JP3124666B2 - Erasing water washing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photosensitive lithographic printing plate having an image formed by processing with a processing liquid after exposure, applying an erasing liquid to a non-printing portion of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, and supplying washing water. The present invention relates to an erasing rinsing device for rinsing the unnecessary portion together with an erasing liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An original film is fixed on a plate of a photosensitive lithographic printing plate (hereinafter, referred to as a PS plate) on which an image is formed by being processed by a processing liquid after being exposed, upon exposure. For this reason, print-unnecessary portions such as marks of the tape stuck, marks called so-called register marks, and edge marks of the film may be left.

[0003] In order to erase the unnecessary printing portion, an erasing liquid is applied to the unnecessary printing portion by an operator. Thereafter, the PS plate coated with the erasing liquid is inserted into an erasing rinsing device, and rinsing water is supplied onto the plate surface to wash away unnecessary printing portions together with the erasing liquid.

A configuration for washing out the erasing liquid is, for example, as follows:
As described in JP-A-3-180847, a plurality of spray tubes are arranged on a conveyor for conveying a PS plate so that an axis is orthogonal to a conveying direction of the PS plate, and an injection nozzle provided on the spray tube. And a step of rubbing with a brush while supplying washing water.

[0005] By supplying (spraying) the washing water from the spray pipe and brushing, the erasing liquid and the unnecessary portion can be efficiently washed away with a small amount of washing water.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the erasing liquid and the unnecessary portion are washed away in two steps, so that the entire process length is long and the processing efficiency is reduced, and the apparatus is large in size. Has become.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an erasing rinsing apparatus capable of shortening the rinsing step of an erasing liquid and an unprintable portion and reducing the size of the apparatus.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photosensitive lithographic printing plate, on which an image is formed by exposure to a processing liquid after exposure, applying an erasing liquid to a printing unnecessary portion, and further washing with water. An erasing water washing device for washing the unnecessary printing portion together with the erasing liquid, wherein the device is diffused in a direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, and is conveyed in a conveying direction of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate. And a spray nozzle for spraying washing water obliquely to the conveying direction to the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface so as to be hardly diffused.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of spray nozzles are respectively spaced apart from the photosensitive lithographic printing plate.
The photosensitive lithographic printing plate is arranged in a zigzag manner in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate , and the washing water from these spray nozzles is substantially equivalent to the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate. It is characterized by being provided so as to be injected toward the same straight line.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the angle of the jet direction of the washing water jetted from the jet nozzle is 5 ° to 10 ° with respect to the vertical line to the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface. And

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the washing water is jetted from the jet nozzle toward the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface conveyed by the conveying means, the photosensitive lithographic printing plate is
The light is diffused in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, but hardly diffused in the transport direction. The injection direction of the washing water from the injection nozzle to the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface of the photosensitive
Because they are inclined against the conveying direction of the sexual planographic printing plate,
The photosensitive resin in the unnecessary portion of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, to which the erasing liquid has been applied, can be efficiently peeled off and quickly washed away.

Therefore, the washing water containing the erasing liquid is quickly removed from the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, stays on the photosensitive resin surface of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, and invades a necessary portion of the photosensitive resin. No need for printing, the erasing liquid is sufficiently applied only by the process of spraying the washing water from the spray nozzle, eliminating the need for the brushing process, thereby reducing the number of work processes and reducing the size of the device. it can.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of ejection nozzles are respectively arranged at intervals from the surface of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, and these ejection nozzles are provided on the photosensitive lithographic printing plate.
They are arranged in a zigzag pattern in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction . Since the washing water is jetted from these jet nozzles onto substantially the same straight line in a direction orthogonal to the direction of conveyance of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, the photosensitive resin of the printing-unnecessary part coated with the erasing liquid can be further removed. It can be more efficiently peeled off and more quickly washed away.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the higher the jet pressure of the washing water on the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface (that is, the contact from the vertical direction), the more the printing unnecessary portion containing the erasing liquid becomes. The effect of removing the photosensitive resin from the surface of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate is good. On the other hand, the more the angle of the jetting direction of the washing water to the photosensitive-derived lithographic printing plate surface is inclined, the more efficiently the photosensitive resin containing the erasing liquid in the unnecessary portion can be removed. In order to appropriately and efficiently realize the releasability and the removability, the inclination angle of the washing water with respect to the vertical line to the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface is preferably 5 ° to 10 °. By setting the spray angle of the washing water to the above-mentioned angle, two contradictory effects (peeling property and rejection) can be obtained at the same time.

