number of assembly steps is increased. As a result, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases and the assembling accuracy varies.

Further, the blade needs to have a predetermined rigidity so as to be always in contact with the transport roller, but at the same time, it needs to have flexibility so as not to hinder the rotation of the transport roller. It was not easy to form a support plate to satisfy this condition.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a shielding member mounting structure of a photosensitive material processing apparatus which can be easily mounted with a small number of assembly steps.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In a photosensitive material processing apparatus that processes a processing solution while transporting a photosensitive material, the processing solution is prevented from being exposed to the outside air by abutting a transport roller disposed in the transport direction of a processing tank storing the processing solution. Mounting structure of the shielding member,
A shield comprising a frame member of the photosensitive material processing apparatus having an attached portion formed thereon, an attaching portion attached to the attached portion, and a flexible blade portion continuously formed on the attaching portion. A shielding member is attached to the frame member by press-fitting one of the attachment portion and the attached portion into the other.

The operation of the first aspect of the present invention will be described.

The shield member can be easily attached to the frame member by press-fitting one of the attachment portion of the frame member and the attachment portion of the shield member into the other. Moreover, since the shielding member is supported by the attached portion of the frame member, the shielding member has a predetermined strength, and can reliably contact the transport roller of the photosensitive material processing apparatus. Further, since the blade portion of the shielding member has flexibility, the blade can be brought into contact with the transport roller without obstructing the rotation of the transport roller. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the processing liquid from being exposed to the outside air.

As described above, the structure in which the shielding member is directly attached to the frame reduces the number of components and simplifies the assembly process. Therefore, assembling (mounting) accuracy of the shielding member is improved, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the mounting portion of the shielding member is formed of a material having a higher hardness than the blade portion.

The operation of the second aspect of the present invention will be described.

The strength (rigidity) of the shielding member can be sufficiently secured by forming the mounting portion of the shielding member from a material having a higher hardness than the blade portion. Therefore, the blade portion of the flexible shielding member is always in contact with the transport roller or the like, thereby preventing the processing liquid from being exposed to the outside air.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows a photosensitive lithographic printing plate processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a "PS plate processor 10") applied to a first embodiment of the present invention. The PS plate processor 10 processes the photosensitive lithographic printing plate (hereinafter, referred to as “PS plate 12”) on which an image has been printed by a printing device (not shown) with a processing liquid.

The PS plate processor 10 includes a developing unit 22 for processing the PS plate 12 with a developing solution, and a PS plate 1
A washing section 24 for washing the developer adhering to 2 with water and washing with water;
And a finisher unit 26 for applying a gum solution to the PS plate 12 after washing with water to desensitize the PS plate 12 and a drying unit 250 for drying the PS plate 12.

The outer panel 14 is provided with a slit-like insertion port 34 and a discharge port 36, respectively. The insertion base 16 is attached to the outside of the insertion slot 34, and guides the insertion of the PS plate 12 into the insertion slot 34.

A re-entry insertion opening (sub-insertion opening) for inserting the PS plate 12 between the developing unit 22 and the washing unit 24 is provided on a cover 35 which covers the developing unit 22, the washing unit 24 and the finisher unit 26. 38 are provided. The sub insertion port 38 is provided with a P for performing processing other than processing with a developer.
It is an insertion port for the S version 12.

On the side where the PS plate 12 is inserted into the developing unit 22,
A pair of rubber conveying rollers 32 are provided, and the PS plate 1 on which an image is printed between the pair of conveying rollers 32.
2 is inserted from the insertion port 34. The pair of transport rollers 32 is rotated by a driving force of a driving unit (not shown) to move the PS plate 12 from about 15 ° to the horizontal direction by 31 °.
The toner is sent toward the developing unit 22 at an angle of °.

The developing section 22 is a substantially inverted mountain-shaped processing tank having an upper opening and a bottom center protruding downward.
In the developing unit 22, a guide plate 100 is disposed below the PS plate 12 in the transport direction.

A plurality of freely rotating rollers (small rollers) 102 are attached to the guide plate 100 with the rotation axis intersecting the conveying direction. The PS plate 12 is guided by the rollers 102. It is designed to be transported. At this time, since the roller 102 rotates, the PS plate 12
No damage is caused by sliding.

The guide plate 100 is formed in an inverted mountain shape along the shape of the developing section 22, and a brush roller 106 is disposed at a position corresponding to the upper surface of the PS plate 12 downstream from its lowest position. I have. In addition, a brush roller 108 is provided at the downstream end of the guide plate 100 so as to correspond to the lower surface of the PS plate 12.

The brush rollers 106 and 108 are adapted to rotate in the direction in which the PS plate 12 is conveyed by transmitting the driving force of a driving means (not shown).

