JP4314068B2 - Image recording apparatus and punching apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image on an image recording material such as a printing plate. In particular, the present invention relates to an improvement of a punch hole forming method for an image recording material. The punch hole referred to in this specification includes not only a hole whose entire circumference is closed, but also a notch or notch having a part opened to the outside.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An image recording apparatus in which a punch device is disposed therein to form punch holes for various purposes is known. As an example, FIG. 9 shows a side view of a main part of an image recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-56482 filed by the present applicant.
[0003]
This image recording apparatus includes a punch device 10 that forms punch holes in an unexposed plate P, a recording drum 1 on which the plate P in which punch holes are formed by the punch device 10 is fixed, and an unexposed plate P. The printing plate P is selectively supplied to the punching apparatus 10 or the recording drum 1 and the exposed printing plate P is received from the recording drum 1 and carried out of the image recording apparatus. An image recording head 8 for forming an image on the plate P by irradiating the fixed plate P with a light beam is provided.
[0004]
The recording drum 1 is configured to be rotatable by a motor (not shown). A front end clamp 2 and a rear end clamp (not shown) for pressing and fixing the end of the printing plate P are provided on the surface of the recording drum 1. Positioning pins 15 for positioning the tip at a predetermined position on the outer peripheral surface of the recording drum 1 are disposed.
[0005]
The image recording apparatus includes a clamp arm 6 provided to be swingable with respect to the recording drum 1 and a pin 78 attached to the tip of the clamp arm 6. The pin 78 is used when releasing the tip clamp 2. The front end clamp 2 is released by swinging the clamp arm 6 toward the recording drum 1 and pressing one end of the front end clamp 2 with a pin 78.
[0006]
The punch device 10 is a punch hole (hereinafter referred to as a recording drum positioning punch hole) for fitting with the positioning pin 15 described above with respect to the printing plate P conveyed from the first conveyance path 91 of the conveyance unit 9. ) Or a punch hole (hereinafter referred to as a printing machine positioning punch hole) used when the printing plate P on which image recording has been performed is mounted on a printing machine, a folding machine, or the like in a later process. . The punch apparatus 10 has a plurality of punch blocks 302 that form the punch holes described above. Each punch block 302 includes a punch block body in which a gap into which the front end of the printing plate P is inserted, a punch that punches the printing plate P in the gap to form a punch hole, and a drive mechanism that moves the punch up and down. have.
[0007]
The transport unit 9 includes a first transport path 91 that transports the unexposed printing plate P, a second transport path 92 that transports the exposed plate P, and the transport unit 9 in the direction of arrow R in the figure. A first conveying mechanism 94 for moving the printing plate P on the first conveying path 91, and a second conveying mechanism for moving the printing plate P on the second conveying path 92. 95.
[0008]
The first transport mechanism 94 is connected to a transport roller drive motor 940, a plurality of transport rollers 943, 944, 945, a pulley 941a connected to the transport roller drive motor 940, and the transport rollers 943, 944, 945. Pulleys 941b, 941c, 941d, a belt 942 stretched over the pulleys 941b, 941c, 941d, a nip roller 963 disposed at a position facing the conveying roller 943, and a swinging member 962 having a nip roller 963 attached to the tip. And a nip roller driving motor 960 that oscillates the oscillating member 962 to bring the nip roller 963 into and out of contact with the conveying roller 943.
[0009]
The second transport mechanism 95 has a transport roller drive motor 950 and transport rollers 951 and 952 driven by this motor.
[0010]
The transport path switching mechanism 93 includes a transport path switching motor 930, a gear 931, a cam gear 932, a cam follower 933, and a cam follower guide 934. A gear 931 is attached to the conveyance path switching motor 930, a cam gear 932 is engaged with the gear 931, and the cam follower 933 is fixed to the cam gear 932. The cam follower 933 is engaged with the cam follower guide 934. The cam follower guide 934 is fixed to the unit main body 900, and the unit main body 900 is swingably supported by a predetermined support member around the rear.
[0011]
When the conveyance path switching motor 930 rotates, the cam gear 932 rotates through the gear 931, and the cam follower guide 934 moves up and down by the cam follower 933 fixed to the cam gear 932. As a result, the transport unit 9 swings in the direction of arrow R.
[0012]
In this conventional image recording apparatus, a punching operation is performed on an unexposed plate P as follows.
[0013]
First, the transport roller drive motor 940 of the first transport mechanism is rotated to transport the plate P to the punch device 10.
