JP3414461B2 - Plate making system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plate making system most suitable for application to, for example, an electronic gravure printing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-1392.
As can be seen in Japanese Patent Publication No. 38-38, in an electronic gravure printing system, which is an example of intaglio printing, a sheet-like plate material having a thickness of about 200 μm (hereinafter, simply referred to as a plate material) formed of a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene resin. Is described) is used.

In the plate making process by the plate making machine, the plate material is wound around the outer periphery of the plate cylinder and rotated at a high speed.
A laser beam of a semi-reflecting laser that is reciprocated in the axial direction of the plate cylinder is used to make (engrave) image data on the surface of the plate material based on unevenness such as photographs.

Next, in the printing process by the printing press, the plate material made in the previous plate making process is rewound around the outer periphery of the plate cylinder of the printing press. Then, while rotating the plate cylinder at high speed, ink is applied to the image data due to the unevenness of the plate material with an ink roll, and at the same time, the paper, which is the material to be printed, is pressed onto the surface of the plate material by the impression cylinder and sent at high speed. Then, images such as photographs are printed at high speed on the surface of paper or the like.

At this time, in the case of color printing, cyan,
In addition to the three primary colors of magenta and yellow, multicolor overprinting using black or the like is performed if necessary.

Further, according to the electronic gravure printing system, image data due to unevenness can be engraved on the surface of the plate material with high precision by a submicron order by the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser, so that an image such as a photograph can be formed. It is possible to print with extremely high accuracy.

By the way, in this kind of electronic gravure printing system, in the plate making process, the surface of the plate material formed of a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene resin is melted by irradiating the surface of the plate material with a laser beam of a semiconductor laser. By scattering or sublimating, the image data due to the unevenness of a photograph or the like is engraved. Therefore, in this plate-making process, a large amount of dust, smoke, and the like, which are burning dust that has melted and scattered or sublimated from the surface of the plate material, is generated. Then, if these dust or smoke adheres to the objective lens of the laser block that irradiates the laser beam or floats between the objective lens and the plate material, the power of the laser beam decreases and the surface of the plate material is reduced. The accuracy of the engraved image data is reduced.

Therefore, in the prior art, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-163 is used.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 19, a method of blowing dust, smoke, or the like floating between the objective lens of the laser block and the plate material with a cross flow fan. In addition, Japanese Examined Japanese Patent Publication Sho 62-55
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 501, a cylindrical dust removing cylinder is attached on the front surface of the objective lens of the laser block on the optical axis of the laser beam, and an air flow that traverses the inside of the dust removing cylinder is supplied to the air ejection port and the air. A method has been considered in which it is formed between the suction port and the dust or smoke that has entered the dust removal cylinder is sucked into the air suction port by its air flow.

[0009]

However, in the conventional method, dust and the like scattered at the time of plate making sneak into an unmade plate distant from the irradiation position of the laser beam, and is easily adsorbed to the surface of the plate material by static electricity, There is a problem that the plate making accuracy of the image data is significantly reduced.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and it is possible to reliably remove dust and the like adhering to the irradiation trajectory of a laser beam on the surface of a plate material. The purpose is to provide a plate making system,

[0011]

The plate making system of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a plate cylinder around which a sheet-shaped plate material is wound around an outer periphery and a plate cylinder substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the plate cylinder. A laser block for irradiating the surface of the plate material with a laser beam from different directions, and a laser block transfer mechanism for transferring the laser block in the axial direction of the plate cylinder, while rotating the plate material by the plate cylinder. While irradiating a laser beam on the surface of the plate material by the laser block, the laser block is transferred in the axial direction of the plate cylinder by the laser block transfer mechanism, and image data due to unevenness is formed on the surface of the plate material. In a plate-making system designed to make a plate, air is blown onto the surface of the plate material at a substantially right angle from the closest distance to the surface of the plate material along the irradiation path of the laser beam by the laser block. It is provided with a air blowing means attached come.

[0012]

In the plate making system of the present invention configured as described above, air can be blown on the surface of the plate material at a substantially right angle from the closest distance along the irradiation trajectory of the laser beam. It is possible to reliably remove dust and the like adhering to the irradiation path of the laser beam.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a plate making system of an electronic gravure printing system will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Description of Sheet-shaped Plate Material and Plate Material Jacket] First, in this electronic gravure printing system, FIG.
As shown in (A) of FIG. 1, a sheet-shaped plate material (hereinafter simply referred to as a plate material) 1 having a thickness of about 200 μm, which is molded into a substantially rectangular shape with a thermoplastic resin such as a polyethylene resin, is used as a plate material jacket. It is configured so that it can be freely stored in and taken out from the inside of the container 6.