The brush rollers 106 and 108 are connected to the developing unit 2
It has a function of scraping off the unnecessary photosensitive layer on the surface swollen by the developer 2, and in order to sufficiently exhibit this function, it is necessary to press the PS plate 12 with a predetermined pressing force. For this reason, a part of the roller 102 attached to the guide plate 100 corresponds to the brush roller 106, and a skewer roller 110 in which a plurality of thin rollers are coaxially supported on the brush roller 108. Is supported. As a result, the PS plate 12 moves the brush roller 1 with a predetermined pressing force.
06 and 108, the photosensitive layer which has been transported and becomes unnecessary can be reliably removed.

Further downstream of the position where the brush roller 108 and the skewer roller 110 are provided, a skewer roller 112 is provided so as to face the lower surface of the PS plate 12.
The plate 12 is supported. The PS plate 12 supported and transported by the skewer roller 112 is discharged from the liquid surface of the developing unit 22 and is sandwiched between a pair of rubber transport rollers 114 disposed at the final stage position of the developing unit 22. Conveyed, PS
The developer adhering to the plate 12 is squeezed out.

A liquid level cover 50 is provided on the developing liquid level of the developing section 22.
Is arranged. The liquid surface cover 50 is disposed so that the lower surface is lower than the liquid surface of the developer, and the contact between the liquid surface of the developer and the air is reduced as much as possible so that deterioration of the developer due to carbon dioxide gas and The evaporation of water is prevented.

Here, the frame 1 constituting the developing tank 23
Shielding members 116 </ b> A to 116 </ b> D are attached to the front and rear ends of the PS plate 12 in the transport direction of the PS plate 12 and the liquid surface cover 50. The shielding members 116A to 116D are connected to the upstream transport roller pair 32 and the downstream transport roller pair 114, respectively.
The rollers are arranged so as to contact the upper and lower rollers of the developing solution, thereby preventing deterioration of the developing solution due to carbon dioxide gas generated by exposing the developing solution to the outside air and evaporation of water in the developing solution.

Further, the upper part of the liquid surface cover 50 is provided with a cover 35.
Is inserted into the groove formed on the lower surface of the developing device, preventing the flow of air in the developing portion 22, and the fresh air comes into contact with the developing solution to accelerate the deterioration of the developing solution due to carbon dioxide gas. It prevents the evaporation of water from being promoted.

The PS plate 1 on the lower surface of the liquid surface cover 50
The skew rollers 118,
120 are mounted. The skew rollers 118, 12
Numeral 0 has a role of preventing the PS plate 12 from coming into contact with the liquid surface cover 50 during transportation. As a result, even if the PS plate 12 is slightly loosened during transportation, the upper surface of the PS plate 12 does not hit the liquid surface cover 50 or the like hard enough to damage the photosensitive surface.

The pair of transport rollers 1 on the downstream side of the developing unit 22
14 is rotated by receiving a driving force of a driving unit (not shown), and sends out the PS plate 12 to a water washing unit 24 which is the next step.

The washing section 24 has two pairs of transport rollers 52,
53 are provided. These transport roller pairs 52, 5
Reference numeral 3 denotes a PS plate that is rotated by receiving a driving force of a driving unit (not shown).
2 are formed.

Between the transport rollers 52 and 53,
The spray pipes 56, 12
2 and the spray pipes 56, 122
Are disposed along the axes of the conveying rollers 52 and 53, and discharge holes communicating with the inside of the pipe are provided at positions facing the PS plate 12, respectively. Spray pipe 56, 122
The washing water pumped up by a pump from a washing water tank (not shown) is discharged toward the PS plate 12 from this discharge hole, and quickly spreads on the front and back surfaces of the PS plate 12, and the front and back surfaces of the PS plate 12 are washed by the washing water. Washed. And P
The washing water attached to the S plate 12 is squeezed out by a pair of conveying rollers 53.

A pair of transport rollers 58 is provided in the finisher section 26 which is a desensitizing section downstream of the washing section 24. The PS plate 12 sent out by the transport rollers 53 is guided by the transport rollers 58.

A spray pipe 124 is disposed upstream of the conveying roller 58 and above the conveying path.
The spray pipe 124 is provided in parallel with the axis of the transport roller 58, and has a discharge hole facing the PS plate 12. From the spray pipe 124, a gum solution pumped up by a pump from a gum solution tank (not shown) is P
It is dropped on the S plate 12 and spreads on the surface of the PS plate 12, and P
A protective film is formed on the surface of the S plate 12.