[0015]

FIG. 1 shows an automatic PS plate finishing line 10. The PS plate automatic finishing line 10 is configured such that an erasing water washing device 12, a burning machine 14, a cooling device 16, a washing gum drying treatment machine 18 and a stocker 20 are arranged in a straight line. The PS plate is transported from the erasing and rinsing device 12 into the above-described device in order and processed.

The erasing rinsing device 12 is a device for supplying rinsing water to a PS plate having an erasing liquid applied to a printing-unnecessary part, and washing away the photosensitive resin in the printing-unnecessary part together with the erasing liquid.
This is the earliest process operation of the S-plate automatic finishing line 10, and a PS plate insertion port 22 is provided on the left side surface in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the PS plate inserted from the PS plate insertion port 22 is first placed on a transport belt 26 stretched over a pair of rollers 24. Roller 24 on the back side
Is slightly lower than the roller 24 on the PS plate insertion port 22 side. The roller 24 on the far side is connected to a rotation shaft of a drive motor 30 via a chain 28, and the transport belt 26 is driven by the drive force of the drive motor 30. Thus, the PS plate is transported in a substantially horizontal state by the driving of the transport belt 26 toward the back of the apparatus (the right side in FIG. 2).

Downstream of the conveyor belt 26, that is, above the roller 24 on the far side, three spray pipes 32 are arranged in parallel with each other. Each spray pipe 32 is arranged in a direction whose axis is orthogonal to the transport direction of the PS plate. The washing water is supplied to the spray pipe 32 at a predetermined pressure.

This washing water is pumped up from the storage tank by a pump, sprayed from the spray pipe 32 toward the surface of the PS plate, and stored again in the storage tank (circulation use). The washing water in the storage tank is replenished or replaced at a predetermined time.

A plurality of holes are provided in the lower part of the spray pipe 32 (the surface facing the PS plate) along the axis, and the spray nozzles 34 are respectively mounted.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the injection nozzle 3
No. 4 is provided with a through hole 34A penetrating both end faces along the axis, and a notch 34B in the diametric direction is formed on the end face on the ejection side. As a result, the washing water supplied from the spray pipe 32 passes through the through-hole 34A, and
B is injected substantially flat along B. Since the cutout grooves 34B are oriented in a direction orthogonal to the PS plate transport direction, the washing water is diffused and jetted in the width direction of the PS plate.

The washing water sprayed in a substantially flat shape from the spray nozzles 34 attached to the upstream spray pipe 32 and the downstream spray pipe 32 adjacent to the upstream spray pipe 32 in the direction of transport of the PS plate on the PS board. The intervals between the wash water spray nozzles 34, the mounting angle of the spray nozzles 34 to the spray pipe 32, and the like are adjusted so that the spray water is sprayed continuously on substantially the same straight line without any gap.

The adjacent spray nozzles 34 attached to the three spray pipes 32 are arranged in a zigzag manner so that the washing water can be evenly supplied to the entire PS plate. (See FIG. 3B).

In this embodiment, the rinsing water sprayed from the spray nozzle is inclined at an angle of 5 ° to 10 ° with respect to the vertical direction from the spray nozzle to the PS plate surface in the PS plate transport direction or the transport direction.
The spray nozzle 34 is connected to the spray pipe 3 so that
2 attached. Therefore, the contact positions of the washing water jetted from the respective jet nozzles 34 in a substantially flat shape to the PS plate are substantially the same.

By inclining the injection nozzle 34 at an appropriate angle in this manner, the flow of the washing water after reaching the PS plate is improved, and the erasing liquid (including the photosensitive resin in the print unnecessary portion including the photosensitive resin in the unnecessary portion) is improved. ) Is quickly washed off from the PS plate surface so as not to reattach to the PS plate surface. As a result, the erasing liquid can be efficiently removed with a small amount of washing water.

On the downstream side of the rear roller 24, two pairs of erasing rollers 36 and 38 are provided, and the chain 28 is wound around the lower roller 36A of the upstream erasing roller 36. ing. As a result, a rotational force is applied to the upstream erasing section roller 36 by the driving force of the drive motor 30.

The eraser rollers 36 and 38 are connected to the conveyor belt 2
The PS plate 6 has a function of receiving the PS plate conveyed by 6, and sending the PS plate further downstream while squeezing the surface of the PS plate.

A fresh water spray pipe 42 is arranged between the erasing section rollers 36 and 38 above the erasing section rollers 36 and 38. Fresh water that is not circulated and used is sprayed from the new water spray pipe 42, and finishes the PS plate surface that has been washed with the washing water sprayed from the spray nozzle 34. I have.

