JP2009078918A - Sheet stacking device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet stacking device and a sheet stacking system capable of preventing quality degradation to be caused by a thrown sheet scratching a stacked sheet. <P>SOLUTION: A pair of side members 72 includes a pair of lower side members 72b provided with an approximately same distance therebetween as a width of a planographic printing plate 46 and limits movement in the planographic printing plate 46 width direction; and a pair of upper side members 72a provided above the pair of lower side members 72b, each of which is provided with a movable section movable in the planographic printing plate 46 width direction, and on which tapered surfaces are formed facing each other in a V shape. A control means 110 is provided to control the distance between the pair of upper side members by driving the movable sections of the pair of upper side members 72a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet stacking apparatus and a sheet stacking method, and more particularly to a sheet stacking apparatus for positioning a plurality of sheets sequentially fed from a conveying unit to predetermined stacking positions and stacking these sheets in layers. The present invention relates to a stacking apparatus and a sheet stacking method using the sheet stacking apparatus.

  In the processing line of lithographic printing plates, the lithographic printing plates that have been pasted with protective slip sheets, cut into product sizes, etc., are loaded onto conveyor devices such as belt conveyors and roller conveyors, and the lithographic printing plates are then transferred by this conveyor device. Transport to the planographic printing plate stacker installed at the end of the processing line. For example, the stacking device is provided with a stacking plate for receiving a planographic printing plate loaded from the transport device, and positions the planographic printing plates sequentially loaded onto the stacking plate to predetermined stacking positions. For this purpose, a back member, a front member, and a pair of side members are disposed.

  The back member is elastically supported by a coil spring or the like, and is disposed so as to face the front end portion of the lithographic printing plate on the collecting surface. When the lithographic printing plate is introduced from the conveying device onto the stacking surface, the back member elastically receives the leading end of the lithographic printing plate that is about to move in the conveying direction by inertia and moves the lithographic printing plate in the conveying direction. The movement is restricted, and the planographic printing plate is urged in the direction opposite to the transport direction as necessary. Further, the front member is disposed so as to face the rear end portion of the planographic printing plate on the stacking surface, and the movement in the transport direction is restricted by the back member, or is biased in the direction opposite to the transport direction. The lithographic printing plate comes into contact with the lithographic printing plate and is positioned along its length.

  On the other hand, the pair of side members are arranged so as to face both side edges of the planographic printing plate on the stacking surface. Such a side member is formed, for example, from a sufficiently high-strength plate material such as a thick steel plate. In each of the pair of side members, an inclined guide surface inclined with respect to the height direction is formed on the upper end side, and a positioning surface along the height direction is formed on the lower end side of the inclined guide surface. . As a result, the planographic printing plates accumulated on the accumulation stand are positioned near the center position between the pair of side members.

  Accordingly, when the transport device sequentially puts a plurality of planographic printing plates onto the stacking surface of the stacking device, these planographic printing plates are positioned at predetermined stacking positions on the stacking surface by the front member and the pair of side members, respectively. , Accumulated in layers. At this time, when the number of lithographic printing plates on the stacking surface reaches the number of bundles determined by the shipping specifications, the bundle of lithographic printing plates is reloaded as a bundle of lithographic printing plates on a pallet, etc. It is conveyed to.

As such a stacking device, for example, in Patent Document 1, the planographic printing plate fed from the conveying means onto the stacking table is stacked on the stacking table without being caught or deformed near the side edge. The lithographic printing plate can be flexibly deformed along the width direction of the lithographic printing plate so that the lithographic printing plate can be accurately positioned so that the side edges of the lithographic printing plates are aligned with each other. When the lithographic printing plate loaded from the conveying means is displaced from the width alignment position along the width direction, the elastic member supported so as to be in contact with the side end surface of the printing plate moves the lithographic printing plate to the width alignment position side. It is disclosed that the lithographic printing plates accumulated on the accumulation surface are biased to be positioned at the width alignment position. By configuring the back member of the stacking device in this way, the planographic printing plates sequentially introduced from the conveying means are accurately transferred to the planographic printing plate while being dropped onto the stacking surface by the elastic member or immediately after being placed on the stacking surface. Since it can be positioned well, a plurality of planographic printing plates can be stacked on the stacking surface so that the side edges of the planographic printing plates fed from the conveying means coincide with each other.
JP 2002-046924 A