An ejection unit 126 having a continuous slit formed in the width direction of the PS plate 12 is provided on the upstream side of the conveyance roller 58 and below the conveyance path. The discharge unit 126 is supplied with the gum solution in the same manner as the spray pipe 124 and discharges the gum solution from the slit. The PS plate 12 is transported while the back surface thereof is in contact with the slit portion of the discharge unit 126. It is supposed to be. That is, since the slit extends over the entire area of the PS plate 12 in the width direction, a protective film can be formed on the entire lower surface of the PS plate 12 by using a gum solution.

The PS plate 12 on which the gum solution has been applied by the finisher 26 is nipped and conveyed by a pair of conveying rollers 58, and a small amount of the gum solution remains on the front and back surfaces.
Exhausted from 6.

On the downstream side of the finisher section 26, that is, in the final process section of the PS plate processor 10, the drying section 15 is provided.
0 is provided.

The drying unit 250 includes a support roller 270 for supporting the PS plate 12 near the discharge port 36, and a drying unit 25.
Two pairs of transport rollers 252 and 254 are provided in the vicinity of the central portion of the transport path 0 and in the vicinity of the discharge port 258, respectively, for sandwiching the PS plate 12 and applying a transport force. The support roller 270 and the transport roller 252 on the center side have a flower-shaped cross section perpendicular to the axis, and have a rotational driving force together with the transport roller 254 provided near the discharge port 258.

As a result, the processing in the finisher section 26 is completed, and the PS plate 12 discharged from the discharge port 36 is inserted into the drying section 250. The drying section 250 can be separated from the processing section up to the finisher section 26. In addition, the discharge port 36 has a shutter 2
72 are provided.

The support roller 270 and the transport roller 252
, And between the transport rollers 252 and 254, two pairs of ducts 260A and 260B for blowing dry air to the PS plate are provided. The two pairs of ducts 260 </ b> A and 260 </ b> B are opposed to each other with the transport path of the PS plate 12 interposed therebetween. Duct 2
60A is located on the upstream side of the transport path,
OB is located downstream of the transport path.

The ducts 260A and 260B have their longitudinal directions arranged along the width direction of the PS plate 12, and the surfaces facing the PS plate 12 are parallel to the PS plate 12, respectively. A slit hole 262 is provided in the facing surface along the longitudinal direction, and serves as a discharge port for the dry air blown to the PS plate 12.

One end of each of the ducts 260A and 260B is connected to a drying air guide duct (not shown). The drying air guide duct is a rectangular chimney type, and its lower end opening is connected to a discharge port of a blower (not shown). As a result, the same amount of dry air is introduced into the ducts 260A and 260B.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show details of the shielding member mounting structure according to this embodiment. First, the mounting structure of the shielding member 116A to the frame 130 will be described as an example, and the mounting structure of the shielding members 116B to 116D to the frame 130 or the liquid surface lid 50 has the same configuration.

The frame 130 is integrally formed including the developing tank 23, and has shielding members 116A and 116B mounted at both ends in the transport direction.

The shielding member 116A is, as shown in FIG.
From the rectangular parallelepiped base 132 to the thin plate-shaped blade 13
4 is overhanging.

The shielding member 116A is integrally formed by injection molding or the like using an elastomer, but the blade portion 134 is formed by two-color molding (coin injection).
It is formed so that the hardness is lower than 2. Therefore, the blade portion 134 has lower rigidity than the base portion 132,
It can be deformed while in contact with the rotation of the transport roller 32.

The frame 130 includes a contact plate 130A for supporting the shielding member 116A, a bottom plate 130B, and a projection 130C, and a fitting recess 136 is formed by the contact plate 130A, the bottom plate 130B, and the projection 130C. The fitting recess 136 is formed to be slightly narrower than the width of the base 132 of the shielding member 116A, and is configured to press-fit the base 132.

The operation of the present embodiment will be described below.

The PS plate 12 on which an image is recorded by a printing device or the like (not shown) is placed on the insertion table 16 and then sent to the back of the insertion table 16 to be inserted from the insertion port 34. The inserted PS plate 12 is pulled in by the pair of transport rollers 32 and sent to the developing unit 22. When the tip of the PS plate 12 passes through the insertion port 34,
This is detected by the sensor and the timer is started. This timer uses the spray pipe 56 of the washing section 24.
The timing at which the washing water is dropped from the nozzle and the timing at which the gum solution is discharged from the finisher unit 26 are measured.

In the developing section 22, the PS plate 12 is guided downward by a guide plate 100 from a pair of transport rollers 32 and fed at an angle of 15 ° to 31 ° with respect to the horizontal.
It is delivered at an angle of 17 ° to 31 °. At this time, P
The S plate 12 is supported by the rollers 102 provided on the guide plate 100, and the rollers 102 rotate with the conveyance, so that the PS plate 12 is not damaged by sliding.

