JP7221781B2 - Printing plate positioning device and image recording device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to techniques for positioning printing plates.

Conventionally, an image recording device (CTP (Computer To Plate) device) that records an image on the surface of a printing plate by mounting a thin plate-like printing plate on the outer peripheral surface of a drum and irradiating the printing plate with a laser beam has been used. Are known. In this type of image recording apparatus, the printing plate is positioned in order to record the image at the correct position with respect to the printing plate.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a drum on which a printing plate is wound, a recording head for recording an image by irradiating a laser beam on the printing plate wound around the drum according to an image signal, and punch holes in the printing plate. An openable punch unit and a tray that can selectively feed printing plates towards the drum and punch unit are disclosed. The punch unit has a positioning mechanism that positions the printing plate in the width direction, and the positioning mechanism moves the printing plate in a state in which the leading edge of the printing plate is in contact with two positioning pins that are spaced apart in the width direction. , positioning of the printing plate in the width direction is performed by moving the printing plate in the width direction.

Further, Patent Document 2 describes that a punch portion having a positioning pin and that the printing plate is moved in the left-right direction while the leading edge of the printing plate is abutted against the positioning pin. It is described as being rotatable.

JP 2018-069485 A JP 2003-095489 A

When the positioning pins are rotatable as in Patent Document 2, the friction between the printing plate and the positioning pins is reduced when the printing plate is moved in the width direction while being in contact with the positioning pins. be. However, in the prior art, it is unclear whether the printing plate is in contact with the rotating portion of each positioning pin. For this reason, there is a risk that positioning of the printing plate will be defective due to the inability of each positioning pin to come into contact with the printing plate. In addition, if shavings are generated due to friction between the printing plate and the positioning pins, the shavings may interfere with contact between the positioning pins and the printing plate, resulting in poor positioning of the printing plate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for accurately positioning a printing plate using rotating positioning pins.

In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect is a printing plate positioning device for positioning a printing plate, comprising: a first moving unit for moving a conductive printing plate in a first direction; a second moving unit that moves in a second direction orthogonal to the one direction; a first pin and a second pin that are electrically conductive and are spaced apart in the second direction; a continuity detection unit that detects continuity between second pins, wherein the first pin and the second pin are each axially aligned in a third direction that intersects both the first direction and the second direction; and the outer peripheral surface in contact with the edge portion of the printing plate moved downstream in the first direction by the first moving unit, and the outer peripheral surface in the third direction. and a holding fixture that is rotatably held around a rotation axis, wherein the continuity detection section includes a first continuity section that is conductively connected to the outer peripheral surface of the first pin, and a first conductive section that is electrically connected to the outer peripheral surface of the second pin. and a second conducting portion electrically connected to detect conduction between the first conducting portion and the second conducting portion.

A second aspect is the printing plate positioning device of the first aspect, wherein the first conductive portion has a sliding portion that slidably contacts the outer peripheral surface of the first pin.

A third aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to the second aspect, wherein the first conducting portion biases the sliding portion in a direction to approach the rotation axis of the first pin.

A fourth aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to the third aspect, wherein the first conducting portion biases the sliding portion in a direction crossing the first direction.

A fifth aspect is the printing plate positioning apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the first conducting portion includes an elastic member that biases the sliding portion by elastic deformation.

A sixth aspect is the printing plate positioning device of the fifth aspect, wherein the elastic member includes a leaf spring.

A seventh aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to the sixth aspect, wherein the first conductive portion is an arcuate portion that curves convexly toward the outer peripheral surface of the first pin and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface; wherein the sliding portion is a portion of the arcuate portion in contact with the outer peripheral surface.

An eighth aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to any one of the second aspect to the seventh aspect, wherein the sliding surface of the sliding portion that slides against the outer peripheral surface of the first pin is the It has a length in a third direction.

A ninth aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to the eighth aspect, further comprising a guide for regulating the position of the printing plate in the third direction within a predetermined regulation range, wherein the first pin and the second pin The outer peripheral surface of each pin has a size that overlaps the regulation range in the first direction.

A tenth aspect is the printing plate positioning device of the ninth aspect, wherein both ends of the sliding portion are arranged outside the regulation range in the third direction.

An eleventh aspect is the printing plate positioning apparatus according to the tenth aspect, wherein the third direction is a vertical direction, the upper end of the sliding portion is positioned above the regulation range, and the lower end of the sliding portion is It is located below the regulation range .

A twelfth aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to any one of the ninth to eleventh aspects, wherein the guide includes a first member and a gap in the third direction with respect to the first member. and a positioned second member.