  However, in the stacking apparatus as in Patent Document 1, when the sheets are stacked, the leading end of the sheet collides with the back member. At that time, the sheet is curved and swells up (an arc-shaped curl appears). And may collide with the next sheet being conveyed. In addition, when the sheets are stacked, air accumulates on the lower surface (back surface) of the sheet, so that the fall of the center of the sheet is delayed compared to the end of the sheet, resulting in an arc-shaped curl, and the end of the sheet is accumulated. There is a problem that the sheet surface accumulated on the surface may be scratched. In particular, in recent years, lithographic printing plates have become computer-to-plate (CTP), and the film surface strength of the photosensitive layer is weaker than conventional lithographic printing plates. In some cases, a planographic printing plate having no interleaving paper is accumulated on the surface of the photosensitive layer in order to reduce environmental load. In the integration of such lithographic printing plates, there is a problem that when the curl as described above appears, the plate-making surface of the lithographic printing plate is easily scratched and cannot be a preferable product.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and a sheet stacking apparatus and sheet stacking method capable of preventing a sheet such as a lithographic printing plate that has been fed from rubbing the stacked sheets and causing quality degradation. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 positions a plurality of sheets sequentially fed from the conveying means to a predetermined stacking position, and stacks the sheets for stacking these sheets in layers. In the apparatus, a stacking table provided with a stacking surface on which a plurality of sheets are stacked by stacking sheets input from the transport unit, and provided on the transport unit side of the stacking table, and input from the transport unit A front member provided with a blowing unit that forms an air flow in the sheet conveying direction on the lower surface of the sheet, and a front end of the sheet that is provided from the conveying unit and that is provided on the back side of the stacking table is in contact with the front member A back member that receives the sheets so as to be stacked on the stacking table, and a pair of side members that are provided facing the outer side in the width direction of the stacking table, and the pair of side portions. Is provided at a distance substantially the same as the sheet width, and is provided on the pair of lower side members for restricting movement in the sheet width direction and on the pair of lower side members, and is movable in the sheet width direction. A pair of upper side members each having a movable portion and a tapered surface facing each other in an inverted C shape, and driving the movable portion of the pair of upper side members, And a control unit that controls the separation distance of the sheet.

  According to the sheet stacking apparatus configured as described above, since the separation distance between the pair of upper side members can be controlled, the pair of upper side members are received after the loaded sheet is received on the pair of tapered surfaces. By gradually increasing the separation distance, the center portion of the installed sheet can be bent by its own weight. This bending increases the rigidity of the sheet, so that the leading end of the inserted sheet does not hang down. The bent state is maintained until the sheet comes into contact with the back member, and if the distance between the pair of upper side members is increased more than the sheet width immediately before coming into contact with the back member, the sheet central portion becomes concave with respect to the stacking surface. It becomes a bent shape and falls on the stacking table. Thereby, the sheet leading edge is prevented from sagging and the sheet falling speed can be suppressed, so that it is possible to prevent the sheet leading edge from scratching the sheet surface accumulated on the accumulation surface.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, the tapered surface of the upper side member is formed at 25 ° or more and less than 65 ° with respect to a horizontal plane.

  According to the second aspect, when the center line shift occurs with respect to the tapered surface facing the sheets sequentially fed from the conveying means, and the sheet is not evenly laid on the tapered surface, the angle of the facing tapered surface with respect to the horizontal plane If the angle is less than 25 °, it is difficult to generate a correction force for correction so as to be installed evenly. On the other hand, if the angle exceeds 65 ° and the angle is too large, the sheet is erected at the position of the upper end portion of the tapered surface facing each other, and the fall distance to the stacking surface increases. As a result, the posture is inclined when the sheet is dropped, and the stacked sheets are easily scratched.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the pair of lower side members are provided with claw members that can protrude and retract in a horizontal direction above the accumulation surface. It is characterized by.

  According to claim 3, even when the sheet thrown from the conveying means is meandered and thrown, or the conveyance center line is shifted and thrown, and even when the sheet falls in a state where it is not evenly laid on the tapered surface facing, By receiving the nail member with the retractable nail, the correction of the inclination in the sheet width direction and the reliable positioning to the predetermined stacking position can be performed. After the correction, if the nail member is immersed, the sheet gently falls from above the predetermined stacking position while maintaining a substantially horizontal state, so it is more certain that the stacked sheets are rubbed and quality degradation occurs. Can be prevented.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the upper portion of the stacking table is configured to press a substantially central portion of the sheet from above to the stacking table side. It has the press means for injecting air, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the fourth aspect, by providing such a pressing means above the stacking table, it is possible to forcibly form a deflection in the center of the sheet and increase the rigidity of the sheet. In addition, by forcibly forming a deflection in the central portion of the sheet, it is possible to suppress air from accumulating on the lower surface (rear surface) of the sheet, so that the arc-shaped curl formed by the floating of the central portion of the sheet is further reduced. It is possible to suppress the damage, and it is possible to prevent the accumulated sheet surface from being scratched.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the back member is formed in a slit shape through which an air flow from the air blowing means can pass.

  According to the fifth aspect, by making the back member into a slit, there is a space for the air accumulated on the back surface of the inserted sheet to escape, so it is possible to suppress the air from accumulating on the back surface of the sheet. Accordingly, it is possible to further suppress the arc-shaped curl formed by lifting the central portion of the sheet, and it is possible to prevent the accumulated sheet surface from being scratched.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the method according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein a suction unit that sucks an air flow from the blowing unit is provided in the vicinity of the back member on the back side of the stacking table. It is characterized by.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, an arc-shaped curl formed by lifting the central portion of the sheet by further sucking the air in the air reservoir on the back surface of the sheet near the back member on the back side of the stacking table by the suction means is further provided. Since it can suppress, it can prevent scratching the accumulated sheet surface.