The guide plate 100 (actually, the roller 10
The PS plate 12 is brushed on the front and back sides by the brush rollers 106 and 108 while being guided and transported in 2). By this brushing, unnecessary swelled photosensitive layers on the front and back surfaces of the PS plate 12 can be removed.

In this way, the PS plate 12 on which the front and back surfaces have been uniformly rubbed and whose processing has been completed is pulled out from the developing unit 22 while the developing solution is squeezed out by the conveying roller pair 114, and sent to the washing unit 24. Are conveyed by the conveying rollers 52 and 53. When the PS plate 12 is nipped between the pair of transport rollers 52, the leading end of the PS plate 12 is first guided into contact with the lower roller of the pair of transport rollers 52 and then nipped between the pair of transport rollers. You.

Thereafter, when it is determined that the time measured from the time of insertion by the timer has reached a predetermined time and the leading end of the PS plate 12 has reached the pair of transport rollers 53 on the downstream side, the PS plate 12
Washing water is discharged from the spray pipes 56 and 122 toward the front and back surfaces of the PS plate 1 and washed with the washing water.
The washing water adhering to the front and back surfaces of No. 2
Is squeezed out.

When the rinsing process is completed, the PS plate 12 is sent to the finisher section 26, and is nipped and transported by a pair of transport rollers 58. Here, the spray pipe 12
4. The gum solution discharged from the discharge unit 126 is applied to the front and back surfaces of the PS plate 12 and desensitized. The desensitized PS plate 12 passes through the outlet 36 from the finisher section 26 and is sent to the drying section 250.

In the drying section 250, the transport rollers 252,
The PS plate 12 transported by the 254 includes ducts 260A,
Both sides are sufficiently dried by the drying air blown by 60B, and are led out through the outlet 258.

At this time, the frame 13 is
The shield members 116A to 116D press-fitted and fixed to the fitting recess 136 of the liquid level cover 50 and the liquid level cover 50 abut against the transport roller 32 and the transport roller 114, respectively. And prevents the developer from being exposed to the outside air.

The base 132 of the shielding member 116A has a sufficient rigidity because it is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape.
Since the base 132 side of the blade portion 134 is supported by the convex portion 130C, the shielding member 116A comes into contact with the transport roller 32 with a predetermined strength. At this time, the shielding member 116
Since the rigidity of the blade portion 134 is lower than that of the base portion 132 of A, the blade portion 134 can be brought into contact with the transport roller 32 without hindering the rotation of the transport roller 32. As a result, it is possible to prevent the developing solution from being exposed to the outside air due to the blade portion 134 coming into contact with the transport roller 32 at all times.

Further, in the blade mounting structure according to the present embodiment, the fitting recess 136 is provided in the frame 130 and the shielding members 116A to 116D are mounted by press-fitting, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembling steps can be reduced. . Accordingly, the manufacturing cost of the PS plate processor 10 is reduced. Further, the simplification of the assembling process has solved the problem of variations in assembling accuracy.

In this embodiment, the frame 13
0 is provided with a fitting recess 136, and the shielding members 116A to 116
Although D is press-fitted, it is also possible to provide a fitting protrusion on the frame 130 and press-fit the fitting protrusion into a fitting recess formed on the shielding member.

In the present embodiment, the shape of the shielding member 116A and the manufacturing method (two-color molding) depend on the shielding member 116A.
Although the strength of the base 132 and the blade 134 was different from each other, the base 132 and the blade 1
34 may have different stiffnesses, or may have different strengths depending only on the material.

[0060]

As described above, in the blade mounting structure according to the present invention, the manufacturing cost is reduced by reducing the number of parts, and the assembling accuracy is improved by simplifying the assembling process.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a PS plate processor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a blade mounting structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a blade mounting structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 PS plate processor (photosensitive material processing device) 12 PS plate (photosensitive material) 116A to 116D Shielding member 130 Frame (frame member) 132 Attachment part 134 Blade part 136 Fitting concave part (attached part)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing a processing solution while transporting a photosensitive material, wherein the photosensitive material processing device contacts a transport roller disposed before and after in a transport direction of a processing tank in which a processing solution is stored,
A mounting structure of a shielding member for preventing the processing liquid from being exposed to the outside air, wherein a frame member of the photosensitive material processing apparatus having a mounted portion, a mounting portion mounted to the mounted portion, and the mounting portion A shielding member comprising a flexible blade portion formed continuously on the frame member, wherein one of the mounting portion and the mounted portion is press-fitted into the other, and the shielding is performed on the frame member. A shielding member mounting structure for a photosensitive material processing apparatus, wherein a member is mounted. 2. The shielding member mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the mounting portion of the shielding member is formed of a material having a higher hardness than the blade portion.