A thirteenth aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to any one of the first aspect to the twelfth aspect, wherein the second moving unit is a first moving unit arranged on one side of the printing plate in the second direction. a member, a second moving member arranged on the other side of the printing plate in the second direction, and moving the first moving member in the other side of the second direction to move the printing plate in the second direction. and a movement drive unit that moves the printing plate in one of the second directions by moving the second moving member in one of the second directions, the first movement A moving distance of the member in the other of the second directions is longer than a moving distance of the second moving member in one of the second directions.

A fourteenth aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to any one of the first aspect to the thirteenth aspect, wherein the first moving unit and the second moving unit are driven in accordance with a detection signal from the continuity detection section. and a control unit that executes a prescribed positioning process including controlling .

A fifteenth aspect is the printing plate positioning apparatus according to the fourteenth aspect, further comprising a notification unit that notifies when the number of executions of the positioning process exceeds a specified number of times.

A sixteenth aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to the fourteenth aspect or the fifteenth aspect, further comprising a rotation detector for detecting a rotation direction and an amount of rotation of the outer peripheral surface of the first pin, wherein the control unit , the positioning process is executed according to the detection signal from the rotation detector.

A seventeenth aspect is the printing plate positioning device according to any one of the first to sixteenth aspects, wherein hardness of the first pin and the second pin is greater than hardness of the printing plate.

An eighteenth aspect is an image recording apparatus, comprising: the positioning device according to any one of the first to seventeenth aspects; and an image forming section for forming an image on the printing plate positioned by the positioning device. Prepare.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the first aspect, when the printing plate is moved in the second direction while the printing plate is in contact with the respective outer peripheral surfaces of the first and second pins, the printing plate and each pin The frictional force between the pins allows the outer peripheral surface of each pin to rotate about the axis of rotation. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of shavings on each pin or printing plate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contact between the printing plate and each pin from being hindered due to the generation of the shavings, thereby preventing the positioning of the printing plate from becoming defective. Further, contact of the printing plate with the first pin and the second pin can be appropriately detected by detecting conduction between the outer peripheral surfaces of the first pin and the second pin. Thereby, the printing plate can be appropriately positioned on the outer peripheral surfaces of the first pins and the second pins.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the second aspect, the sliding portion of the first conductive portion slides while being in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the first pin. Therefore, even if the outer peripheral surface of the first pin rotates, the electrical connection between the outer peripheral surface and the first conductive portion can be appropriately ensured.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the third aspect, the sliding portion is urged in a direction approaching the rotation axis of the first pin. As a result, the sliding portion can be pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the first pin, so that the conduction between the first pin and the sliding portion can be properly ensured.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the fourth aspect, the first conducting portion biases the sliding portion in the direction crossing the first direction. In this case, the force of the sliding portion pressing the outer peripheral surface of the first pin in the first direction can be reduced. Therefore, when the outer peripheral surface of the first pin is loose, it is possible to reduce the displacement of the outer peripheral surface of the first pin in the first direction by the sliding portion, thereby hindering the positioning of the printing plate. can be suppressed.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the fifth aspect, the first conductive portion elastically urges the sliding portion. In this case, the force with which the sliding portion presses the outer peripheral surface of the pin can be relieved. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the pressure from the sliding portion from hindering the rotation of the outer peripheral surface of the first pin.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the sixth aspect, the sliding portion can be brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the first pin with an appropriate force due to the elastic force generated in the leaf spring.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the seventh aspect, the first conduction part is composed of a plate spring having a curved arc-shaped part, and the sliding part arranged in the arc-shaped part slides on the outer peripheral surface of the first pin. slide. In this case, the circumferential length of contact between the sliding portion and the outer peripheral surface can be shortened, so that it is possible to reduce the hindrance of the sliding portion to rotating the outer peripheral surface in both forward and reverse directions.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the eighth aspect, the sliding surface of the sliding portion that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the first pin has a length in the third direction. Therefore, the area of the sliding surface can be increased, and the frictional force per unit area generated between the outer peripheral surface of the first pin and the sliding surface can be reduced. In this case, generation of shavings on the sliding portion or the outer peripheral surface can be suppressed compared to the case where the frictional force is applied locally on the outer peripheral surface. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contact between the printing plate and the first pin from being hindered due to the generation of shavings.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the ninth aspect, the position of the printing plate in the third direction is regulated by the guide within the predetermined regulation range, and the outer peripheral surfaces of the first pin and the second pin are aligned with the regulation range and the third direction. It has a size that overlaps in one direction. In this case, when the printing plate is moved in the first direction, the printing plate can be appropriately brought into contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the first pin and the second pin.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the tenth aspect, both ends of the sliding portion are arranged outside the restricted range. Therefore, even if shavings adhere to the first pin due to either one of the two end portions of the sliding portion sliding against the outer peripheral surface of the first pin, the shavings are not within the regulation range of the outer peripheral surface. It can reduce sticking inside. Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce the inhibition of the contact between the printing plate and the first pin due to the generation of the shavings.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the eleventh aspect, the sliding portion has a size that overlaps the regulation range. In this case, since the length of the outer peripheral surface of the first pin in the third direction can be shortened compared to the case where the sliding portion does not overlap the regulation range, the space occupied by the printing plate positioning device can be reduced. can.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the twelfth aspect, the position of the printing plate in the third direction can be regulated between the first member and the second member.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the thirteenth aspect, by making the moving distance of the first moving member to the other side larger than the moving distance of the second moving member to the one side, the printing plate is moved in the other direction in the second direction. can move a lot. In this case, the movement of the printing plate in the other and one of the second directions causes the outer peripheral surfaces of the first and second pins to rotate from the initial state in the corresponding direction. Therefore, when a plurality of printing plates are sequentially positioned, the outer peripheral surface of each pin rotates in one direction, so that the sliding portion of the first conductive portion can slide in the entire circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface. can. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sliding portion from locally slidably contacting a specific portion of the outer peripheral surface.