[0014]
When it is detected that the front end of the printing plate P has reached the gap in the punch block 302 by a printing plate front end detection sensor (not shown) in the punching apparatus 10, the conveyance roller drive motor 940 is stopped, and then the nip roller drive motor. The nip roller 963 is lowered by 960 and the printing plate P is held between the conveyance roller 943.
[0015]
In this state, a necessary punch block 302 is selected from a plurality of punch blocks 302 of the punching apparatus 10 and driven to form a recording drum positioning punch hole at the front end of the printing plate P. At the same time, a printing machine positioning punch hole is formed at a predetermined position of the printing plate P.
[0016]
Next, the transport roller drive motor 940 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the printing plate P is pulled back into the first transport path 91.
[0017]
Next, the transport unit 9 is swung to the lower position by the transport path switching motor 930. Further, the nip roller 963 is separated from the conveying roller 943 by the nip roller driving motor 960. Then, a plurality of conveying rollers 943, 944, 945 are driven by the conveying roller drive motor 940, and the printing plate P is sent out toward the front end clamp 2 on the surface of the recording drum 1, and the printing plate P is sent to the outer periphery of the recording drum 1. Wrap around the surface and fix. Thereafter, the recording drum 1 is rotated at a high speed. In synchronization with this, the image recording head 8 that irradiates laser light modulated in accordance with the image signal is moved in the sub-scanning direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface) to record an image on the printing plate P.
[0018]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional image recording apparatus, a plurality of punch holes are simultaneously drilled in the printing plate P by simultaneously driving the plurality of punch blocks 302. However, the timing at which the punches of each punch block 302 come into contact with the printing plate P is not strictly the same. This is because there is an error in the time from when the drive signal is received until the punch of the punch block 302 is activated. In this case, if the printing plate P is finely moved at the stage where the punch of the first punch block comes into contact with the printing plate P, there is a possibility that a punch hole formed thereafter is formed at a position shifted from the original position. In this case, the positional relationship between the first punch hole and the subsequent punch holes is not accurate.
[0019]
FIG. 10 shows the front end portion of the printing plate P with punch holes. The printing plate P is formed with two recording drum positioning punch holes p1 and two printing machine positioning punch holes p2. If these punch holes are not formed exactly at the same time and if the printing plate P is slightly moved by the first punch, the positional relationship between the recording drum positioning punch hole p1 and the printing press positioning punch hole p2. Is different for each printing plate P.
[0020]
In this case, for example, in the case of a color print image created by overprinting a plurality of printing plates on the same printing paper, color misregistration occurs in the printed matter and the quality of the printed matter deteriorates.
[0021]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus capable of forming punch holes capable of maintaining good positional accuracy between the punch holes when a plurality of punch holes are formed.
[0022]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following features.
[0023]
The invention according to claim 1 is an image recording apparatus for recording an image on an image recording material used in a printing press, and has a rotation shaft, and a positioning portion is provided on an outer peripheral surface on which the image recording material is mounted. A cylindrical drum provided; a rotation driving means for rotating the drum around the rotation axis; an image recording means for recording an image on an image recording material mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the drum; and the image recording A first punch hole forming means for forming a first punch hole for fitting in the positioning portion on the outer peripheral surface of the drum in the image recording material before the material is mounted on the drum; Second punch hole forming means for forming a second punch hole to be combined, and a third punch hole for forming a third punch hole whose entire circumference is closed in the image recording material by operating a predetermined punch Forming means and front The third punch hole forming means before the first and second punch holes according to the first and second punch hole forming means is formed, the entire circumference with respect to the printing plate by actuating the punch Forming the third punch hole closed , and at least until the formation of the first and second punch holes by the first and second punch hole forming means is completed, the punch is used as the image recording material. An image recording apparatus that operates so as not to be extracted from the image recording apparatus.
[0024]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the third punch hole is used for measuring the image recording material.
[0025]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the third punch hole is used when the recording material is fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum.
[0026]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a punching device for forming a first punch hole and a second punching hole to be fitted to each positioning portion of the image recording apparatus and the printing apparatus, and a predetermined punch is formed on the image recording material. The image recording material further includes third punch hole forming means for forming a third punch hole whose entire circumference is closed by operating the image recording material, and the third punch hole forming means is provided on the image recording material. Before the first and second punch holes are formed, the punch is operated to form a third punch hole whose entire circumference is closed in the image recording material, and the first and second punch holes Until the formation of is completed, the punch is operated so as not to be extracted from the image recording material.
[0027]
According to each of the above inventions, the image recording material is firmly held against the punching device by the punch of the third punch hole forming means at the time of forming the first and second punch holes. For this reason, even if a time difference arises in formation of the 1st and 2nd punch hole, these punch holes can be formed accurately.