Downstream of the erasing roller 38, the vertical wall 4
4, and provided with a surface adjusting portion 46. Surface adjustment part 4
6 includes rollers 48 corresponding to the lower surface side of the PS plate during conveyance.
Is disposed, and a pair of surface adjusting rollers 50 is disposed downstream thereof. A chain 52 wound around a rotation shaft of the drive motor 30 is wound around a lower roller 50A of the surface-adjusting portion roller 50. Thereby, the vertical wall portion 44
The PS plate that has passed through is supported by the rollers 48, transported while being nipped by the leveling rollers 50, and reaches the discharge port 54.

A spray pipe 56 is provided near the roller 50B on the upper side of the surface adjusting roller 50. The spray pipe 56 is disposed so that its axis is orthogonal to the transport direction of the PS plate, and a plurality of discharge ports are formed toward a contact portion between the upper roller 50 </ b> B of the flattening roller 50 and the auxiliary roller 51. Is provided. The surface-regulating liquid is discharged from the discharge port of the spray pipe 56, and the surface-regulating liquid spread on the surface of the upper roller 50B by the auxiliary roller 51 having a spiral concave portion on the surface is a PS plate. Is transferred and applied to the upper surface (photosensitive resin layer surface), and the upper surface of the PS plate is subjected to surface smoothing processing.

Further, the lower roller 50 of the flattening roller 50
A is a pipe 98 and a pump 96 from a surface-regulating liquid storage tank 88.
The surface conditioning liquid supplied to the receiving pan 94 is immersed in the cleaning solution, and the surface conditioning liquid pumped up by the rotation of the lower roller 50A is transferred and applied to the lower surface of the PS plate, and the lower surface of the PS plate is subjected to the surface planarization processing.

The PS plate that has been subjected to the surface finishing and discharged from the discharge port 54 of the erasing and rinsing device 12 is guided and conveyed to the burning machine 14 which is the next step.

FIG. 4 shows a piping system for the washing water, fresh water and surface conditioning liquid. A washing water storage tank 60 is provided below the conveyor belt 26 and the erasing rollers 36 and 38. The erasing section roller 3 in the washing water storage tank 60
The portions corresponding to 6 and 38 have a deep bottom, on which a filter 62 is arranged and a discharge pipe 64 is provided.

The opening at the lower end of the discharge pipe 64 is directed to the main tank 66 in which the washing water is stored, and the washing water in the washing water storage tank 60 is guided to the main tank 66.

The main tank 66 and the spray pipe 32 are connected by a pipe 68. In addition, the gap between the conveyor belt 26 and the erasing roller 36 has PS
A sub-spray pipe 70 for cleaning the back surface (lower surface) of the plate is provided, and the sub-spray pipe 70 and the main tank 66 are also connected by a pipe 72.

Pumps 74 and 76 are interposed in the pipes 68 and 72, respectively. Therefore, the pump 74,
By driving 76, washing water can be supplied to the spray pipe 32 (and the sub-spray pipe 70).

The main tank 66 is provided with a pipe 82 connected to an input end of a UV (ultraviolet irradiation) sterilizer 80 via a pump 78. The output end of the UV sterilizer 80 and the main tank 66 are communicated with each other by a pipe 84. Therefore, when the pump 78 is driven, the washing water in the main tank 66 is sent to the UV sterilizer 80 and returned. be able to. By circulating to the UV sterilizer 80, the washing water can sterilize and remove dirt, scale, and the like.

When a float switch (not shown) mounted between the main tanks 66 is turned on by the washing water stored between the main tanks 66 to determine that the water is full, the pump 78 starts to operate and the UV sterilizer 80 starts to operate. Drives to start sterilization. When the off state of the float switch (not shown) between the main tanks 66 continues for 90 seconds or more, the driving of the pump 78 is stopped and the driving of the UV sterilizer 80 is also stopped. As a result, when the washing water is not supplied to the UV sterilizer 80, the operation of the UV sterilizer 80 is stopped and the driving of the pump 78 is also stopped, thereby preventing wasteful power consumption. Further, by disinfecting the water scale and the like, the interval between the exchange of the washing water and the cleaning of the main tank 66 can be lengthened, and the maintenance workability can be improved.

The fresh water spray pipe 42 provided between the erasing section rollers 36 and 38 is supplied with tap water (fresh water) directly via a valve 86.