  A seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the sheet is a lithographic printing plate.

  The sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention is particularly effective when the sheet is a lithographic printing plate, and can prevent the photosensitive layer surface (plate making surface) of the stacked lithographic printing plate from being scratched. Therefore, the planographic printing plate can be accumulated without interleaving paper, which is economical.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 8 uses the sheet stacking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 to respectively specify a plurality of sheets sequentially fed from the conveying means. A sheet stacking method for stacking these sheets in a layered manner, wherein the control means has a distance between the lower ends of the pair of tapered surfaces immediately after the sheet is fed from the transport means. From the first step of controlling the distance between the pair of upper side members so as to be narrower than the width and laying the loaded sheet between the pair of tapered surfaces, the inertia force of the sheet loading and the blowing means The sheet center is constructed between the pair of tapered surfaces by controlling the distance between the pair of upper side members to gradually increase as the sheet advances toward the back member by the air flow of A second step of bending the sheet by its own weight, and when the sheet proceeds to a position just before contacting the back member, the distance between the lower ends of the pair of tapered surfaces is controlled to be wider than the sheet width. Then, a sheet stacking method is provided, wherein the sheet is stacked in a layered manner on the stacking surface of the stacking table by repeating the third step of dropping the sheet.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the sheet stacking apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects is used to position each of a plurality of sheets sequentially fed from the conveying means to a predetermined stacking position, and The detailed process of the sheet stacking method for stacking in layers is defined, and the control unit of the apparatus sequentially repeats the first process to the third process so that the input sheets are stacked. It is possible to prevent quality degradation by rubbing.

  In a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the eighth aspect, after the sheets dropped in the third step are collected, the nail members are protruded so as to face the pair of lower side members and the falling sheets are received. A fourth step of immersing the claw member and dropping the sheet again toward the stacking surface is provided.

  According to the ninth aspect, as described in the apparatus invention of the third aspect, it is possible to more reliably prevent the quality deterioration caused by rubbing the stacked sheets.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the method according to the eighth or ninth aspect, wherein in the third step, a suction operation of sucking an air flow from the blowing unit by a suction unit is used.

  According to the tenth aspect, in the third step, the suction operation of sucking the air flow from the blowing unit by the suction unit is used together, so that it is possible to suppress the accumulation of air on the back surface of the sheet. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the arc-shaped curl formed by lifting the central portion of the sheet, and to further prevent the accumulated sheet surface from being scratched.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sheet stacking apparatus and a sheet stacking method capable of preventing the input sheets from rubbing the stacked sheets and causing quality degradation. .

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a sheet stacking apparatus and stacking method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment, an example of a lithographic printing plate as a sheet will be described below.

  First, a planographic printing plate processing line 10 using the planographic printing plate stacking apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described.

  On the upstream side of the processing line 10 (upper right side in FIG. 1), a web delivery machine 14 is disposed as shown in FIG. 1, and the web delivery machine 14 includes a web 12 that is a material of a lithographic printing plate. A web roll 13 wound in a roll shape is detachably loaded. The web feeder 14 continuously feeds the web 12 from the web roll 13 to the downstream side at a speed corresponding to the line speed of the processing line 10. The web 12 reaches the pressure roller 18 after curling is corrected by the leveler 16. The pressure roller 18 presses the belt-shaped slip sheet 22 sent from the slip sheet feeder 20 to the upper surface (surface of the photosensitive layer) of the web 12. At this time, the interleaf paper 22 press-bonded to the web 12 is charged by a charging device (not shown) and electrostatically bonded to the web 12.

  A notch 24 is disposed on the downstream side of the pressure roller 18. When the slit width of the web 12 is changed, the notch 24 punches out the central portion and both side end portions along the width direction of the web 12, and the notch portions having predetermined shapes are respectively formed at the central portion and both side end portions of the web 12. (Notch) is formed. As a result, the shearing blade 26 (see FIG. 2) of the slitter device 26 provided so as to correspond to the center portion and both end portions of the web 12 can be moved in the axial direction within the notch portion. The width of the web 12 can be changed while continuously cutting the interleaf paper 22 at the same time.

The web 12 cut to a predetermined slit width by the slitter device 26 is counted in the feed length by the length measuring device 30, and when the preset count value is counted by the length measuring device 30, The cutter 32 cuts along the web width direction. Thereby, a lithographic printing plate 46 having a preset product size is manufactured. The planographic printing plate 46 cut from the web 12 is loaded on a conveying device 37 constituted by a plurality of belt conveyors 34 and 42 as shown in FIG. 2, and conveyed downstream by this conveying device 37. The sheet is fed into the stacking device 50 by the belt conveyor 42 disposed at the terminal end of the transport device 37.

