JP2575269B2 - Plate cylinder positioning device for printing press - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positioning device for positioning a plate cylinder in a rotational direction in advance when the plate cylinder is mounted on a printing press.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printing machine that performs a large amount of printing, a raw material on which a long base paper is wound is used as a paper for normal printing. While pulling out the base paper from the web, the printing cylinder is provided with irregularities (patterns) for printing on the outer peripheral surface (plate surface), and the printing cylinder is rotated while ink is supplied to the plate surface and the pressure provided to press it. Printing is performed on one side of the web by passing the web through the cylinder. Such a rotary printing press prints continuously and quickly on one side of the web by rotating the plate cylinder at high speed.
It is suitable as a printing machine for obtaining a large amount of printed matter.

[0003] The above rotary printing press is provided with an unwinding section that supports a web as a raw material so as to be able to be sent out around a horizontal axis, a web introduction section that winds the web on a plate cylinder, and a plurality of printing on the web. A printing unit in which the original plate cylinders are arranged in series, a winding section for winding a printed web, and rollers provided between the devices for smoothly moving the web. I have. Color printing is performed by applying different colors of ink to the plurality of plate cylinders.

[0004] Each time the printing target is changed, the plate cylinder is replaced with a new one. In this exchange, the old cylinder is first removed from the printing press, the new cylinder is mounted on a wheeled movable carrier and transported to the printing press, and the new cylinder is mounted on the printing press from which the old cylinder was removed. Is performed by a series of operations.

[0005] Among such a series of plate cylinder new / old replacement operations, there is a positioning operation for determining the position of the new plate cylinder in the rotational direction. This positioning operation is an operation for setting a specific mark (register mark) formed on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder so as to be located at a predetermined portion at the time of mounting. By performing this positioning operation reliably, it is possible to effectively prevent color shift in color printing in which a plurality of plate cylinders are simultaneously operated. Therefore, in a series of printing processes,
The above-described positioning operation is important for achieving a beautiful print finish.

[0006]

However, in the past, the operation of replacing the plate cylinder itself was manually performed. That is, the new plate cylinder is moved from its storage location to the plate cylinder position of the printing press using a transport tool, and then the old plate cylinder is manually removed from the printing press, loaded onto the transport tool, and the new print cylinder is transferred to the printing press. So-called replacement work, which is performed by hand, is performed. Therefore, in a state where the new plate cylinder is newly mounted on the printing press, a so-called positioning operation for appropriately setting the mounting position in the circumferential direction has also been performed manually.

Since this positioning operation occupies a very important position in the printing process as described above, and if it is not performed accurately, it will cause decisive damage to the start of printing. The positioning operation was expended, resulting in a great deal of time and many failures.

In recent years, attempts have been made to automate the plate cylinder replacement operation itself, and the plate cylinder replacement operation itself, which has conventionally required much manpower and time, has been automated. In this automation, the transfer of the new plate cylinder from the plate cylinder stock location to the printing press, the replacement of old and new plate cylinders, and the transport of the old plate cylinder to the stock location are all performed without human intervention. However, this labor saving effect is extremely large.