[Outline of plate making and printing system] Next,
In the electronic gravure printing system, first, a plate making machine makes (engraves) image data 2 based on irregularities such as photographs on the surface 1a of one to four plate materials 1. However, at this time, the image data 2 for each color such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black is separately prepared on one to four plate materials 1.

Next, the 1 to 4 plate materials 1 thus prepared are supplied to a printing machine, and the cut sheet for printing is formed by the image data 2 for each color of the surface 1a of the 1 to 4 plate materials 1. Overprinting is performed 1 to 4 times to perform color printing in which 1 to 4 colors of a photograph or the like are combined.

In this electronic gravure printing system, the plate material 1 is stored and handled in the plate material jacket 6 consistently before plate making, after plate making, before printing, and after printing. The purpose is to prevent dust or the like from adhering to the surface 1a and the occurrence of scratches.

[Description of Outline of Plate Making Machine] As shown in FIG. 10, a plate making machine 27 is provided with a jacket loading table 28 and a plate material feeding / discharging device 29 arranged above the jacket loading table 28. Inside the plate making machine 27, the plate cylinder 30 for plate making is provided.
And the laser beam L emitted from the semiconductor laser 31 on the surface 1a of the plate material 1 wrapped around the outer periphery of the plate cylinder 30.
A laser block 34 for irradiating B through the collimator lens 32 and the objective lens 33 is arranged. The laser block 34 is configured to reciprocate in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 30 [direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 10B).

[Explanation of Plate Making Process] As shown in FIG. 10A, the plate material jacket 6 in which the plate material 1 before plate making is housed is placed on the jacket loading table 28 of the plate making machine 27.
Load horizontally from the direction of arrow a. Then, the plate material feeding / discharging device 29 automatically pulls the plate material 1 out of the plate material jacket 6 in the direction of the arrow a, and is shown on the outer periphery of the plate cylinder 30 in the plate making machine 27 as shown in FIG. To be automatically wrapped. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the plate material 1 has sprockets 30 formed in two rows on the outer periphery of the plate cylinder 30.
It is wound around the outer periphery of the plate cylinder 30 by a.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, the semiconductor laser 31 irradiates the surface 1a of the plate material 1 with the laser beam LB while rotating the plate material 1 in the direction of arrow c at high speed by the plate cylinder 30. At the same time, the laser block 34 is reciprocated in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 30, and the image data 2 for each color such as a photograph is directly and accurately formed on the surface 1a of the plate material 1 by the laser beam LB by the unevenness of the submicron order. The so-called direct plate making with engraving is sequentially performed on 1 to 4 plate materials 1.

At this time, a photo scanner or a digital VTR
Digital information of images such as photographs taken from multimedia such as electronically edited by an image processing computer etc.,
Obtain digital information of four colors such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Then, the semiconductor laser 31 is driven by a laser drive circuit based on the digital information for each of the four colors while sequentially exchanging 1 to 4 plate materials 1, and 1
Directly plate-making the image data 2 for each of the four colors on the four plate materials 1 separately.

Then, the plate material 1 which has been plate-made is automatically sent back from the outer periphery of the plate cylinder 30 in the direction of the arrow a'by the plate material feeding / discharging device 29 and is stored again in the plate material jacket 6 to carry out the plate-making process. finish. After this, the plate material jacket 6 is pulled out from the jacket loading table 28 in the direction of arrow a ', and loaded in the next printing machine.

[Description of Laser Block Transfer Mechanism of Plate Making Machine] Next, the laser block transfer mechanism of the plate making machine will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 8 and 9.

The laser block moving mechanism 223 slides the laser block moving base 224 to which the laser block 34 is attached on a pair of horizontal sliding guides 225, and drives the laser block moving base 224 with a driving motor. By the feed screw 227 that is rotationally driven by 226, an arrow s parallel to the axial direction of the plate cylinder 30,
It is configured to be transferred in the s'direction. The plate cylinder drive mechanism 229 is configured to drive the plate cylinder 30 to rotate at a low speed in the direction of arrow c by the drive motor 230 via the transmission mechanism 231.