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the web 12 is divided into two along the width direction by the slitter device 26 and the two planographic printing plates 46 are simultaneously cut by the running cutter 32, they are cut at the same time. The two lithographic printing plates 46 are distributed on two different belt conveyors 42 by a sorting gate or the like installed in the middle of conveyance to the stacking device 50, and are installed at different positions by these belt conveyors 42. The two integrated devices 50 are respectively loaded.

  In addition, a sorting gate 40 is provided between the belt conveyor 34 and the belt conveyor 42 to switch the transport destination of the planographic printing plate 46 so that the planographic printing plate 46 cut from the web 12 can be used as a sample product or a non-printed product. In the case of a non-defective product or the like, the planographic printing plate 46 is distributed onto the line-out belt conveyor 36 by the sorting gate 40 and is put into the collection box 44 by the belt conveyor 36.

  FIG. 3 shows a planographic printing plate stacking apparatus 50 (hereinafter simply referred to as “stacking apparatus 50”) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The stacking apparatus 50 stacks a plurality of planographic printing plates 46 sequentially fed from the end of the belt conveyor 42 in a layered manner at a predetermined stacking position.

  The stacking device 50 is provided with a flat plate-shaped stacking table 52 on the downstream side in the conveying direction (arrow F direction) of the belt conveyor 42, and the upper surface of the stacking table 52 is a flat stacking surface on which the planographic printing plates 46 are stacked. 54. Further, the stacking table 52 is supported by a lifter 56 as shown in FIG. 2, and the lifter 56 detects a height of the uppermost planographic printing plate 46 stacked on the stacking surface 54. In accordance with a detection signal from (not shown), the stacking table 52 is moved up and down along the thickness direction of the planographic printing plate 46 so that the height of the uppermost planographic printing plate 46 is always constant.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the stacking device 50 is provided with a pair of back members 58 on the downstream side of the stacking table 52 along the transport direction. The back member 58 is provided with a stopper plate 60 so as to face the front end surface of the planographic printing plate 46 stacked on the collecting surface 54. The stopper plate 60 is supported so that its thickness direction is substantially parallel to the conveying direction, and as shown in FIG. Alternatively, a base portion 62 made of a plastic plate is disposed. The tip surface of the base portion 62 on the stacking table 52 side is covered with a pad-shaped cushion material 64.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the back member 58 is provided with a cylinder 66 for supporting the stopper plate 60 and attenuating the impact from the planographic printing plate 46. The cylinder 66 is disposed downstream of the stopper plate 60 in the transport direction, and is fixed to the frame, floor, etc. of the processing line 10 via a bracket (not shown) so that the positional relationship with the belt conveyor 42 is not displaced. . The cylinder 66 supports the rod 68 so as to be slidable along the conveying direction, and the tip end portion of the rod 68 of the cylinder 66 is connected and fixed to the base portion 62 of the stopper plate 60. A coil spring 70 in a compressed state is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the rod 68, and the coil spring 70 always urges the stopper plate 60 in a direction opposite to the conveying direction. Here, the position of the cylinder 66 can be adjusted along the conveyance direction. Thereby, the position along the conveyance direction of the stopper plate 60 can be adjusted according to the length along the conveyance direction of the planographic printing plate 46 loaded on the stacking table 52.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the stacking device 50 is provided with side members 72 on the outer sides of both (left and right) side end surfaces of the stacking table 52. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, these side members 72 are provided at a distance substantially the same as the width of the planographic printing plate 46, and a pair of lower sides that restrict movement in the width direction of the planographic printing plate 46. A pair of upper side members 72a provided on the member 72b and a pair of lower side members b, each having a movable portion movable in the sheet width direction and having a tapered surface 85 facing each other in an inverted C shape. And is composed of. As shown in FIG. 4, the tapered surface 85 of the upper side member 72a is preferably formed at 25 ° or more and less than 65 ° with respect to the horizontal plane.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the upper side member 72 a and the lower side member 72 b are fixed to a frame fixing member 74, and the frame fixing member 74 is used to input the planographic printing plate 46 from the belt conveyor 42. It can move up and down according to the degree. A cylinder 76 is attached to the upper side member 72a, and is controlled along the width direction via a slide member 78 provided between the upper side member 72a and the lower side member 72b under the control of the control means 110. Can be moved. The upper side member 72a and the lower side member 72b are provided with housing-shaped frame members 84a and 84b, respectively. The frame members 84a and 84b are made of thick plate materials such as stainless steel plates and steel plates, and have sufficient strength so as not to be deformed even when subjected to an impact load from the planographic printing plate 46. Further, the side members 72 can be adjusted in position along the width direction, and correspond to the width of the planographic printing plate 46 along the width direction before the planographic printing plate 46 is loaded from the belt conveyor 42. The position is adjusted to the position. These side members 72 are arranged so as to coincide with the width direction (arrow W direction) of the planographic printing plate 46 accumulated on the accumulation stand 52 and the longitudinal direction thereof substantially coincides with the transport direction. The pair of side members 72 have a symmetrical structure and shape along the width direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pair of lower side members 72 b are provided with a plurality of claw members 47 that can protrude and retract in the horizontal direction above the accumulation surface 54. Although not shown in detail in regard to the protruding and retracting mechanism that causes the claw member 47 to project and retract, for example, the inside of the lower side member 72b is hollowed, and holes for projecting are formed in the lower side member 72b and the frame member 84b. And it can achieve by providing a piston cylinder, a stepping motor, a cam mechanism, etc. as an intrusion mechanism inside the hollowed lower side member 72b. The timing at which the claw member 47 appears and disappears may be controlled by the control means 110 described above. The timing for projecting the claw member 47 is preferably to receive the planographic printing plate 46 that is projected and dropped just before the planographic printing plate 46 falls from the tapered surface 85 that faces it. Further, the timing of immersing the nail member 47 is not to immerse the nail member immediately after receiving it, but to immerse the nail member 47 after the vibration of the planographic printing plate 46 received by the nail member 47 is stopped, The planographic printing plate 46 is preferably dropped again toward the stacking surface 54. The time for which the vibration of the planographic printing plate 46 stops may be grasped by a test or the like in advance and set in the control means 110.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, each lower side member 72b is shown in an example in which three (total of six) are provided at intervals in the horizontal direction. I just need it. The point is that the number of the planographic printing plates 46 installed on the tapered surface 85 of the upper side member 72a facing each other can be stably received by the nail member 47 in the middle of dropping toward the collecting surface 54. . Also, if the lithographic printing plate 46 erected on the taper surface 85 falls for a long time until it is received by the claw member 47, there is a concern that the posture of the lithographic printing plate 46 may be tilted during the dropping, so that it is as low as possible. It is preferable to arrange the claw member 47 at the upper end position of the side member 72b. Specifically, the distance from the lower end of the tapered surface 85 to the claw member 47 is preferably in the range of 10 to 30 mm. As the material of the claw member 47, various materials such as metal and plastic resin can be used, but MC nylon is particularly preferable because defects such as scratches are hardly generated on the planographic printing plate 46.