[0028]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The image recording apparatus and punching apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Among the components of the image recording apparatus, the recording drum 1, the clamp arm 6, the image recording head 8, and the transport unit 9 are the same as those of the conventional image recording apparatus described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0029]
FIG. 1A is a plan view of a punch device 100 used in the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a front view of the punch device 100.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 1, the punch apparatus 100 includes a punch base 101. A width adjusting motor 102 is attached to each end of the front surface of the punch base 101. A pair of ball screws 103 extending in the horizontal direction along the front surface of the punch base 101 are rotatably provided. Each ball screw 103 is rotationally driven by a width adjusting motor 102.
[0031]
A width adjusting bearing 104 is screwed to each ball screw 103. A columnar holding portion 105 is rotatably provided on the upper surface of the width adjusting bearing 104. As the width adjusting motor 102 rotates, the width adjusting bearing 104 moves in the arrow X direction. The printing plate P is placed between the pair of width adjusting bearings 104.
[0032]
First to fourth punch blocks 110, 120, 130, and 140 are attached to the rear side of the upper surface of the punch base 101.
[0033]
A plate front end detection sensor 107 that detects the front end of the plate P is provided at the center of the upper surface of the punch base 101. When the printing plate P is disposed between the width adjusting bearings 104 and the leading end of the printing plate P is inserted into the first to fourth punch blocks 110, 120, 130, 140, the printing plate leading end detection sensor 107 is turned on.
[0034]
When the pair of width adjusting bearings 104 is moved to the center by rotating the width adjusting motor 102 from a predetermined origin position, the outer peripheral surfaces of the holding portions 105 of the width adjusting bearings 104 abut against the end faces on both sides of the printing plate P. Then, the printing plate P is positioned at the center of the punch base 102. Thereafter, when the printing plate leading edge detection sensor 107 is turned on, the conveyance roller drive motor 940 is stopped. Next, the nip roller 963 is lowered by the nip roller driving motor 960 and the printing plate P is held between the conveyance roller 943.
[0035]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the first to fourth punch blocks 110, 120, 130, and 140. Each punch block includes a punch block main body in which a gap into which the front end of the printing plate P is inserted, a punch that moves up and down in the punch block main body, a driving means that drives the punch, and a front end of the printing plate P that is punched. Although positioning pins (only the first and second punch blocks 110 and 120) for positioning with respect to the block body are provided, the driving means is not shown in FIG.
[0036]
The first punch block 110 includes a punch block main body 111, a measurement punch 112, a recording drum positioning punch 113, and through holes 114 and 115 for the vertical movement of the punch 112 and 113 in the punch block main body 111. A positioning pin 117 embedded in the through hole 116 and a driving means (not shown) for moving the punches 112 and 113 up and down are provided. The punch block main body 111 is formed with a gap 118 into which the front end of the printing plate P is inserted. The positioning pin 117 has such a length that at least its tip reaches the lower surface of the gap 118. The positioning pin 117 positions the printing plate P with respect to the conveyance direction by contacting the front end of the printing plate P in the conveyance direction within the gap 118. The punches 112 and 113 are long enough to punch through the punch plate P positioned by the positioning pins 117.
[0037]
The second punch block 120 includes a punch block main body 121, a measurement punch 122, a recording drum positioning punch 123, and through holes 124 and 125 for vertically moving these punches 122 and 123 within the punch block main body 121, A positioning pin 127 embedded in the through hole 126 and a driving means (not shown) for moving the punches 122 and 123 up and down are provided. The punch block body 121 is formed with a gap 128 into which the front end of the printing plate P is inserted. The positioning pin 127 has such a length that at least its tip reaches the lower surface of the gap 128. The positioning pin 127 positions the printing plate P with respect to the conveyance direction by contacting the front end of the printing plate P in the conveyance direction within the gap 128. The punches 122 and 123 have a length sufficient to punch through the punch plate P positioned by the positioning pin 127.
[0038]
The third punch block 130 includes a punch block main body 131, a printing press positioning punch 132, a through hole 134 for moving the punch 132 up and down in the punch block main body 131, and a driving means (not shown) for moving the punch 132 up and down. It has. The punch block body 131 is formed with a gap 138 into which the front end of the printing plate P is inserted. The printing press positioning punch 132 has a length enough to punch through the punch plate P.