[0009] However, even if the above-described automation of a series of exchange operations is completed, the operation of positioning the plate cylinder newly mounted on the printing press is indispensable, and this positioning operation still has to rely on humans. As a result, the fact is that the above series of automation has not been able to maximize its effectiveness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems relating to the operation of positioning a plate cylinder of a printing press as described above, and the operation of positioning a new plate cylinder can be performed quickly, reliably and accurately. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plate cylinder positioning device for a printing press that can be used.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plate cylinder positioning device for a printing press, which determines a predetermined position in the rotational direction of the plate cylinder before the plate cylinder is mounted on the printing press. A plate cylinder positioning device for a printing press for causing the plate cylinder to be mounted thereon, the table being provided with a plate mounted thereon, the table being provided with a top opposed to each other and being rotatably supported around an axis. A pair of support rollers are provided, and the support rollers are configured to be rotatable by rotary drive means. The plate cylinder is supported by the pair of support rollers and rotates around the axis of the plate cylinder according to the rotation of the rotary drive means. It is mounted rotatably and provided with readable register marks at predetermined positions on the surface of the plate cylinder, and the gantry is configured to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the plate cylinder and in the direction toward the axis of the plate cylinder. Register mark reading mechanism When the register mark reading mechanism reads the register mark of the plate cylinder rotating by the driving of the rotation driving means, the register mark reading mechanism prints the plate at a preset angle from the read position as a starting point. It is characterized in that a signal for rotating the body in a predetermined direction and stopping afterwards is transmitted to the rotation driving means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plate cylinder positioning device for a printing press, wherein the register mark reading mechanism is laid in parallel with the support roller. The robot comprises a guide rail, and a single-axis robot movably provided on the guide rail. The single-axis robot is provided with a fluid cylinder, a cylinder rod of the fluid cylinder, A photoelectric switch having a surface facing the surface of the plate cylinder on the support roller, and a tip end abutting on the surface of the plate cylinder with the cylinder rod protruding toward the plate cylinder, and the photoelectric switch and the plate cylinder surface And a tentacle arm that forms a predetermined space between the tentacle arms.

[0013]

According to the plate cylinder positioning device for a printing press according to the first aspect of the present invention, a register mark reading mechanism is mounted on the surface of the plate cylinder which is mounted on the support roller of the gantry and is rotated by the driving of the rotary driving means. When the reading mechanism reads the register mark provided on the surface of the plate cylinder from the reading mechanism, the plate cylinder is rotated in a predetermined direction by a preset angle from the read position as a starting point. A stop signal is transmitted to the rotation driving means.

Accordingly, the rotation driving means which has received the information temporarily stops and restarts when the register mark is read, and then stops by rotating the plate cylinder in a predetermined direction by a preset angle. The position where the plate cylinder is further rotated by the predetermined angle from the register mark detection position is the position where the plate cylinder is to be positioned (position for initial phase matching).

Thereafter, the plate cylinder is transported to the printing machine without changing the position of the plate cylinder, and the plate cylinder is mounted on the printing machine in the same posture, so that the mounted state becomes a positioned state. ing.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the light receiving surface of the photoelectric switch is provided on the surface of the plate cylinder in a state where the plate cylinder is mounted on the support roller of the gantry. The single-axis robot can be moved in advance along the guide rail to a position that can face the position of the register mark.

When the cylinder rod of the single-axis robot is protruded in a state where the above movement is completed, the tip of the tentacle arm attached to the cylinder rod abuts on the plate cylinder surface,
The distance between the photoelectric switch and the surface of the plate cylinder automatically becomes a preset length.

Since this length is preset to a length suitable for the photoelectric switch to detect a register mark, positioning of the plate cylinder by register mark detection automatically performed by a register mark reading mechanism thereafter. The operation is very smooth.

The photoelectric switch is a switch configured to receive reflected light of the light emitted toward the surface of the plate cylinder on the surface of the plate cylinder, and to perform on / off operation of the switch based on the amount of received light. is there.

[0020]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a printing press to which the plate change of the printing press of the present invention is applied. As shown in this figure,
The printing press P includes a raw material loading portion A for loading a raw material X wound with a printing raw paper, and a raw material automatic mounting portion B for mounting the loaded raw material X on the next unwinding portion C. And an unwinding section C for unwinding the raw web X, a stencil introduction section D for adjusting the unwinding stencil sheet Y to be fed downstream, and printing on the stencil sheet Y introduced. A printing unit E including a first printing unit E1, a second printing unit E2, and a third printing unit E3 to be applied, a printing paper deriving unit F that derives printing paper Z on which printing has been completed, and winding the derived printing paper Z. A winding section G to be taken up and a product stock section H for stocking the wound product X ′ are arranged in series. A number of adjusting rollers are provided between the respective sections to facilitate the feeding of the base paper Y.