  Further, in the stacking device 50, as shown in FIG. 3, a front member 98 is disposed on the upstream side of the stacking table 52 along the transport direction. The front member 98 is substantially rectangular and has a thick plate shape, and is arranged such that its thickness direction coincides with the transport direction and its longitudinal direction coincides with the width direction of the stacking table 52. The upper end surface of the front member 98 is slightly lower than the upper surface portion of the belt conveyor 42, is processed into an R shape at the downstream end portion thereof, and is connected to the downstream inner surface. Further, the inner side surface on the downstream side of the front member 98 is configured to position the planographic printing plate 46 placed on the stacking table 52 along the transport direction, and is formed in a planar shape parallel to the height direction. ing. As shown in FIG. 3, the front member 98 has a plurality of slit-like nozzle holes 100 elongated in the width direction, and these nozzle holes 100 are arranged horizontally. Air pipes (not shown) for supplying air to the plurality of nozzle holes 100 are passed through the front member 98, and when the planographic printing plate 46 is stacked by the stacking device 50, Air is blown so as to be directed in the transport direction. Thus, immediately after the loading from the belt conveyor 42, an air layer is formed between the lithographic printing plate 46 and the stacking surface 54 or between the planographic printing plates 46, and moves (slides) on the stacking surface 54 by inertial force. The movement resistance of the lithographic printing plate 46 is suppressed.

  Next, the operation and action of the integrated device 50 configured as described above will be described.

  First, when the planographic printing plate 46 is loaded onto the stacking table 52 by the belt conveyor 42, the planographic printing plate 46 is placed on the stacking surface 54 while continuing to move in the transport direction by inertia. At this time, since air is blown from the nozzle hole 100 of the front member 98, an air layer is formed along the lower surface of the planographic printing plate 46 introduced by the belt conveyor 42. The air layer suppresses frictional resistance between the lithographic printing plate 46 put on the accumulation surface 54 and the accumulation surface 54 or the accumulated lithographic printing plate 46, and the lithographic printing plate 46 on the accumulation surface 54 is smoothly conveyed. Move in the direction. Further, the position of the stacking surface 54 or the stacked planographic printing plate 46 is always adjusted to a certain height by a lifter 56 (see FIG. 2). As a result, the planographic printing plates 46 sequentially fed by the belt conveyor 42 land at substantially the same position on the stacking surface 54 without being affected by the number of planographic printing plates 46 on the stacking surface 54.