The surface-regulating section 46 includes a surface-regulating liquid tank 88.
Are connected to each other, and are connected to the spray pipe 56 by a pipe 90. In the middle of the pipe 90, the pump 9
2 is provided, and the leveling liquid can be supplied to the spray pipe 56 by driving the pump 92. The lower half of the roller 50A of the leveling roller 50 is immersed in the surface-regulating liquid stored in the receiving pan 94, and the receiving pan 94 and the surface-regulating liquid tank 88 are connected by a pipe 96 via a pump 96. 98. Therefore, the pump 96
The surface conditioning liquid is put into the receiving pan 94 by driving the surface conditioning liquid tank 8.
8 will be supplied.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. When the PS plate having the erasing liquid applied to the printing unnecessary portion is inserted from the PS plate insertion port 22 of the erasing and rinsing device 12, first, the transport belt 2
6 and is conveyed in a substantially horizontal state.

When a predetermined time has elapsed since the inserted PS plate was detected by an insertion detection sensor (not shown) provided in the PS plate insertion port 22 and the PS plate reached the vicinity of the final end of the conveyor belt 26, a spray pipe was formed. Wash water is supplied to the nozzle 32 at a predetermined pressure, and the wash water is jetted from the jet nozzle 34. In this jetting mode, the bundles are diffused in a substantially flat shape, and the diffusion direction is directed in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the PS plate. Since they are almost on the same straight line, the washing water is PS
It is supplied substantially uniformly over the entire surface in a direction perpendicular to the direction of transport of the plate. Further, the injection nozzles 34 of the three spray pipes 32 provided in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the PS plate.
Are staggered with respect to each other, so that the uniformity is further improved. As a result, the erasing liquid and the photosensitive resin in the unnecessary portion can be peeled off from the PS plate surface evenly.

The spray nozzles 34 attached to the upstream and central spray pipes 32 are inclined so that the spray directions of the washing water are close to each other, and the contact surface on the PS plate has a contact surface. Are formed on substantially the same straight line that is orthogonal to the transport direction. For this reason, the rinsing water is incident on the PS plate at an appropriate angle from both the oblique direction in the transport direction and the reverse transport direction, so that the unnecessary portion of the photosensitive resin layer of the PS plate coated with the erasing liquid is peeled off. Elimination liquid and unnecessary photosensitive resin can be quickly washed out and eliminated, and the elimination liquid and unnecessary photosensitive resin can be efficiently removed with a small amount of washing water. It is possible to reduce the degree of contamination of the washing water used for circulation. Therefore, the replenishment period and the replacement period of the washing water can be greatly lengthened, and the maintenance workability can be improved.

The PS plate from which the erasing liquid and the photosensitive resin of the printing unnecessary portion to which the erasing liquid has been applied has been removed is transferred from the conveyor belt 26 to the erasing unit rollers 36 and 38, squeezed, and renewed. Fresh water sprayed from the spray pipe 42 is sprayed. The PS plate surface is finished with the fresh water, and the rinsing water adhering to the PS plate surface, which is recycled and somewhat contaminated, can be completely removed.

Next, the PS plate is conveyed to the flattening section 46,
While being supported by the roller 48, it is nipped by the surface adjusting roller 50. Here, the upper roller 50B and the lower roller 50A
From the surface preparation liquid is transferred to both sides of the PS plate and subjected to surface preparation processing,
It is discharged from the discharge port 54 of the erasing rinsing device 12 and sent to the burning machine 14 in the next step.

According to this embodiment, the spray nozzle 34 of the spray pipe 32 is inclined in the conveying direction or the reverse conveying direction of the PS plate, so that the work of removing the erasing liquid and the unnecessary photosensitive resin can be performed in a short process. For example, a conventional brushing step is not required. As a result, the overall process length is reduced, and the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

The following is an experimental result on the number and position of the spray pipes 32 and the spray angle of the spray nozzles 34 performed to obtain an appropriate inclination angle of the spray nozzles 34 in which the spray pipes 32 applied to the present embodiment are arranged. Is shown.

(Inclination Angle and Erasability) First, as shown in FIG. 5, eight spray pipes 32 are arranged at a pitch of 40 mm from the most downstream side of the conveyor belt 26 as shown in FIG. 5 (in order from the most upstream side). The code "A, B, C,
D, E, F, G, and H), and the experiment was performed by changing the injection angle θ of the washing water from the vertical line to the PS plate surface from the injection nozzle A attached to the spray pipe 32A on the most upstream side. . The angle θ is 8 degrees from 0 ° (vertical) to 32.5 °.
It was a stage. Table 1 shows the experimental results. The judgment result shows a comparison between the PS plate that has been processed by the erasing and rinsing device 12 and a predetermined limit sample.
X is bad.