According to the printing plate positioning device of the fourteenth aspect, the positioning process is repeated until continuity between the first pin and the second pin is detected. That is, since the positioning process is repeated until the printing plate contacts the first pin and the second pin, the printing plate can be properly positioned.

According to the image recording apparatus of the fifteenth aspect, it is possible to notify the operator that the number of executions of positioning processing exceeds the specified number of times. As a result, it is possible to prompt the operator to perform confirmation work such as confirmation of the adhesion state of the shavings on the first pin, the second pin, or the printing plate.

According to the image recording apparatus of the sixteenth aspect, since the direction and amount of rotation of the outer peripheral surface of the first pin are detected in addition to the detection signal from the continuity detection section, the contact state between the printing plate and the first pin can be detected from various angles. can be verified. Therefore, it is possible to more accurately detect the contact state between the printing plate and the first pin.

According to the image recording apparatus of the seventeenth aspect, since the hardness of the first pin and the second pin is higher than the hardness of the printing plate, it is possible to suppress adhesion of shavings of the printing plate to the first pin and the second pin. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the shavings from interfering with the contact between the first pin or the second pin and the printing plate.

According to the image recording apparatus of the eighteenth aspect, when the printing plate is moved in the second direction while the printing plate is in contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the first and second pins, the distance between the printing plate and each pin is increased. can rotate the outer peripheral surface of each pin about the rotation axis. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of shavings on each pin or printing plate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contact between the printing plate and each pin from being hindered due to the generation of the shavings, thereby preventing the positioning of the printing plate from becoming defective. Further, contact of the printing plate with the first pin and the second pin can be appropriately detected by detecting conduction between the outer peripheral surfaces of the first pin and the second pin. Thereby, the printing plate can be appropriately positioned on the outer peripheral surfaces of the first pins and the second pins. These actions allow the image to be formed at the proper position on the printing plate.

1 is a schematic overall view of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a top view of a width adjusting mechanism and a punch hole forming mechanism; 4 is a perspective view showing a positioning main body of the positioning mechanism; FIG. It is a side view which shows a positioning main-body part. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the entire positioning main body and essential parts; 3 is a block diagram showing connections between a control unit and each unit in the image recording apparatus; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually showing a part of functions implemented in a control unit; 4 is a flow chart showing a series of operations of the image recording apparatus during image recording. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the process of the width aligning process by the width aligning mechanism; It is a side view which shows the positioning main-body part which concerns on a modification.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the constituent elements described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them. In the drawings, for ease of understanding, the dimensions and numbers of each part may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary.

<1. embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a schematic overall view of an image recording apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. The image recording apparatus 1 is a device (CTP device) that records an image on the printing plate 9 by exposing a recording surface 91, which is one main surface of the printing plate 9, based on input image data. . For example, in a commercial color printing process, the image recording apparatus 1 is used to prepare a printing plate 9 corresponding to each of monochrome images constituting image data, and the images of each printing plate 9 are superimposed on printing paper. A color image is formed on the surface of the printing paper by being printed.

The image recording apparatus 1 includes a conveying mechanism 10 , a width adjusting mechanism 20 , a punch hole forming mechanism 30 , a drum 40 , a light irradiation section 50 , an operating section 60 and a control section 70 .

<Transport Mechanism 10>
The transport mechanism 10 is a device that transports the printing plate 9 before exposure. The printing plate 9 to be conveyed by the conveying mechanism 10 is, for example, a rectangular metal plate, and a recording surface 91 thereof is coated with a photosensitive material in advance. The printing plate 9 is set at a predetermined transport start position in the image recording apparatus 1 by an automatic feeder or by a user. Then, the transport mechanism 10 transports the printing plate 9 set at the transport start position by rotating the transport belt 11 .