  The lithographic printing plate 46 introduced from the belt conveyor 42 onto the stacking surface 54 continues to move in the conveying direction due to the inertial force, and the leading end surfaces thereof abut against the pair of back members 58. As a result, a load corresponding to the weight and speed of the planographic printing plate 46 acts on the stopper plate 60 of the back member 58. The stopper plate 60 receiving the load from the planographic printing plate 46 receives the damping force from the cylinder 66 at the same time as it moves in the transport direction while compressing and deforming the coil spring 70. As a result, the kinetic energy of the planographic printing plate 46 is dissipated and the impact load acting as a reaction force from the back member 58 to the planographic printing plate 46 is reduced. When the movement of the lithographic printing plate 46 in the conveyance direction is stopped, the back member 58 extends the rod 68 by the restoring force of the coil spring 70, and the lithographic printing plate 46 is reverse to the conveyance direction via the stopper plate 60. It is biased toward the front member 98.

  When the planographic printing plate 46 receives the urging force from the back member 58, the air layer along the lower surface of the planographic printing plate 46 remains. Therefore, the lithographic printing plate 46 that has received the urging force from the back member 58 smoothly moves in the direction of the front member 98 on the stacking surface 54, and the rear end surface thereof is brought into contact with the front member 98. At this time, the back member 58 extends the rod 68 at a sufficiently low speed by the damping force from the cylinder 66 until the planographic printing plate 46 contacts the front member 98 and the planographic printing plate 46 contacts the front member 98. When contacted, the stopper plate 60 is brought into contact with the planographic printing plate 46. Thereby, the planographic printing plate 46 is positioned at a position where it abuts on the front member 98 along the transport direction.

  By the way, the operation of the stacking device 50 alone causes the planographic printing plate 46 to collide with the stopper plate 60 of the back member 58 when the planographic printing plate 46 is stacked. The lithographic printing plate 46 is curved and bulges up (arc-shaped curl appears), collides with the next lithographic printing plate 46 being conveyed, and scratches the surface of the lithographic printing plate. is there. Further, when the lithographic printing plate 46 is accumulated, air accumulates on the lower surface of the lithographic printing plate 46, so that the fall of the central portion of the lithographic printing plate 46 is delayed compared to the end of the lithographic printing plate 46, and an arc-shaped curl appears. As a result, the end of the lithographic printing plate 46 may be scratched on the lithographic printing plate surface accumulated on the accumulation surface.

  Furthermore, when the sheet 46 is meandered when the belt 46 is transported by the belt conveyor 42 or the center line in the transport direction is displaced, the center line between the tapered surfaces 85 facing the center line in the transport direction of the planographic printing plate 46. Therefore, the sheet 46 is thrown into the stacking apparatus 10 in a shifted state. As a result, the end of the lithographic printing plate 46 in the width direction is not evenly (balanced) mounted on the tapered surface 85 facing the lithographic printing plate 46, so that the posture of the lithographic printing plate 46 falling toward the stacking surface 54 is easily inclined in the width direction. Become.

  That is, in addition to scratching at the end in the loading direction of the lithographic printing plate 46, the accumulated lithographic printing plate surface may be scratched by the end in the sheet width direction.

  Therefore, in the present invention, as described above, the pair of side members 72 are provided at a distance substantially the same as the width of the lithographic printing plate 46, and the pair of lower sides that restrict movement in the width direction of the lithographic printing plate 46. A pair of upper side members provided on the member 72b and a pair of lower side members 72b, each having a movable portion movable in the width direction of the planographic printing plate 46 and having a tapered surface facing each other in an inverted C shape And a control means 110 for controlling the separation distance between the pair of upper side members 72a by driving the movable part of the pair of upper side members 72a.

  In addition, the angle θ of the tapered surfaces 85 facing each other between the pair of upper side members 72a is defined to be in a range of 25 ° or more and less than 65 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, and can appear and disappear in the pair of lower side members 72b. The claw members 47 are provided to face each other.

  FIG. 5 shows a stacking method by the stacking apparatus according to the present invention, and in particular, shows an outline of the operation of the side member 72 and the behavior of the planographic printing plate during the operation.