[0039]
The fourth punch block 140 includes a punch block main body 141, a printing press positioning punch 142, a through hole 144 for moving the punch 142 up and down in the punch block main body 141, and a driving means (not shown) for moving the punch 142 up and down. It has. The punch block main body 141 is formed with a gap 148 into which the front end of the printing plate P is inserted. The printing press positioning punch 142 has a length enough to punch through the punch plate P.
[0040]
The measurement punches 112 and 122 are punches that form punch holes that are used when plate inspection is performed using the printing plate P on which image recording has been performed.
[0041]
The recording drum positioning punches 113 and 123 are punches that form punch holes for fitting the printing plate P to positioning pins 15 erected on the outer peripheral surface of the recording drum 1.
[0042]
The printing press positioning punches 132 and 142 are punch holes that fit into positioning portions (for example, positioning pins) of these apparatuses when the printing plate on which image recording has been performed is mounted on a printing machine, a folding machine, or the like in a later process. Is a device for forming
[0043]
The punches 112, 113, 122, 123, 132, 142 move up and down independently.
[0044]
Next, the drilling operation for the printing plate P will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8 are schematic diagrams for explaining the punching operation for the printing plate P in order.
[0045]
Initially, the printing plate P is sent out from the first transport path 91 toward the punch device 100 by the rotation of the transport rollers 943, 944, and 945 (see FIG. 9). At this time, the nip roller 963 is retracted to a position where it does not contact the surface of the printing plate P. The front end of the printing plate P is inserted into the gaps 118, 128, 138, 148 of the punch blocks 110, 120, 130, 140. In parallel with this conveyance, the pair of width-shifting bearings 104 are moved in the direction of the arrow X shown in FIG. 1 to width-shift the printing plate P toward the center of the punch base 101. As described above, the positioning pins 117 and 127 are disposed in the gaps 118 and 128 between the first and second punch blocks 110 and 120. For this reason, the printing plate P stops at the stage where the leading end abuts against these pins 117 and 127. Then, the printing plate P is positioned with respect to its transport direction. Thereafter, the printing plate P is sandwiched and held between the nip roller 963 and the conveying roller 943. FIG. 3 illustrates this stage.
[0046]
Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the measurement punches 112 and 122 are lowered to form measurement punch holes 112 a and 122 a in the printing plate P. These measurement punch holes 112a and 122a are not formed by cutting out the end portion of the plate P, but are formed as holes whose entire circumference is closed.
[0047]
The measurement punches 112 and 122 do not rise immediately after the measurement punch holes 112a and 122a are formed in the printing plate P. Each of the punch holes 112a and 122a is a hole whose entire circumference is closed, and has the same shape as the punches 112 and 122 fitted in the holes. Accordingly, the printing plate P is firmly fixed to the punch base 101 by the measurement punches 112 and 122.
[0048]
Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the printing press punches 132 and 142 are lowered to form printing press punch holes 132 a and 142 a in the printing plate P. These punch holes 132a and 142a are formed as holes in which the end portion of the printing plate P is cut out, that is, holes opened to the outside. Since the printing plate P has already been firmly fixed by the measuring punches 112 and 122, the printing press punches 132 and 142 remain stopped without being slightly moved when the printing plate P is punched.
[0049]
When the printing press punches 132 and 142 are lifted and removed from the printing plate P, the recording drum positioning punches 113 and 123 are lowered as shown in FIG. 113a and 123a are formed. These punch holes 113a and 123a are also formed as holes in which the end portion of the printing plate P is notched. For the reasons described above, even when the recording drum positioning punches 113 and 123 are lowered to perforate the printing plate P, the printing plate P does not slightly move.
[0050]
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the recording drum positioning punches 113 and 123 rise. At this stage, the measurement punches 112 and 122 have not yet been extracted from the printing plate P.
[0051]
When the extraction of the recording drum positioning punches 113 and 123 is completed, the measurement punches 112 and 122 rise as shown in FIG.
[0052]
Thereafter, the printing plate P is pulled back to the first conveyance path 91 by the rotation of the conveyance rollers 943, 944 and 945. Thus, the punching operation for the printing plate P is completed.
[0053]
As described above, the plate P is measured by the measurement punches 112 and 122 throughout the period from the stage before the punch holes 132a and 142a for the printing press are drilled until the punch holes 113a and 123a for the recording drum positioning are completely drilled. Further, the punch base 101 is held by a nip formed by the rollers 943 and 963. Therefore, the accuracy of the mutual positional relationship between the punch holes 132a and 142a for the printing press and the recording drum positioning holes 112a and 122a is ensured.