Most of the printing presses are multi-row type multi-color printing presses. In FIG. 1, the printing units E constituting the printing press P include first, second and third printing units E1, Although a printing unit consisting of three units of E2 and E3 is illustrated, as shown in FIG.
1 is a triple printing unit as described above, and the second printing press P2 is a quadruple printing unit, and the first printing press P1 and the second printing press P2 are arranged side by side. The radix and the radix of the printing unit can be arbitrarily set.

Each printing unit E is provided with a plate cylinder 1 in which cells for holding printing ink are recessed on the plate surface, and an impression cylinder 11 for pressing the plate cylinder 1 is provided above the plate cylinder 1. Is provided. The printing base paper Y unwound from the unwinding portion C is configured to be sent out according to the rotation of the plate cylinder 1 while being sandwiched between the plate cylinder 1 and the impression cylinder 11. The ink held on the plate surface of the plate cylinder 1 is the base paper Y
And printing is performed.

The plate cylinder 1 of each printing unit E1, E2, E3
Are supplied with different color inks (for example, three primary colors), so that each printing unit E1, E2, E
The base paper Y that has passed through No. 3 becomes printing paper Z, is wound up in a winding section G, and is temporarily stored in a product stock section H until it is transferred to a next process as a wound product X ′. It is.

An automatic plate changing device is provided along the plate cylinder of the printing unit E in the printing press P as described above, and in the present embodiment, a part of the plate changing device according to the present invention is provided. Such a plate cylinder positioning device is provided.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a plate changing device including the plate cylinder positioning device according to the present invention is disposed in parallel with the printing press P, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the plate changing device.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 2, as the target printing presses P, a triple printing press P1 and a quadruple printing press P2 are arranged in parallel with each other. Has been established. Then, as the first printing press P1, a first material web loading section A1, a first material web automatic mounting section B1, and a first unwinding section C1 are provided.
And a triple printing unit Ea including a triple first printing unit E11, a triple second printing unit E12, and a triple third printing unit E13. The second printing press P2 includes Loading section A2 and second sheet automatic loading section B
2, the second unwinding section C2, and the quadruple second printing unit E2
1, a quadruple printing unit Eb including a quadruple second printing unit E22, a quadruple third printing unit E23, and a quadruple fourth printing unit E24. These first and second printing presses P1, P2 are provided. The plate changing device K is arranged on the floor between the two.

On the floor surface between the first printing press P1 and the second printing press P2, an elevated track 4 is installed in parallel with the plate cylinders of both printing units Ea and Eb. Are provided with a plurality of floor tracks 5 laid toward the plate cylinders 1 mounted on the printing units E11 to E24 so as to lie laterally therewith.

A plate cylinder transport track 2 is laid on the floor surface toward the starting point of the elevated track 4 (the left side of the elevated track 4 in FIG. 3). A new plate cylinder storage 2a for storing the new plate cylinder 1a before the replacement and an old plate cylinder storage 2b for storing the old plate cylinder 1b after the replacement are provided on both sides of the plate cylinder transport path 2.

A positioning device 3 for setting the position (phase) of the plate surface of the plate cylinder 1 is provided below the elevated track 4 and on the left side of each floor track 5. The positioning device 3 rotates the plate cylinder 1 in a state where the plate cylinder 1 is placed thereon, searches for a register mark provided on the plate surface of the plate cylinder 1, stops rotation at that position, and stops the rotation of the plate cylinder 1. When positioning is performed, a register mark is once found, rotation is stopped at that position, and the plate cylinder 1 is rotated by using the register mark position as an origin and further rotating the plate cylinder 1 so as to be in register from the beginning of printing. There are cases. Which method is adopted is appropriately determined in consideration of the situation in the box. In the present embodiment, the latter is adopted. After the positioning of the plate cylinder 1 is completed, the plate cylinder 1 is transported in a state where the determined posture is maintained.