The conveying mechanism 10 moves the conveying belt 11 between a punch facing position P1 indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a drum facing position P2 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Change the position and tilt of the . When the conveyor belt 11 is arranged at the punch facing position P1 and rotated in the forward direction, the printing plate 9 is supplied to the punch hole forming mechanism 30 . In this state, the printing plate 9 can be pulled back from the punch hole forming mechanism 30 by rotating the conveying belt 11 in the opposite direction. Further, when the transport belt 11 is arranged at the position P2 facing the drum and the transport belt 11 is rotated in the forward direction, the printing plate 9 is supplied to the drum 40 .

In the following description, the direction in which the transport mechanism 10 moves the printing plate 9 is defined as the first direction D1. The transport mechanism 10 is an example of a first moving unit that moves the printing plate 9 in the first direction D1. Further, the direction in which the printing plate 9 advances when the transport belt 11 rotates in the forward direction is defined as the downstream side (downstream direction) in the first direction D1, and when the transport belt 11 rotates in the reverse direction, the printing plate 9 is the upstream side (upstream direction) of the first direction D1. Further, a direction orthogonal to the first direction D1 is defined as a second direction D2, and a direction orthogonal to the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 is defined as a third direction D3. When the conveyor belt 11 is arranged at the punch facing position P1, the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 are aligned horizontally, and the third direction D3 is aligned vertically.

<Width adjustment mechanism 20>
The width aligning mechanism 20 is a mechanism that positions the printing plate 9 in the second direction D2 to a desired position. The width aligning mechanism 20 positions the printing plate 9 at a prescribed position in the second direction D2 according to its type.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the width adjusting mechanism 20 and the punch hole forming mechanism 30. FIG. The width adjusting mechanism 20 has two width adjusting pins 21 a and 21 b and a pin driving mechanism 22 . The width adjusting pin 21 a is arranged on one side in the second direction D<b>2 with respect to the transport path of the printing plate 9 transported by the transport belt 11 . Further, the width adjusting pin 21b is arranged on the other side in the second direction D2 with respect to the transport path of the printing plate 9 transported by the transport belt 11 .

The pin driving mechanism 22 individually reciprocates the width adjusting pins 21a and 21b to both sides in the second direction D2 (conveyance width direction). For the pin drive mechanism 22, for example, a mechanism that converts rotary motion of a servomotor into linear motion via a ball screw is used. The width aligning mechanism 20 positions the printing plate 9 in the second direction D2 by pressing both side edges of the printing plate 9 in the second direction D2 with two width aligning pins 21a and 21b.

The width adjusting mechanism 20 is an example of a second moving unit. The width adjustment pins 21a and 21b are an example of a first moving member and a second moving member, and the pin driving mechanism 22 is an example of a movement driving section. In addition to the width aligning pins 21a and 21b, the second moving unit moves one or more width aligning pins contacting the printing plate 9 and the one or more width aligning pins in the second direction D2. A pin drive mechanism may be provided. The second moving unit does not have to be of a type that presses and moves the printing plate 9. For example, it may be of a type that is different from a pin, such as a conveyor belt 11. FIG.

<Punch hole forming mechanism 30>
The punch hole forming mechanism 30 is a unit that forms punch holes in the printing plate 9 before the printing plate 9 is mounted on the drum 40 . As shown in FIG. 2, the punch hole forming mechanism 30 here includes two punch tools 31, 31 spaced apart in the second direction D2. As shown in FIG. 1 , each of the punching tools 31 , 31 has a gap portion 32 that is a substantially U-shaped concave portion and punch pins 33 that form punch holes in the printing plate 9 . The gap portion 32 is provided in the upstream portion of the punch tool 31 in the first direction D1, and has a concave shape that is recessed in the downstream direction in the first direction D1. A front end portion 93 (the edge on the downstream side in the first direction D1) of the printing plate 9 transported by the transport mechanism 10 is inserted into the gap portion 32 . The punch pin 33 is provided inside the gap portion 32 .

The two punch pins 33 are moved up and down by a drive mechanism (not shown) to punch a part of the front edge 93 of the printing plate 9 . As a result, punch holes are formed at predetermined positions on the front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 . The punched holes formed in the printing plate 9 are used, for example, for positioning the printing plate 9 in a printing apparatus that uses the printing plate 9 after exposure and development. By positioning the printing plate 9 in this manner, the printing plate 9 of each color is positioned with high accuracy in the printing apparatus. As a result, it is possible to prevent the images of the respective colors from being misaligned with each other in the printed matter output from the printing apparatus.

The width adjusting mechanism 20 positions the printing plate 9 so that punch holes are formed at prescribed positions by the punch hole forming mechanism 30 . The front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 inserted inside the gap portion 32 contacts two positioning pins 83, 83 of the positioning mechanism 80, which will be described later. Thereby, the printing plate 9 is positioned with respect to the first direction D1.