[0049]

[Table 1]

As can be seen from the results in Table 1, the angle θ of the direction of the washing water sprayed from the spray nozzle is 5 ° to 1 °.
It can be seen that the range of 0 ° is the most preferable angle. In other words, if the angle is smaller than 5 °, the photosensitive resin in the unnecessary portion coated with the erasing liquid has an action of peeling off the PS plate, but the flow of the washing water is poor, and particularly in the portion required in a direction different from the PS plate transport direction. The erasing liquid may attack the photosensitive resin. on the other hand,
If the angle exceeds 10 °, the flow of the erasing solution is too large, and
The erasing liquid may invade the photosensitive resin in a necessary portion in the plate transport direction, but the peeling action is reduced.

(Spacing of Spray Pipes and Erasability) As shown in FIG. 5, eight spray pipes 32 are arranged at a pitch of 40 mm in the direction of transport of the PS plate so that washing water can be supplied independently. In addition, the spray angle of the washing water in the transport direction or the reverse transport direction of the PS plate with respect to the vertical line from the spray nozzles 34 disposed in the respective spray pipes 32 is 0 ° (vertical direction), and the spray angle of the present embodiment ( 5 ° -1
0 °), and experiments were conducted with 11 types of arrangements and injection angles as shown in Table 2.
It should be noted that the determination of the triple circle is optimal (the arrangement and injection angle of No. 11 in Table 2) ◎ is good, が is normal, Δ is within the acceptable range but slightly more than usual, × △ is the lower limit within the acceptable range, × is Show bad.

[0052]

[Table 2]

As shown in Table 2, in the case of No. 11, the spray pipe 32 was continuously connected to the most downstream side of the conveyor belt 26.
In this arrangement, the spray nozzles 34 of the upstream and central spray pipes 32 are inclined in the direction in which the spray direction of the wash water approaches, and the wash water sprayed from the spray nozzles 34 becomes the PS plate. Injection is performed in the width direction onto substantially the same straight line of the PS plate surface, and it can be seen that the configuration of this embodiment is an optimal arrangement.

In this embodiment, the erasing rinsing device 12 is taken as an example to improve the erasing liquid removal efficiency by the rinsing angle of the rinsing water of the spray nozzle 34 of the spray pipe 32. The present invention is also applicable to a washing processing structure in the drying processing machine 18.

Next, in the piping system of the present embodiment, the washing water in the main tank 66 is drained when the processing of one day is completed. At this time, the washing in the erasing washing device 12 is performed simultaneously. . Hereinafter, the drainage cleaning control will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step 100, the current main tank 6
All the washing water remaining in 6 is drained, and when this is completed (step 102), in step 104, water is supplied from the fresh water spray pipe 42 to the main tank 66 via the electromagnetic valve 86.

When the water supply in step 104 is completed,
The process proceeds to step 106, where the pumps 74 and 76 and the motor 30 are driven, and each part is cleaned for a predetermined time (steps 108 and 110).

By executing the second drainage in the next step 112, the drainage and cleaning are completed. The next water supply is performed before the start of the next work.

[0059]

As described above, the erasing rinsing apparatus according to the present invention can efficiently perform rinsing, shorten the washing step of the erasing liquid and the unnecessary portion, and reduce the size of the apparatus. Has excellent effects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a PS plate automatic finishing line according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an erasing water washing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a tip shape of an injection nozzle;
(B) is a perspective view which shows the rinsing state of washing water from an injection nozzle.

FIG. 4 is a piping system diagram of the erasing water washing device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus applied for an experiment.

FIG. 6 is a washing control flowchart at the time of washing water drainage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 PS plate automatic finishing line 12 Erasing water washing device 26 Transport belt 30 Drive motor 32 Spray pipe 34 Injection nozzle

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03F 7/40 G03F 7/00 503 G03F 7/42

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] After the exposure, an erasing liquid is applied to a printing-unnecessary part of a photosensitive lithographic printing plate on which an image is formed by processing with a processing liquid, and a washing water is supplied. An erasing water washing device for washing away the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, wherein the photosensitive lithographic printing plate is diffused in a direction orthogonal to the carrying direction of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate, and hardly diffused in the carrying direction of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate. An erasing rinsing apparatus, comprising: a jet nozzle for jetting rinsing water obliquely to a plate surface in a transport direction . 2. The photosensitive lithographic printing plate according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of said spray nozzles are respectively spaced apart from said photosensitive lithographic printing plate.
Arranged in a zigzag manner in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction , and washing water is sprayed from these spray nozzles in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate toward substantially the same straight line of the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface. The erasing rinsing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the erasing rinsing apparatus is provided so as to be arranged as follows. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein an angle of a jet direction of the washing water jetted from the jet nozzle is 5 ° to 10 ° with respect to a vertical line to the photosensitive lithographic printing plate surface. Item 3. An erasing water washing device according to Item 2.