A plate cylinder transport vehicle 20 for carrying in and out the plate cylinder 1 is provided on the plate cylinder transport track 2 so as to be able to travel freely. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the plate cylinder transport vehicle 20 has a carriage 21 having wheels 23 at a lower portion and a plate cylinder mounting provided with a plurality of units on the carriage 21 and having a V-shape in side view. And a surface 22. The drive motor 2 is provided inside the carriage 21.
The plate cylinder transport vehicle 20 is freely moved on the plate cylinder transport track 2 by the driving of the motor 24.

The plate cylinder carrier 20 receives the new plate cylinder 1a on the new plate cylinder storage table 2a, transfers it to the lower left portion of the elevated track 4, and delivers it to a plate cylinder delivery device 40, which will be described later. Old version cylinder 1 delivered from device 40
b plays a role of carrying out to the old plate cylinder storage table 2b. For loading the new plate cylinder 1a onto the plate cylinder transporter 20 and unloading the old plate cylinder 1b from the plate cylinder transporter 20, the base 22 'receiving the plate cylinder mounting surface 22 of FIG.
It is performed by driving a roller conveyor (not shown) that moves the whole.

On the elevated track 4, a plate cylinder transfer device 40 for holding the plate cylinder 1 and transferring the plate cylinder 1 between the positioning device 3 and the plate changing vehicle 50 by holding the plate cylinder 1 is free to travel. It is provided in. This plate cylinder delivery device 40 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle is composed of a flat carriage 41 disposed on the elevated track 4 and a plate cylinder hanger 43 suspended from the carriage 41.

The plate cylinder hanger 43 is connected to the tip of a rod 45 projecting downward from a cylinder 44 erected on the upper surface of the traveling vehicle 41, and further penetrates the pair of traveling vehicles 41 in the vertical direction. Guide rod 42 provided
Is also connected. Therefore, when the cylinder 44 is operated to move the rod 45 up and down, the plate cylinder hanger 43
It moves up and down while being guided by the guide rod 42.

Further, a pair of hanger arms 47 are provided on the lower surface of the plate cylinder hanger 43 and hung therefrom.
A pair of hanger claws 47 is provided at the tip of the hanger arm 47.
a pair of hanger pawls 47a hook the lower side edges of the plate cylinder 1 so that the plate cylinder 1 is held in a state in which the longitudinal direction of the plate cylinder hanger 43 crosses the plate cylinder transport path 2. Is held.

The distance between the pair of hanger arms 47 can be appropriately changed by driving a width setting motor 48 provided on the upper surface of the plate cylinder hanger 43. Therefore, by driving the width setting motor 48 to move the arms apart from each other, the plate cylinder 1 is set at the center of each device, thereby centering the plate, and held between the hanger arms 47, 47. It is possible to release the plate cylinder 1 or to hold the plate cylinder 1 between the hanger arms 47, 47.

A traveling servomotor 46 is provided on the upper surface of the traveling carriage 41 as described above. The rotation of the servomotor 46 is performed on the track surface 4a of the elevated track 4 via a pair of pulleys. It is configured to be transmitted to traveling wheels 46a that cause the traveling carriage 41 placed in the vehicle to travel. Therefore, by driving the servo motor 46, the plate cylinder delivery device 40 can be freely moved on the elevated track 4.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway front view of the positioning device 3, and FIG. 7 is a side view thereof. As shown in these figures, the positioning device 3 includes a gantry 31 erected on the floor.
And a pair of support rollers 32, 32 provided on an upper part of the gantry 31 for supporting the plate cylinder 1, and a register mark reading mechanism 30 for detecting a register mark for positioning the plate cylinder 1. I have.

The register mark reading mechanism 30 includes a guide rail 3a laid in parallel with the support rollers 32, 32, and a single axis robot 33 movably provided on the guide rail 3a. . And
This single axis robot 33 is an air cylinder (fluid cylinder)
35 and a cylinder rod 35 ′ of the air cylinder 35.
A photoelectric switch 36 using laser light provided at the tip of the rod 35 'and having a light receiving surface facing the surface of the plate cylinder on the support roller, and the cylinder rod 35' protruding toward the plate cylinder 1. In this state, the front end is made up of the photoelectric switch 36 and a tentacle arm 37 which forms a predetermined gap between the photoelectric switch 36 and the surface of the plate cylinder 1 by abutting against the surface (plate surface) of the plate cylinder 1.