[Direct plate making] And at the time of plate making,
While rotating the plate material 1 in the direction of arrow c at a high speed integrally with the plate cylinder 30 by the plate cylinder driving mechanism 229, the laser block 3
While irradiating the surface 1a of the plate material 1 with the laser beam LB through the collimator lens 32 and the objective lens 33 by the semiconductor laser 31 of No. 4, the laser block transfer device 223
The laser block 34 is reciprocated in the plate making area A of the plate material 1 in the directions of the arrows s and s ′, and the laser beam LB is used to sub-image the image data 2 for each color such as a photograph on the surface 1 a of the plate material 1. High-precision direct engraving (direct plate making) with micron-order unevenness.

At this time, as shown in FIG.
Plate material 1 molded with a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene resin
By irradiating the surface 1a of the plate material 1 with the laser beam LB, the surface 1a of the plate material 1 is melted and scattered or sublimated, so that the image data 2 with unevenness of submicron order is directly printed on the surface 1a of the plate material 1. To do.

Therefore, during this direct plate making, the plate material 1
A large amount of dust D, smoke, and the like, which are burning dusts that are melted and scattered or sublimated from the surface 1a of the above, are generated.

[Description of Dust and Smoke Removal Device of Plate Making Machine] Next, referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a dust and smoke removal device for removing a large amount of dust D, smoke, etc. generated during direct plate making will be described. To do.

The dust / smoke removing device 234 is used in the plate cylinder 30.
In the gap G ₁ between the surface 1a of the plate material 1 wound around the outer periphery of the plate 1 and the surface 33a of the objective lens 33 of the laser block 34 along the tangential direction of the plate cylinder 30 and Air curtain 235 over the entire width of plate-making area A
Is formed.

Therefore, a cross flow fan 236, which is a blowing means having a length equal to or greater than the entire width of the plate making area A, is horizontally arranged downward on the laser block 34, and a length equal to or larger than the entire width of the plate making area A is provided. An intake unit constituted by an upward and horizontal intake duct 237 having a certain height, an intake pipe 238 and an intake pump 239 is arranged below the laser block 34.

The cross flow fan 236 has a cylindrical impeller 236 which is long in the axial direction inside the fan case 236a.
b is rotatably attached, and impeller 236b
Is driven to rotate at a high speed in the direction of arrow t by the motor 236c, and extends in the direction of arrow u, which is downward from the air outlet 236d formed at the lower end of the fan case 236 over the entire length thereof, to the entire width of the plate making area A. Generate a discharge air flow of. Further, the intake duct 237 has an intake port 237a formed at the upper end over the entire length thereof.
The intake pump 2 is connected to the intake pipe 238 connected to the lower end of the intake pump 2.
39 is attached. And the intake pump 239
By the operation of, the belt-shaped suction air flow in the direction of arrow v, which is downward, is generated over the entire width of the intake port 237a of the intake duct 237 through the intake pipe 238.

The intake pump 2 of the intake pipe 238
A dust collector 241 equipped with a dust collecting filter 240 as dust collecting means is connected to the downstream side of 39.

[Dust and Smoke Removal Operation] As described above, the band-shaped discharge air flow in the direction of arrow a by the cross flow fan 236 and the band-shaped suction in the direction of arrow v by the intake pump 239, the intake pipe 238 and the intake duct 237. Due to the air flow, the plate cylinder 30 enters the gap G ₁ between the surface 1a of the plate material 1 and the surface 33a of the objective lens 33 of the laser block 34.
In the state in which the air curtains 235 in the directions of arrows u and v are formed along the tangential direction of (1) and over the entire width of the plate making area A of the plate material 1, the above-mentioned direct plate making is performed.

Then, irrespective of the change of the plate making position in the direction of the arrows s and s'by the laser beam LB, all the dust D, smoke, etc. generated in a large amount at the time of the direct plate making are completely removed from the air curtain 2.
35 into the intake duct 237a from the intake duct 23
It can be completely recovered within 7. Then, the dust D, smoke, and the like collected in the intake duct 237 are collected in the intake pipe 23.
8 to collect dust in the dust collector 241 and to collect the dust collecting filter 24
Recovered by 0.