[0054]
Therefore, the positional relationship between the color plate image recorded on the printing plate P and the printing device positioning punch holes formed on the printing plate P is the same for all the printing plates P. For this reason, even when different color plates are overprinted on the same printing paper to create a color print image, color misregistration or the like does not occur in the print image. Therefore, it is possible to create a high quality printed matter.
[0055]
In the above embodiment, the measurement punches 112 and 122 are raised after the recording drum positioning punches 113 and 123 are completely extracted. However, if the printing plate P is punched by the recording drum positioning punches 113 and 123 and the formation of the recording drum positioning punch holes 113a and 123a is completed, the measurement punches 112 and 122 are extracted. It is not always necessary to wait for completion of extraction of the recording drum positioning punches 113 and 123 from the printing plate P. The measurement punches 112 and 122 may be raised first.
[0056]
In the above embodiment, the printing machine positioning punch holes 132a and 142a are formed earlier than the recording drum positioning punch holes 112a and 122a. However, they may be formed in the reverse order or simultaneously.
[0057]
Further, the punch for fixing the printing plate P when the recording drum positioning punch hole and the printing apparatus positioning punch hole are punched is not limited to the measurement punch described in the above embodiment.
[0058]
For example, a hook portion may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drum, and the hook portion may be locked in a hole formed in advance in the printing plate. This is to prevent the printing plate from scattering from the recording drum 1 during the high-speed rotation of the recording drum. Such a hole for fixing the printing plate on the outer peripheral surface of the drum may be used as a punch for fixing the printing plate to the punching device when punching the punching hole for positioning the recording drum and the punching hole for positioning the printing device. Good.
[0059]
In the above-described embodiment, various punch holes are formed by the punch device provided inside the image recording apparatus. However, various punch holes are formed by the punch device provided outside the image recording apparatus. However, the present invention is applicable.
[0060]
Further, in the above embodiment, the image recording material is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the recording drum. However, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the image recording material is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the recording drum or a flat table. It is.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A and 1B are a plan view and a front view of a punch device of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of each punch block.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for punching a printing plate.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for punching a printing plate.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for punching a printing plate.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for punching a printing plate.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a procedure of a punching operation for a printing plate.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for punching a printing plate.
FIG. 9 is a side view of a main part of a conventional image recording apparatus.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of a printing plate in which a recording drum positioning punch hole and a printing press positioning punch hole are formed by a conventional image recording apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording drum 2 Tip clamp 8 Image recording head 9 Conveyance unit 110 1st punch block 111 Punch block main body 112 Measuring punch 113 Recording drum positioning punch 114 Through hole 115 Through hole 116 Through hole 117 Positioning pin 118 Gap 120 Second punch Block 121 Punch block main body 122 Measuring punch 123 Recording drum positioning punch 124 Through hole 125 Through hole 126 Through hole 127 Positioning pin 128 Gap 130 Third punch block 131 Punch block main body 132 Printing machine positioning punch 134 Through hole 138 Gap 140 Fourth punch block 141 Punch block main body 142 Printing machine positioning punch 144 Through hole 148 Clearance P Printing plate

Claims (4)

An image recording apparatus for recording an image on an image recording material used in a printing machine,
A cylindrical drum having a rotating shaft and provided with a positioning portion on the outer peripheral surface on which the image recording material is mounted;
Rotation drive means for rotating the drum around the rotation axis;
Image recording means for recording an image on an image recording material mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the drum;
First punch hole forming means for forming a first punch hole that fits into the positioning portion in the image recording material before mounting the image recording material on the drum;
A second punch hole forming means for forming a second punch hole to be fitted to the positioning portion of the printing press;
A third punch hole forming means for forming a third punch hole whose entire circumference is closed in the image recording material by operating a predetermined punch;
The third punch hole forming means operates the punch to the image recording material before the first and second punch holes are formed by the first and second punch hole forming means. A third punch hole having a closed circumference is formed, and the punch is recorded on the image until the formation of the first and second punch holes by the first and second punch hole forming means is completed. An image recording apparatus which operates so as not to be extracted from a material. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third punch hole is used for measuring the image recording material. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third punch hole is used when the image recording material is fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum. A punching device for forming first and second punch holes to be fitted to the positioning portions of the image recording device and the printing device with respect to the image recording material,
And further comprising third punch hole forming means for forming a third punch hole whose entire circumference is closed in the image recording material by operating a predetermined punch.
The third punch hole forming means operates the punch before the first and second punch holes are formed in the image recording material, and the third punch is closed on the image recording material. A punching apparatus which operates so as not to extract the punch from the image recording material until a hole is formed and the formation of the first and second punch holes is completed.

Images