The rotation of a reversible motor 34 as a rotation driving means is transmitted to one of the support rollers 32 via a timing belt or a gear.
Accordingly, by driving the motor 34, the plate cylinder 1 placed on the pair of support rollers 32, 32 rotates arbitrarily forward and reverse in the direction set via the support rollers 32.

A motor and an encoder (not shown) are incorporated in the single-axis robot 33, and the position of the guide rail is checked by an external operation or while checking its own position according to a program input in advance. 3a can be moved. In addition, photoelectric switch 3
6 is configured to be able to move up and down by the operation of an air cylinder 35, and by appropriately operating these operating mechanisms, the single-axis robot 33 can appropriately cope with the plate cylinders 1 of various sizes. Has become. That is, the air cylinder 35 is for adjusting the plate diameter of the plate cylinder 1, and the guide rail 3a is for adjusting the length of the plate cylinder 1.

The photoelectric switch 36 is for reading the register mark 12 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 1 (a part closer to the side than the plate surface). The register mark 12 is a mark serving as a reference for positioning the plate cylinder 1. When the register mark 12 is detected by the photoelectric switch 36, the position of the register mark 12 is set to a position to be set on the plate cylinder 1. It is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 1. In the case of the present embodiment, the register mark is 1 mm in length, 10 mm in width, and engraving or corrosion line of several 10 μ in depth (surface chrome plating)
The photoelectric switch 36 detects the presence of the register mark by the reflection of the laser light emitted from the photoelectric switch 36.

The tentacle arm 37 serves to keep the distance between the photoelectric switch 36 and the plate surface of the plate cylinder 1 mounted on the support roller 32 constant. If the rod 35 'of the air cylinder 35 is protruded upward in the state of being placed on the upper side, the roller at the tip of the tentacle arm 37 abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 1 and further protrudes the rod 35' Therefore, the distance between the photoelectric switch 36 provided at the tip of the rod 35 'and the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 1 is determined as set in advance.

When the photoelectric switch 36 detects the register mark 12, the photoelectric switch 36 and the motor 34 are stopped so that the driving reversible motor 34 is stopped.
Thus, the new cylinder 1a is placed on the support roller 32, and the motor 34 is driven and rotated to automatically position the new cylinder 1a. If the rotation of the plate cylinder 1 is stopped and the rotation is overrun, the reversible motor 34 rotates in the reverse direction and the register mark returns to a predetermined position.

Further, an encoder 39 is provided coaxially on the rotation shaft of the support roller 32.
9, the rotational displacement of the support roller 32 is always detected. The encoder 39 detects the position of the register mark 12 provided on the plate surface of the plate cylinder 1 by the photoelectric switch 36 of the single-axis robot 33, and when the rotation of the plate cylinder 1 is stopped at that position. With the position as the origin, the plate cylinder 1 is further rotated so as to be in register from the beginning of printing.
It serves to give a command to the motor 34 for performing so-called initial registration of the plate cylinder 1.

In each of the floor tracks 5, a plate changing vehicle 50 for carrying in and out the plate cylinder 1 and changing the plate of the old and new plate cylinders is provided so as to be freely movable. FIGS. 8 to 12 are side views for explaining the operation state of the plate changing vehicle 50. FIG.

As described above with reference to FIG.
In this embodiment, the floor track 5 includes a first floor track 51 toward the triple printing unit Ea and a second floor track 52 toward the quadruple printing unit Eb. Are arranged so that they can be used in common for any of these printing units E. However, only the plate changing vehicle 50 heading to the printing unit E24 is dedicated to the second printing unit Eb.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG.
The main part 0 is accommodated in a frame 53, and an old plate receiving stand 54 is provided on the upper part of the frame 53.
Inside the frame 53, a new plate receiving table 55, a cylinder 56 for moving the new plate receiving table 55 back and forth, a front and rear motor 54a and a vertical motor 54b for moving the old plate receiving table 54 back and forth and up and down, A traveling motor 57 for traveling the plate changing vehicle 50 and an up / down motor 55a for vertically moving the new plate receiving table 55 are provided.