Therefore, the dust and smoke removing device 234 is
It is possible to completely collect dust D, smoke, and the like, which are generated in large amounts during direct plate making, without scattering them around. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the influence of dust D, smoke, and the like on other mechanisms and devices due to being scattered around, and the human body such as odor, and to maintain a clean environment. Further, since the scattered dust D and the like never adhere to the surface 1a of the plate material 1 due to static electricity, the image data 2 can be engraved on the plate material 1 with high accuracy and stability, and high-quality graphia printing can be performed. It is possible.

Since there is no obstacle in front of the objective lens 33 , the objective lens 33 is placed on the surface 1a of the plate 1 about 1 times.
It is possible to make them extremely close to 0 mm, and it is possible to perform high-power direct plate making with reduced power loss of the laser beam LB.

[Explanation of Cover Glass of Objective Lens] Next, referring to FIG. 4, the objective lens 3 of the laser block 34 will be described.
The cover glass 326 that covers the front surface of No. 3 will be described.

First, the objective lens 33 is held by the objective lens holder 33a and attached to the front surface of the laser block body 34a of the laser block 34 by a plurality of set screws 33b. A cover glass 35 is replaceably attached to the front surface of the objective lens 33.

The cover glass 35 has an outer periphery bonded to a cover glass holder 35a, and the cover glass holder 35a is detachably attached to the front surface of the objective lens holder 33a by a plurality of setscrews 35b. The cover glass 35 is made of a transparent and flat glass plate, and an AR code 35d for preventing scratches is formed on the front surface 35c.

[Description of Objective Lens Cleaning Device]
Next, a cleaning device 326 for cleaning the cover glass 35 that covers the front surface of the objective lens 33 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The cleaning device 326 is arranged at the origin position P ₁ in the directions of the arrows s and s ′, which are the reciprocating directions of the laser block 34.

The cleaning device 326 is
A drive motor 328 vertically attached downwardly to one side surface of one of a pair of left and right plate cylinder support frames 253 that rotatably supports the plate cylinder 30.
And a vertical rotation shaft 330 directly connected to the lower end of the motor shaft 328a via a shaft coupling 329, and the rotation shaft 330.
And a cleaning roller 331 attached to the outer periphery of the. And the cleaning roller 3
Reference numeral 31 is a soft sponge-like pad made of rubber or plastic.

A rotary encoder 228, which is a position detecting means for detecting the position of the laser block 34, is directly connected to an end of the feed screw 227 of the laser block transfer mechanism 223 opposite to the drive motor 226.

[Objective Lens Cleaning Operation] As described above, each time the plate making operation of the surface 1a of the plate material 1 by the laser beam LB is completed, the laser block transfer mechanism 22 is used.
3, the laser block 34 is moved back in the direction of the arrow s ′ and stopped at the origin position P ₁ , and the cleaning device 32
The cleaning roller 331 of No. 6 is brought into contact with the front surface 35c of the cover glass 35a.

At this time, the rotary encoder 228 detects the backward movement of the laser block 34 to the origin position P ₁ , and the drive motor 328 is driven for a certain period of time. Then, the cleaning roller 331 is rotationally driven for a certain period of time, and the front surface 35c of the cover glass 35 is mechanically and automatically wiped off by the cleaning roller 331.

Therefore, during the plate making process, the cleaning roller 33 removes dust, smoke, and the like attached to and deposited on the front surface 35c of the cover glass 35 covering the front surface of the objective lens 33.
According to 1, the front surface 35c of the cover glass 35 can be always kept clean by performing cleaning automatically every time the plate making process is completed.

Therefore, the power loss of the laser beam LB can be prevented in advance, and high-precision plate making can be performed. The soft sponge-like pad forming the cleaning roller 331 can be effectively cleaned without damaging the front surface of the cover glass 35.

The cover glass 35 is the objective lens 3
In addition to preventing damage to the cover 3 in advance, if the cover glass 35 itself is damaged, the set screws 35c can be removed and the cover glass 35 can be easily replaced with a new cover glass holder 35b. it can.

[Explanation of means for wiping air on plate material] Next, means for wiping air on the surface 1a of the plate material 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

This air wiping means is composed of an air wiping nozzle 334, and this air wiping nozzle 334 irradiates the laser beam LB on the surface 1a of the plate 1 by the laser block 34, and the irradiation locus T ₁ thereof. So that air can be blown onto the surface 1a of the plate material 1 at a right angle from a short distance of several millimeters to several tens of millimeters at a position deviated in the arrow s direction side with respect to the laser block 34, A bracket 335 is attached to the laser block moving base 224 in parallel with the optical axis LBF of the laser beam LB at the same height.