<Positioning Mechanism 80>
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the positioning body portion 81 of the positioning mechanism 80. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the positioning body portion 81. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, a part of the guide unit 87 (upper guide 871 and lower guide 873) is shown in cross section. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the entire positioning main body 81 and its essential parts.

The punch hole forming mechanism 30 includes a positioning mechanism 80 that positions the printing plate 9 in the first direction D1. The positioning mechanism 80 has two positioning body portions 81, 81 spaced apart in the second direction D2. The two positioning main bodies 81, 81 have the same configuration. Specifically, each of the positioning body portions 81 , 81 includes a base portion 82 , positioning pins 83 , conducting portions 85 and guide units 87 .

The positioning pin 83 contacts the front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 transported downstream in the first direction D1 by the transport mechanism 10 (more specifically, the side end surface of the printing plate 9 on the downstream side in the first direction D1). This positions the printing plate 9 with respect to the first direction D1. Here, the positioning pins 83, 83 of the positioning body portions 81, 81 are arranged with a gap in the second direction D2. A printing plate 9 is positioned with respect to a first direction D1. The two positioning pins 83, 83 are examples of first and second pins.

The positioning pin 83 has a shaft portion 831 and a rotor 833 . The shaft portion 831 is fixed to the upper surface of the base portion 82 by a nut 832 that screws onto a screw portion (not shown) formed at the lower end of the shaft portion 831 . The rotating body 833 is made of a conductive material such as metal, and has a cylindrical shape centered on an axis extending in the third direction D3. The rotating body 833 is attached to the outer peripheral side of the shaft portion 831 . The rotating body 833 is made of a conductive material. In this embodiment, the rotation axis Q1 of the rotating body 833 extends parallel to the third direction D3 orthogonal to the first direction D1 and the second direction D2, but this is not essential. The rotation axis Q1 may be any direction that intersects both the first direction D1 and the second direction D2.

The shaft portion 831 pivotally supports the rotating body 833 so as to rotate in both forward and reverse directions about the rotation axis Q1. The shaft portion 831 is an example of a holder that holds the rotating body 833 so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis Q1. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the shaft portion 831 has a bearing structure that allows the rotating body 833 to rotate smoothly. The rotating body 833 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 835 centered on an axis extending in the third direction D3. The outer peripheral surface 835 contacts the front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 that is moved downstream in the first direction D1 by the transport mechanism 10 .

The conductive portion 85 includes a sliding electrode member 851 (conductive brush) and an electrode holder 852 that holds the sliding electrode member 851 in a fixed posture. The sliding electrode member 851 is a plate-like member made of a conductive material (for example, copper). As shown in FIG. 5, the sliding electrode member 851 has an arc-shaped portion 853 that is arc-shaped (here, semi-arc-shaped) in a plan view, and a plate-shaped fixed plate portion 854 that is continuous with the arc-shaped portion 853 . . In addition, the planar view shape of the arc-shaped portion 853 is not limited to an arc shape, and may be, for example, an elliptical arc shape. The fixed plate portion 854 is fixed to the electrode holder 852 via screws 855 . In this embodiment, the continuity detection unit detects continuity between the positioning pins 83, 83 by means of the sliding electrode members 851, 851 of the two positioning body portions 81, a continuity detection circuit 857, and a continuity detector 858, which will be described later. 84 are configured (see FIG. 4).

The arcuate portion 853 is convexly curved toward the outer peripheral surface 835 of the positioning pin 83 (in other words, toward the rotation axis Q1). A sliding portion 856 that slidably contacts the outer peripheral surface 835 of the positioning pin 83 is provided in the intermediate portion of the arc-shaped portion 853 . Since the sliding portion 856 slides while being in contact with the outer peripheral surface 835, even if the outer peripheral surface 835 rotates, the electrical connection between the outer peripheral surface 835 and the conducting portion 85 can be properly ensured.

The sliding electrode member 851 is composed of an elastic member that can be elastically deformed, and is composed of a thin leaf spring here. The arc-shaped portion 853 of the sliding electrode member 851 can be elastically displaced in the horizontal direction with the boundary portion between the fixed plate portion 854 fixed to the electrode holder 852 by the screw 855 and the arc-shaped portion 853 serving as a fulcrum. It is possible. The electrode holder 852 urges the sliding portion 856 toward the outer peripheral surface 835 while the sliding portion 856 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface 835 of the positioning pin 83 . Thus, in this example, since the sliding electrode member 851 elastically urges the sliding portion 856, the force with which the sliding portion 856 presses the outer peripheral surface 835 can be relieved. In particular, since the sliding electrode member 851 is a plate spring, the sliding portion 856 can be brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface 835 with an appropriate force due to the elastic force generated by the plate spring. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the pressing by the sliding portion 856 from hindering the rotation of the outer peripheral surface 835 .