The new plate receiving table 55 is provided with a base 55b.
The new plate receiving table 55 can be moved up and down by operating the link 55c. The vertical motor 5
5a is connected to this link 55c.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the new plate cylinder 1a placed on the positioning device 3 is transferred to the plate changing vehicle 50. That is, first, the hanger arm 4 of the plate cylinder transfer device 40
Reference numeral 7 holds the new plate cylinder 1a and moves and stops as indicated by the rightward arrow. In this state, the new plate receiving tray 55 of the plate changing vehicle 50 laid sideways on the side of the positioning device 3 holds the vertical motor 5
By the drive of 5a, it moves upward via the link 55c and abuts on the bottom of the new plate cylinder 1a. In this state, the holding of the new plate cylinder 1a of the hanger arm 47 is released.

Thereafter, the new plate receiving tray 55 is lowered by the operation of the vertical motor 55a via the link 55c as shown by the downward arrow, and the new plate cylinder 1a thereon is mounted on the frame 5
3 is housed inside. In this state, the traveling motor 57 is driven, and the plate changing vehicle 50 travels toward the printing unit E.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the plate changing wheel 50 is laid sideways on the old plate cylinder 1b of the printing unit E.
FIG. 11 to FIG. 11 are explanatory views showing a process of replacing the new plate cylinder 1a with the old plate cylinder 1b.

That is, the plate changing vehicle 5 equipped with the new plate cylinder 1a.
0 stands by at a position beside the printing unit E shown in FIG. When the printing operation by the old plate cylinder 1b of the printing unit E is completed, the new and old plate cylinder 1 is immediately replaced.

First, as shown in FIG. 10, the front-rear motor 54a and the vertical motor 54b in the frame 53 are appropriately operated, and the old plate receiving tray 54 is mounted on the old plate cylinder 1b mounted on the printing unit E. It is located at the bottom, and the old cylinder 1b
Is placed. On the other hand, the cylinder 56 operates so as to project the new plate receiving table 55, and the new plate cylinder 1a is positioned directly below the old plate cylinder 1b.

In this state, the old plate cylinder 1b mounted on the printing unit E is released, and as shown in FIG. 11, the old plate receiving tray 54 is pulled back by the cooperative operation of the front / rear motor 54a and the vertical motor 54b. The old plate cylinder 1b is accommodated on a plate changing vehicle 50. In parallel with this operation, the new plate receiving table 55 is linked by the operation of the vertical motor 55a.
c, the new plate cylinder 1a mounted thereon is replaced with the old plate cylinder 1b and located at the plate cylinder mounting portion of the printing unit E. In this state, the new plate cylinder 1a
Since the positioning has already been completed as described with reference to FIG. 8, the printer is mounted on the printing unit E and used for printing.

Then, as shown in FIG.
The old plate cylinder 1b is mounted on the old plate receiving tray 54, travels from the printing unit E in the direction of the plate changing device K, stops immediately below the elevated track 4, and the old plate cylinder 1b is attached to the hanger arm of the plate cylinder delivery device 40. Delivered to 47. Thereafter, the old plate cylinder 1b is moved to the plate cylinder mounting surface 22 above the plate cylinder transport vehicle 20 by the movement of the hanger arm 47. The plate cylinder transport vehicle 20 travels on the plate cylinder transport track 2 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and stops at the left end thereof.
The mounted old plate cylinder 1b is transferred to the old plate cylinder storage table 2b, and a series of new and old exchanges of the plate cylinder 1 is completed.