The air wiping nozzle 334 is connected to an air compressor (not shown) fixed at a fixed position by a flexible air pipe 336 such as a vinyl pipe.

Then, as described above, the laser beam LB is applied by the laser block 34 to the surface 1a of the plate 1 while the plate cylinder 30 rotates the plate 1 at a high speed in the direction of arrow c.
When the laser beam 34 is reciprocated in the directions of the arrows s and s ′ while performing the plate making, the air compressor is actuated so that the air wiping nozzle 334 causes the surface 1 of the plate material 1 to move.
At a, air is blown from the direction of arrow w at a substantially right angle to the plate material 1 along the irradiation trajectory T ₁ of the laser beam LB, and strongly.

At this time, when the laser block 34 is moved in the direction of the arrow s, the laser beam LB is applied to the surface 1 of the plate material 1.
The laser beam LB is not irradiated when the laser block 34 is moved back in the direction of the arrow s by performing the plate making by irradiating a.

Therefore, when the laser beam LB moves laterally in the direction of the arrow s, the air blowing nozzle 334 is moved ahead of the irradiation position of the laser beam LB so that the irradiation locus T ₁ of the laser beam LB is reached. Air can be strongly blown to the surface 1a of the plate material 1 along the
On the surface 1a of the above, in particular, dust and the like adhered to the irradiation trajectory T ₁ by static electricity can be removed so as to be surely blown off.

As a result, the irradiation locus T ₁ of the laser beam LB on the surface 1a of the plate material 1 is always cleanly air cleaned while preceding the laser beam LB, and the laser beam LB is irradiated along the irradiation locus T ₁ . It is possible to irradiate the image data 2 such as a photograph on the surface 1a of the plate material 1 with high accuracy.

[Explanation of Constant Tension Device for Harness and Air Pipe] Next, referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 to FIG.
The constant tension device 339 for the harness and the air pipe will be described.

First, the laser block transfer mechanism 223 is screwed to the laser block moving base 224 which reciprocates in the directions of arrows s and s ', and reciprocates integrally with the laser block 34 in the directions of arrows s and s'. The flat cable 34, which is a flexible harness, is provided between the relay board 340, which is a printed board, and the fixed circuit board 342, which is a printed board that is fixed at a fixed position on the chassis 341.
Connected by three. Flat cable 3
Both ends 343a and 343b of 43 are connected to the relay board 340 and the circuit board 342 by a pair of connectors 344a and 344b.

Then, the laser drive signal or the like output from the laser drive circuit is sent from the circuit board 342 to the flat cable 3
43 is transmitted to the laser block 34 via the relay board 340 and the relay substrate 340, the semiconductor laser 31 is driven based on digital information of an image such as a photograph, and the plate making process of the plate material 1 by the laser beam LB is performed. Has been done.

The air pipe 336 is attached to the bracket 33.
7, the relay board 34 of the laser block moving base 224
The air pipe 336 is fixed at a position near 0 and is also routed substantially parallel to the flat cable 343.

Next, the constant tension device 329 guides the flat cable 343 and the air pipe 336 horizontally, and folds the guide roller 345 up and down in a substantially U-shape and pulls the guide roller 345 in one direction with constant tension. And a constant tension spring 350 that pulls and urges in the arrow s direction.

Then, on the outer circumference of the guide roller 345, three flanges 346a, 346b, 3 having different intervals are arranged.
A flat cable guide portion 345 in which the flat cable 34 is integrally formed, and the flat cable 34 is routed in a substantially U shape between the two flanges 346a and 346b having a large distance.
It is formed in a. Further, the air pipe 3 is provided between the two small flanges 346b and 346c adjacent to each other.
It is formed on an air pipe guide roller portion 345b that draws the U-shaped member 36 in a substantially U-shape.

The guide roller 345 is rotatably and horizontally attached by a roller shaft 348 to a roller holder 347 having a substantially U-shaped planar shape.

Next, the constant tension spring 350 is formed of a spiral spring which is a leaf spring. Then, a support shaft 352 is horizontally installed on the chassis 341 via a bracket 351. A sleeve 353 formed of synthetic resin or the like is rotatably attached to the outer periphery of the support shaft 352, and is formed at one end of the constant tension spring 350. The spring spring part 350a is wound around the outer circumference of the sleeve 353 and pressure-bonded,
Attach the other end 350b of the constant tension spring 350 to the set screw 354.
It is connected to the roller holder 347 by.