The sliding electrode member 851 of the conductive portion 85 is a portion conductively connected to the outer peripheral surface 835 of the rotating body 833 . As shown in FIG. 2 or 4, the sliding electrode members 851, 851 of the two positioning main bodies 81, 81 are connected to each other by one continuity detection circuit 857. As shown in FIG. The sliding electrode members 851, 851 are examples of the first and second conductive parts. The continuity detection circuit 857 is provided with a continuity detector 858 that detects continuity between the sliding electrode members 851 , 851 . Continuity detector 858 may comprise, for example, a tester that detects current through continuity detection circuit 857 . Continuity detector 858 is electrically communicably connected to control unit 70 and outputs a signal indicating information regarding the continuity state (for example, current amount or resistance value) to control unit 70 .

When the printing plate 9 is made of a conductive material (for example, aluminum), as shown in FIG. The two sliding electrode members 851 , 851 are electrically connected through the outer peripheral surfaces 835 , 835 and the printing plate 9 and are in a conducting state. In this state, the continuity detector 858 applies a voltage between the conductive portions 85 , 85 to generate a current corresponding to the resistance of the printing plate 9 in the continuity detection circuit 857 .

For example, when the printing plate 9 is in normal contact with the positioning pins 83, 83 (more specifically, the outer peripheral surfaces 835, 835), the current value flowing between the sliding electrode members 851, 851 is assumed in advance. It is a value that almost matches the reference value. Also, when the printing plate 9 is not in contact with either or both of the positioning pins 83 , 83 , current does not flow through the continuity detection circuit 857 . Furthermore, when the printing plate 9 is not in normal contact with the positioning pins 83, 83 due to intervening foreign matter (shavings of the printing plate 9, etc.) between the printing plate 9 and the positioning pins 83, 83, The current flowing between the conductive portions 85, 85 can have a value different from a predetermined reference value (for example, a value smaller than the reference value). A determination unit 71 of the control unit 70, which will be described later, determines the contact state between the outer peripheral surfaces 835, 835 of the positioning pins 83, 83 and the printing plate 9 by comparing the current value from the continuity detector 858 with a predetermined reference value. do.

As shown in FIG. 5, in this example, the sliding electrode member 851 is arranged downstream of the rotation axis Q1 in the first direction D1, and the sliding portion 856 is located on the outer peripheral surface 835 of the positioning pin 83. It comes into contact with a portion on the downstream side in the first direction D1 with respect to the rotation axis Q1. The sliding electrode member 851 biases the sliding portion 856 upstream in the first direction D1 while the sliding portion 856 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface 835 . The urging direction in which the sliding electrode member 851 urges the sliding portion 856 and the first direction D1 are directions that intersect each other. Assuming that the angle formed by the urging direction and the first direction D1 is θ, θ=45° in this example. Also, the direction in which the sliding portion 856 is biased has an upstream component in the first direction D1 and the other component in the second direction D2.

In the image recording apparatus 1, when the transport mechanism 10 transports the printing plate 9 downstream in the first direction D1, as shown in FIG. A directional pressing force F1 is applied. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the sliding electrode member 851 biases the sliding portion 856 in the biasing direction crossing the first direction D1 with a biasing force F2, the biasing force F2 and an urging force F2a (=F2·cos θ) in the upstream direction and an urging force F2b (=F2·sin θ) in the other direction in the second direction D2. Then, the force applied to the positioning pin 83 in the first direction D1 is F1-F2a.

In the positioning pin 83 , a small gap is formed between the rotating body 833 and the shaft portion 831 in order to smoothly rotate the rotating body 833 with respect to the shaft portion 831 . Therefore, when a pressing force is applied to the outer peripheral surface 835 of the rotating body 833 in the radial direction (the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis Q1) (that is, the direction approaching the rotation axis Q1), the rotating body 833 is The rattling may cause a slight displacement of its position in the direction of the pressing force. In order to accurately position the printing plate 9 in the first direction D1 by the positioning pins 83 while taking into consideration the backlash of the rotating body 833, it is necessary to move the rotating body 833 as far as possible by the pressing force F1 during positioning. A maximum displacement downstream in one direction D1 is desirable. In order to prevent the sliding portion 856 from displacing the rotating body 833 in the first direction D1, it is desirable to reduce the force (biasing force F2a) of the sliding portion 856 pushing the outer peripheral surface 835 upstream as much as possible. . In this example, as described above, the direction in which the sliding electrode member 851 biases the sliding portion 856 is set in the direction that intersects the downstream direction of the first direction D1. In this case, the biasing force F2a against the pressing force F1 can be made smaller than when the sliding portion 856 biases in the first direction D1, for example. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress displacement of the outer peripheral surface 835 to the upstream side in the first direction D1 due to the sliding portion 856 pushing back the rotating body 833 upstream in the first direction D1. Therefore, positioning of the printing plate 9 in the first direction D1 by the positioning pins 83 can be performed with high accuracy.