  FIG. 5A shows the planographic printing plate 46 being loaded onto the stacking table 52 by the belt conveyor 42. Immediately after loading the lithographic printing plate 46, the distance between the pair of upper side members 72a is controlled so that the distance between the lower ends of the pair of tapered surfaces is smaller than the sheet width, and the loaded lithographic printing plate 46 is removed from the pair of tapered surfaces. It is installed between 85. In the construction of the planographic printing plate 46, the angle θ of the tapered surface 85 with respect to the horizontal plane is formed to be 25 ° or more and less than 65 °. When the angle of the tapered surface 85 facing the horizontal plane is less than 25 °, a correction force for correcting the lithographic printing plate 46 so as to be evenly placed on the tapered surface 85 is less likely to occur. That is, even if the center line of the taper surfaces 85 facing each other is shifted from the center line in the transport direction of the planographic printing plate 46 that is sequentially transported by the belt conveyor 42, the taper surface 85 is 25 ° with respect to the horizontal plane. As described above, by making the angle less than 65 °, a correction force for correcting the deviation of the center line at the time of charging is applied. As a result, both ends in the left-right direction of the planographic printing plate 46 are evenly placed on the tapered surfaces 85 facing each other, and the subsequent planographic printing plate 46 can be normally dropped and stacked. If the angle exceeds 65 ° and the angle is too large, the lithographic printing plate 46 is received at the upper end portion of the tapered surface 85 that faces the lithographic printing plate 46, and the drop distance to the stacking surface 54 increases. The posture of the plate 46 is easy to tilt.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the separation distance between the pair of upper side members 72a is increased as the lithographic printing plate 46 advances toward the back member due to the inertial force when the lithographic printing plate 46 is charged and the air flow from the air blowing means 100. The center part of the planographic printing plate 46 laid between the pair of tapered surfaces 85 is bent downward by its own weight by controlling to gradually expand. In this way, the rigidity of the lithographic printing plate 46 is increased by deflecting the central portion of the lithographic printing plate 46 laid between the pair of tapered surfaces 85 by its own weight. When the back member 58 comes into contact with the stopper plate 60, the tip of the planographic printing plate 46 does not hang down.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the lithographic printing plate 46 is advanced to just before the contact with the back member 58, the distance between the lower ends of the pair of tapered surfaces 85 is wider than the lithographic printing plate 46 width. It is controlled to become. Thereby, the planographic printing plate 46 falls in a state of being bent concavely toward the stacking surface 54. The claw member 47 protrudes horizontally above the stacking surface 54 from the lower side member 72 b facing just before the lithographic printing plate 46 is dropped, and the falling lithographic printing plate 46 is temporarily received by the claw member 47. As a result, once the planographic printing plate 46 is received by the nail member 47 that can be projected and retracted, even if the planographic printing plate 46 that falls from the taper surface 85 that faces it falls down to the left or right in the width direction, It can be corrected to eliminate the tilt. For example, the uneven installation state of the lithographic printing plate laid on the facing taper surface 85 cannot be corrected by the angle θ of the tapered surface 85 described above, and the lithographic printing plate 46 falls down in any of the width directions. Suppose that Even in this case, the inclination can be reliably corrected by once receiving the claw member 47 protruding in the horizontal direction. The planographic printing plate 46 received by the claw member 47 has a shape in which both end portions in the width direction of the planographic printing plate 46 are located at the same height and the central portion is slightly bent downward. In this case, the downward deflection of the lithographic printing plate 46 is not as great as the deflection when it is installed on the tapered surface 85. Further, once the planographic printing plate 46 is received by the claw member 47, the planographic printing plate 46 is positioned in the width direction by the lower side member 72 b formed substantially equal to the width of the planographic printing plate 46. Thereby, the correction of the inclination in the width direction of the planographic printing plate 46 and the positioning to a predetermined stacking position can be performed reliably.

  If the nail member 47 is immersed in this state, the planographic printing plate 46 gently falls from above a predetermined accumulation position while maintaining a substantially horizontal state as shown in FIG. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent sagging of the leading end portion of the planographic printing plate 46 and inclination in the width direction, so that the leading end portion and the width direction end portion of the planographic printing plate 46 are integrated. It is possible to reliably prevent the surface from being scratched.

  5C, when the planographic printing plate 46 falls between the lower side members 72b and is placed on the stacking surface 54, the upper side member 72a It is moved to the original position (FIG. 5E).

  Therefore, the control unit 110 of the stacking apparatus according to the present invention sequentially repeats such steps, so that it is possible to prevent the supplied flat printing plate 46 from rubbing the integrated flat printing plate and causing quality deterioration.

  Note that an air layer is formed along the lower surface of the loaded lithographic printing plate 46, and this air layer causes the central portion of the lithographic printing plate 46 to float up in the stacking device 50, and the end of the lithographic printing plate 46 is accumulated. When there is a possibility of hitting the surface of the planographic printing plate accumulated on the surface, a pressure for injecting air to press the substantially central portion of the planographic printing plate 46 from above to the stacking plate side above the stacking plate It is preferable to have a means. As the pressing means, for example, an air nozzle can be considered, and the air nozzle is connected to an air source (not shown) such as a blower or a compressor for supplying air, and the air supplied from the air source is lithographically printed. Spray onto the approximate center of the plate 46. Here, an electromagnetic valve is provided in the air piping connecting the air nozzle and the air source, and the electromagnetic valve is opened when the planographic printing plate 46 is integrated, and is closed when the integrating device is stopped. It is possible to control. Thus, by providing the pressing means above the stacking table, it is possible to prevent air from accumulating on the lower surface of the planographic printing plate 46 when the planographic printing plate 46 is stacked. The arc-shaped curl that rises can be further suppressed together with the effect of the upper side member, and the accumulated sheet surface can be prevented from being scratched.