The plate changing device in which the plate cylinder positioning device according to the present invention is employed is provided between the two rows of the first printing press P1 and the second printing press P2 provided in parallel as described above. , A plate cylinder transport track 2 and an elevated track 4 are arranged, and a floor track 5 is arranged from immediately below the elevated track 4 to each of the printing units E on both sides thereof. Cylinder transfer vehicle 20, plate cylinder delivery device 40, and plate changer 50 used for exchanging are provided so that they can run freely.
Immediately below the elevated track 4, a positioning device 3 for setting the position of the plate surface of the new plate cylinder 1a is provided.

Accordingly, the new plate cylinder is carried to the starting point of the elevated track by the plate cylinder transporting vehicle 20 and is transferred to the positioning device 3 by the plate cylinder delivery device 40, where a predetermined position is set by the positioning device 3 and the plate is again printed. The new and old plate cylinders are exchanged in a state where they are transferred to the printing unit E by the cylinder transfer device 40, and the old and new plate cylinders 1b removed from the printing unit E are transferred to the plate unit. It is carried out below the elevated track 4 by the spare vehicle 50, transferred to the plate cylinder transporting vehicle 20 by the plate cylinder delivery device 40, and carried out from the starting point of the elevated track 4 to the old plate cylinder storage 2b by the plate cylinder carrying vehicle 20. A series of operations for replacing the old and new plate cylinders 1 can be performed by merely performing a switching operation with almost no human intervention.

Further, an operation program is prepared in advance for the various operations required for the traveling of the plate cylinder transporting vehicle 20, the plate cylinder transfer device 40, the positioning device 3 and the plate changing vehicle 50 and the exchange of the old and new plate cylinders 1. The program is input to a control device composed of a so-called computer, and the control device transmits the program based on the instruction signal transmitted based on the program.
If the positioning device 3 and the plate changer 50 perform a predetermined traveling and a new and old exchange operation of the predetermined plate cylinder 1, the entire plate exchange operation of the printing press, which has conventionally required a lot of manpower and time, can be performed as a whole. Can be automated.

In particular, since the positioning of the plate cylinder, which has been conventionally difficult to automate, can be automatically performed by the present invention, the positioning device 3 is provided almost completely by interposing the positioning device 3 in the plate changing device. Thus, the automation of the plate changing operation of the entire printing apparatus has been completed, and the effect of the present invention is great also in that sense.

[0060]

According to the present invention, a plate cylinder positioning device for a printing press comprises:
A pair of support rollers are provided on the top of the gantry and are rotatably supported around the axis so as to face each other. The plate cylinder is supported by the pair of support rollers and rotates around the axis of the plate cylinder in accordance with the rotation of the reversible motor. The table is provided with a register mark reading mechanism that is configured to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the plate cylinder and in a direction toward the axis of the plate cylinder. When the register mark of the plate cylinder rotating by the driving of the motor is read, a drive stop signal is transmitted from the register mark reading mechanism to the reversible motor.

Therefore, if the register mark is provided in advance in association with the positioning attitude of the plate cylinder, the state in which the rotation of the plate cylinder is stopped by the stop of the reversible motor is the state in which the rotation is stopped at the position where the plate cylinder is to be positioned. Can be

Thereafter, the plate cylinder is transported to the printing machine without changing the position of the plate cylinder, and the plate cylinder is mounted on the printing machine in the same posture. In addition, it is not necessary to manually perform a troublesome positioning operation as in the related art, which is very convenient in terms of labor saving of the printing operation.

The register mark reading mechanism comprises a guide rail laid in parallel with the support roller, and a single-axis robot movably provided on the guide rail. And a cylinder rod of the fluid cylinder, a photoelectric switch provided at the tip of the cylinder rod and having a light receiving surface facing the surface of the plate cylinder on the support roller, and a state in which the cylinder rod protrudes toward the plate cylinder. If the tip of the plate cylinder is made up of a tentacle arm that abuts against the surface of the plate cylinder to form a predetermined gap between the photoelectric switch and the surface of the plate cylinder, the plate cylinder is placed on the support roller of the gantry. While mounted, the single-axis robot is moved in advance along the guide rail to a position where the light receiving surface of the photoelectric switch can face the position of the register mark provided on the plate cylinder surface. If the cylinder rod of the single-axis robot is protruded after the above movement is completed, the tip of the tentacle arm attached to the cylinder rod abuts on the plate cylinder surface, and the photoelectric switch and the plate cylinder surface are automatically Is a preset length.