In this example, the sliding portion 856 is part of the curved arcuate portion 853 , and the arcuate portion 853 is arranged so that the sliding portion 856 contacts the outer peripheral surface 835 of the rotating body 833 . For this reason, for example, compared to the case where the sliding portion 856 is a portion of a flat plate, the length of the portion in the circumferential direction (rotational direction about the rotation axis Q1) of the portion where the outer peripheral surface 835 contacts the sliding portion 856 is reduced. can be as short as possible. That is, the area of the portion of the outer peripheral surface 835 that contacts the sliding portion 856 can be minimized. As a result, it is possible to reduce the hindrance of rotation of the outer peripheral surface 835 in both forward and reverse directions (that is, rotation of the rotating body 833 in both forward and reverse directions) due to contact of the sliding portion 856 with the outer peripheral surface 835 .

In this example, the sliding surface of the sliding portion 856 that is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface 835 has a length L1 in the third direction D3 (see FIG. 4). This length L1 is sufficiently larger than the thickness of the printing plate 9, for example. In this case, the area of the sliding surface of the sliding portion 856 can be increased, and the frictional force per unit area generated between the sliding surface and the outer peripheral surface 835 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of shavings on the sliding portion 856 or the outer peripheral surface 835 as compared with the case where the frictional force is locally applied to a part of the outer peripheral surface 835 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contact between the printing plate 9 and the positioning pins 83 from being hindered due to the shavings.

As shown in FIG. 4, the guide unit 87 regulates the position of the printing plate 9 in the third direction D3 within a predetermined regulation range RA1. The guide unit 87 has an upper guide 871 and a lower guide 873 . The upper guide 871 and the lower guide 873 are members made of metal, for example. The upper guide 871 has a lower surface 881 that defines the upper end TA1 of the regulation range RA1. The lower guide 873 has an upper surface 883 that defines the lower end TA2 of the regulation range RA1. The lower surface 881 and the upper surface 883 face each other in parallel with a gap therebetween. The upper guide 871 and the lower guide 873 are examples of the first member and the second member, respectively.

The upper guide 871 and the lower guide 873 have a thin plate shape and are fixed to the base portion 82 in a state of being overlaid on the base portion 82 . Therefore, the guide unit 87 is integrated with the positioning body portion 81 of the positioning mechanism 80 . However, this is not essential, and the guide unit 87 may be provided at a location different from the positioning body portion 81 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the upper guide 871 has a first portion 891, a second portion 892 and a third portion 893 in order from the downstream side to the upstream side in the first direction D1. The first portion 891 has a flat plate shape that contacts the lower guide 873 . The second portion 892 is continuous with the first portion 891 and rises upward from the lower guide 873 in the third direction D3. The third portion 893 is continuous with the second portion 892 and has a lower surface 881 that is spaced apart from and faces the upper surface 883 of the lower guide 873 . An upstream end portion of the third portion 893 in the first direction D1 has a collar portion curved upward. The flange guides the front end 93 of the printing plate 9 to the inside of the regulation range RA1 when the printing plate 9 is conveyed downstream by the conveying mechanism 10 .

As shown in FIG. 3, a through hole is provided approximately in the center of each of the upper guide 871 and the lower guide 873, and the positioning pin 83 and the conducting portion 85 are arranged in the through hole. The through hole of the upper guide 871 is provided at a position penetrating through the first portion 891, the second portion 892 and the third portion 893 of the upper guide 871 in the third direction D3.

<Regarding the regulation range RA1 of the guide unit 87>
As shown in FIG. 4, the outer peripheral surface 835 of the rotating body 833 overlaps the regulation range RA1 by the guide unit 87 in the first direction D1, and is larger than the regulation range RA1 in the vertical direction (third direction D3). have a length. Therefore, the position of the printing plate 9 in the third direction D3 is restricted within the restriction range RA1, so that the front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surfaces 835, 835 of the two positioning pins 83, 83, respectively. touched.

An upper end portion TB1 and a lower end portion TB2, which are both ends of the sliding portion 856 in the third direction D3, are both arranged outside the restricted range RA1 by the guide unit 87. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the upper end portion TB1 is arranged above the regulation range RA1, and the lower end portion TB2 is arranged below the regulation range RA1. That is, both the upper end portion TB1 and the lower end portion TB2 are arranged at a height that does not overlap with the region RT1 corresponding to the regulation range RA1 on the outer peripheral surface 835 (the region overlapping the regulation range RA1 in the first direction D1). Therefore, both ends of the sliding portion 856 in the third direction D3 contact the outer peripheral surface 835 of the positioning pin 83 at a height outside the restricted range RA1 by the guide unit 87 .