  Further, the stopper plate 60 in the back member 58 is preferably slitted. By making the stopper plate 60 into a slit, there is a space for the air accumulated on the lower surface of the loaded lithographic printing plate 46 to escape. It is also conceivable to provide suction means in the vicinity of the stopper plate 60. An arc shape in which the central portion of the lithographic printing plate 46 is lifted by creating a space for releasing air in the air pool on the lower surface of the lithographic printing plate 46 on the back side (in the vicinity of the stopper plate 60) of the stacking table or by sucking it with suction means. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the accumulated sheet surface from being scratched.

  The planographic printing plates 46 placed on the stacking stage 52 are stacked in layers so that the front and rear ends and the side ends coincide with each other. When the number of planographic printing plates 46 on the stacking surface 54 reaches the number of bundles specified in the shipping specification, the planographic printing plates 46 are transferred from the stacking device 50 to a pallet or the like as the stacking bundle 102, and packaged / packed. It is transported to the process and storage warehouse.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to a lithographic printing plate, the same holds true for other sheets. As described above, the sheet stacking apparatus according to the present invention collects the loaded sheet at the taper portion of the upper side member of the side member, and then the upper side member spreads beyond the sheet width so that the sheet central portion is stacked. It becomes a concave shape on the surface, and it falls on the stacking table while supporting both ends of the sheet with the taper part, so that the sheet end does not hang down and the sheet falling speed can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sheet end from scratching the sheet surface accumulated on the accumulation surface.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a processing line using a planographic printing plate stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a processing line in which a planographic printing plate stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is used. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a planographic printing plate stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front view showing a configuration of a planographic printing plate stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the integration | stacking method of the lithographic printing plate which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Processing line, 42 ... Belt conveyor, 46 ... Planographic printing plate, 47 ... Claw member, 50 ... Stacking device, 52 ... Stacking stand, 54 ... Stacking surface, 56 ... Lifter, 58 ... Back member, 72 ... Side member, 72a ... Upper side member, 72b ... Lower side member, 76 ... Cylinder, 84a, 84b ... Frame material, 85 ... Tapered surface, 98 ... Front member, 100 ... Nozzle hole (air blowing means), 102 ... Stacked bundle, 110 ... Control means

Claims (10)

In a sheet stacking apparatus for positioning a plurality of sheets sequentially fed from the conveying means to predetermined stacking positions and stacking these sheets in layers,
A stacking table provided with a stacking surface on which a plurality of sheets are stacked by stacking sheets input from the conveying means;
A front member provided on the conveying means side of the stacking table, and provided with a blowing means for forming an air flow in the sheet conveying direction on a lower surface of the sheet input from the conveying means;
A back member provided on the back side of the stacking table and receiving the sheet so as to be stacked on the stacking table by abutting a leading end of the sheet loaded from the conveying unit;
A pair of side members provided facing the outside in the width direction of the stacking table,
The pair of side members is
A pair of lower side members that are provided at substantially the same separation distance as the sheet width and restrict movement in the sheet width direction;
A pair of upper side members provided on the pair of lower side members, each having a movable portion movable in the sheet width direction and having a tapered surface facing each other in an inverted C shape;
And a control unit that drives a movable portion of the pair of upper side members to control a separation distance between the pair of upper side members.   2. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tapered surface of the upper side member is formed at 25 ° or more and less than 65 ° with respect to a horizontal plane. 3. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of lower side members are provided with claw members that can protrude and retract in a horizontal direction above the stacking surface.   4. The pressing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a pressing unit configured to inject air for pressing a substantially central portion of the sheet from above to the stacking table side. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1.   5. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the back member is formed in a slit shape through which an air flow from the blowing unit can pass.   The sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a suction means for sucking an air flow from the blower means is provided in the vicinity of the back member on the back side of the stacking table. Integration device.   The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is a lithographic printing plate. Using the sheet stacking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, for positioning a plurality of sheets sequentially fed from the conveying means to a predetermined stacking position and stacking these sheets in layers. A method for collecting sheets of
The control means includes
Immediately after the sheet is fed from the conveying means, the distance between the pair of upper side members is controlled so that the distance between the lower ends of the pair of tapered surfaces is narrower than the sheet width, and the loaded sheet is placed on the pair of tapered surfaces. A first step erected between;
The sheet is controlled so that the distance between the pair of upper side members gradually increases as the sheet advances in the direction of the back member due to the inertia force of the sheet feeding and the air flow from the blowing means. A second step of bending the center portion of the seat erected downward by its own weight;
A third step of dropping the sheet by controlling the distance between the lower ends of the pair of tapered surfaces to be wider than the sheet width when the sheet has advanced to just before contacting the back member; A sheet stacking method comprising stacking sheets in a layered manner on a stacking surface of a stacking table by repeating.   Before the sheets dropped in the third step are collected, the nail members are protruded so as to face the pair of lower side members so as to receive the falling sheets, and then the nail members are immersed and the sheets The sheet stacking method according to claim 8, further comprising a fourth step of dropping the sheet again toward the stacking surface.   10. The sheet stacking method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein, in the third step, a suction operation of sucking an air flow from the blowing unit by a suction unit is used in combination.

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