According to the constant tension device 339, the arrow s ₂ of the mainspring spring portion 350a of the constant tension spring 350 wound around the outer circumference of the sleeve 353 and crimped.
By the winding force in the direction, a constant tension tension force can always be applied to the guide roller 345 in the arrow s direction.

Therefore, when the laser block 34 is reciprocated in the directions of the arrows s and s'by the laser block transfer mechanism 223 during the plate making process described above, the guide rollers 34 are used.
Flat cable 3 routed in a U-shape by 5
The laser block 34 and the air pipe 336 are constantly energized with a constant tension in the direction of arrow s.
While making the guide roller 345 reciprocate in the directions of the arrows s and s'with a 1/2 stroke of the laser block 34 so as to follow the reciprocating motion of the arrows s and s'of the flat cable 343.
Also, the air pipe 336 can be smoothly guided in the directions of the arrows s and s ′ while being floated from the chassis 341 and always kept appropriately tensioned.

Therefore, the flat cable 343 and the air pipe 336 are not dragged on the chassis 341. Further, the flat cable 343 and the air pipe 336 are not bent and cut irregularly, or are accidentally caught by another object and are not damaged.

The above is a description of one embodiment of the present invention.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

[0068]

The plate making system of the present invention constructed as described above has the following effects.

According to the first aspect of the invention, since air can be blown on the surface of the plate material at a right angle from the closest distance along the laser beam irradiation trajectory, the surface of the plate material adheres to the laser beam irradiation trajectory. Since it is possible to reliably remove dust, etc., it is possible to perform high-precision plate making, high image quality,
High-quality gravure printing can be performed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the air blowing nozzle constituting the air blowing means is mounted at a position preceding the objective lens of the laser block, so that the structure is simple.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since a constant tension device is attached to the flexible air pipe connected to the air blowing nozzle, the air blowing nozzle reciprocates integrally with the laser block, but this air blowing nozzle is reciprocated. You can always hold the air pipe connected to the spray nozzle stably, and the air pipe may bend and break irregularly,
It is possible to prevent damage such as being worn out by dragging or being accidentally caught by another object and being cut.
The durability of the air pipe can be improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the constant tension device is constituted by a guide roller that draws the air pipe in a substantially U-shape and a constant tension spring that pulls and urges the guide roller in one direction with a constant tension. The structure of the device is simple and the operation is stable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cleaning device, an air blowing unit, and a constant tension device of a plate making system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the above-mentioned cleaning device and air blowing means.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the above cleaning device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view illustrating a cover glass of the above laser block.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the above constant tension device.

6 is a front view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional front view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the dust and smoke removing device of the above.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway side view of the above dust and smoke removing apparatus.

10A is a schematic side view of a plate making machine, and FIG. 10B is a schematic side view illustrating the plate making principle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Plate Material 1a Surface of Plate Material 2 Image Data 27 Plate Making Machine 30 Plate Cylinder 34 Laser Block LB Laser Beam T ₁ Laser Beam Irradiation Path 334 Air Blow Nozzle (Air Blow Means) 336 Air Pipe 339 Constant Tension Device 345 Guide Roller 347 Roller Holder 350 Constant tension spring 350a Constant tension spring spring 352 Spindle 353 Sleeve

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plate cylinder around which a sheet-shaped plate material is wound, a laser block which irradiates a laser beam onto the surface of the plate material from a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the plate cylinder, And a laser block transfer mechanism for transferring a laser block in the axial direction of the plate cylinder, while irradiating the surface of the plate material with a laser beam by the laser block while rotating the plate material by the plate cylinder. In a plate making system in which a laser block is moved in the axial direction of the plate cylinder by the laser block transfer mechanism to make image data by unevenness on the surface of the plate material, the irradiation trajectory of the laser beam by the laser block A plate making system characterized by further comprising air blowing means for blowing air to the surface of the plate material at a right angle from a close distance. 2. The plate making system according to claim 1, wherein an air blowing nozzle constituting the air blowing means is attached to a position preceding the objective lens of the laser block. 3. The plate making system according to claim 2, wherein a constant tension device is attached to the flexible air pipe connected to the air blowing nozzle. 4. The constant tension device is constituted by a guide roller for drawing the air pipe into a substantially U shape and a constant tension spring for pulling and biasing the guide roller in one direction with a constant tension. 3. The plate making system described in 3.