Since this length is set in advance to a length suitable for the photoelectric switch to detect the register mark, the plate cylinder is automatically detected by the register mark reading mechanism. Is performed extremely smoothly.

The photoelectric switch is a switch configured to receive reflected light of the light emitted toward the surface of the plate cylinder on the surface of the plate cylinder, and to perform on / off operation of the switch based on the amount of received light. For this reason, if a slight linear mark is applied as the register mark, for example, the reflected light changes due to the register mark, and the register mark is detected by this change, and the switch operation for register mark detection is performed on the photoelectric switch. Can be made.

As described above, the plate cylinder positioning device for a printing press according to the present invention can automatically perform the plate cylinder positioning operation, which has conventionally been a bottleneck in the overall labor saving of the printing operation. This is particularly effective when used in combination with other automation equipment and labor-saving equipment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating an outline of a printing machine P to which a plate cylinder positioning device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a plate changing device provided with the plate cylinder positioning device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a plate changing device provided with the plate cylinder positioning device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a plate cylinder delivery device and a plate cylinder transport vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a plate cylinder delivery device and a plate cylinder transport vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing an example of a plate cylinder positioning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing an example of a plate cylinder positioning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state where the new plate cylinder is delivered from the plate cylinder delivery device to the plate changing vehicle.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state in which a plate changing vehicle on which a new plate cylinder is mounted is laterally mounted on a printing unit.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state where the old and new plate cylinders are being exchanged at the side of the printing unit, and shows an initial state of the exchange operation.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state where the old and new plate cylinders are being replaced at the side of the printing unit, and shows a state where the replacement operation has been completed.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state in which the plate changing vehicle on which the old plate cylinder is mounted has arrived immediately below the elevated track.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 plate cylinder 1a new plate cylinder 1b old plate cylinder 12 register mark 2 plate cylinder transport trajectory 20 plate cylinder transport vehicle 3 positioning device 30 register mark reading mechanism 31 gantry 32 support roller 34 reversible motor (rotation drive means) 4 elevated track 40 plate cylinder delivery Equipment 5 Floor track 50 Replacing car E Printing unit

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plate cylinder positioning device for a printing press for determining a preset position in the rotation direction of a plate cylinder before the plate cylinder is mounted on the printing press, wherein the plate cylinder is placed. A gantry is provided, and a pair of support rollers are provided on the top of the gantry so as to face each other and are rotatably supported around an axis, and the support rollers are configured to be rotatable by rotation driving means. The plate cylinder is rotatably mounted around the axis of the plate cylinder in accordance with the rotation of the rotation driving means while being supported by the pair of support rollers, and a readable register is provided at a predetermined position on the surface of the plate cylinder. Mark is provided, and the gantry is provided with a register mark reading mechanism configured to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the plate cylinder and in a direction toward the axis of the plate cylinder. By driving When the register mark of the rotating plate cylinder is read, a signal from the register mark reading mechanism to rotate the plate cylinder in a predetermined direction by a preset angle from the read position as the starting point and then stop the rotation is given. Means for positioning a plate cylinder of a printing press, wherein the device is adapted to be transmitted to the means. 2. The register mark reading mechanism comprises a guide rail laid in parallel with the support roller and a single-axis robot movably provided on the guide rail. And a cylinder rod of the fluid cylinder, a photoelectric switch provided at the tip of the cylinder rod and having a light receiving surface facing the surface of the plate cylinder on the support roller, and a state in which the cylinder rod protrudes toward the plate cylinder. 2. The printing press according to claim 1, further comprising a tentacle arm having a leading end abutting against the surface of the plate cylinder to form a predetermined gap between the photoelectric switch and the surface of the plate cylinder. Plate cylinder positioning device.