If the sliding surface of the sliding portion 856 were arranged in an attitude inclined with respect to the third direction D3, one of the upper end portion TB1 and the lower end portion TB2 of the sliding portion 856 would come into contact with the outer peripheral surface 835. , may slide on the outer peripheral surface 835 . In this case, shavings may be generated on the outer peripheral surface 835 due to the local action of the frictional force. In this example, since the upper end portion TB1 and the lower end portion TB2 of the sliding portion 856 are arranged outside the regulation range RA1, even if shavings are generated, the shavings adhere to the region RT1 of the outer peripheral surface 835. less likely to do so. Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce the inhibition of the contact between the outer peripheral surface 835 and the printing plate 9 due to the generation of the shavings.

The hardness (eg, Vickers hardness) of the rotating body 833 is preferably greater than the hardness of the printing plate 9 . In this case, when the printing plate 9 is positioned with respect to the outer peripheral surface 835 of the rotating body 833, abrasion of the outer peripheral surface 835 can be suppressed. Rotating body 833 is preferably made of a material having a hardness of 150 Hv or more. Furthermore, a material different from the material (aluminum) of the printing plate 9 is selected for the rotor 833 . Here, stainless steel is selected. If the material of the rotating body 833 is the same as the material of the printing plate 9 , when the printing plate 9 is shavings, the shavings are likely to adhere to the rotating body 833 . In this embodiment, since the rotating body 833 and the printing plate 9 are made of different materials, even if scraping of the printing plate 9 occurs, it can be suppressed from adhering to the rotating body 833 . The rotor 833 may be made of special steel or quenched steel.

As shown in FIG. 4, the conduction portion 85 is provided with a rotation detector 86 . The rotation detector 86 detects the amount and direction of rotation of the rotating body 833 in the positioning pin 83 about the rotation axis Q1. Rotation detector 86 may be configured with, for example, an optical sensor or an encoder. The rotation detector 86 is electrically communicably connected to the control unit 70 and outputs a detection signal regarding the rotation of the rotor 833 to the control unit 70 .

<Drum 40>
Returning to FIG. 1 , the drum 40 is a rotating body arranged below the punch hole forming mechanism 30 . The drum 40 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 41 extending in the second direction D2. As indicated by broken lines in FIG. The rotary drive unit 42 is composed of, for example, a motor and a power transmission mechanism such as a timing belt that transmits the driving force of the motor to the drum 40 . When the rotary drive unit 42 is operated, the drum 40 rotates around the central axis extending in the second direction D2.

A plurality of front end clampers 43 and a plurality of rear end clampers 44 are provided on the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 . A plurality of front end clampers 43 fix the front end edge of the printing plate 9 transported from the transport mechanism 10 to the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 . A plurality of trailing end clampers 44 fix the trailing edge of the printing plate 9 (the edge on the upstream side in the conveying direction) to the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 . As a result, the printing plate 9 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 with the recording surface 91 facing outward.

<Light irradiation unit 50>
The light irradiation section 50 is a unit that irradiates recording light toward the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 . The light irradiation unit 50 has a recording head 51 that emits recording light such as laser light, and a head moving mechanism 52 that moves the recording head 51 in the second direction D2. When recording an image on the printing plate 9, the recording head 51 is moved in the second direction D2 by the head moving mechanism 52 while rotating the drum 40 on which the printing plate 9 is mounted. A laser beam is directed toward the surface 91 . As a result, an exposure area corresponding to a monochrome image is formed on the recording surface 91 of the printing plate 9 . The light irradiation section 50 is an example of an image forming section that forms an image on the printing plate 9 positioned by the positioning mechanism 80 .

The exposed printing plate 9 is carried out from the drum 40 to a predetermined carrying-out position in the image recording apparatus 1 by a carrying-out mechanism (not shown).

<Operation Unit 60, Control Unit 70>
The operation unit 60 is a part that serves as a user interface. The operation unit 60 has a display unit 61 and an input unit 62 . The display unit 61 displays various information related to processing of the image recording apparatus 1 on the screen. For example, a liquid crystal display is used for the display unit 61 . The input unit 62 receives input of various information from the user. For example, a keyboard and a mouse are used for the input unit 62 . The user of the image recording apparatus 1 can operate the input section 62 while checking the display section 61 to input various information to the control section 70 . Both the function of the display unit 61 and the function of the input unit 62 may be realized by a single device such as a touch panel display.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing connections between the control unit 70 and each unit in the image recording apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. As conceptually shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 70 is configured by a computer having a processor 701 such as a CPU, a memory 702 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 703 such as a hard disk drive. A computer program P for executing each process implemented in the image recording apparatus 1 is installed in the storage unit 703 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the controller 70 includes the transport mechanism 10, the pin drive mechanism 22, the punch hole forming mechanism 30, the rotation drive unit 42, the front end clamper 43, the rear end clamper 44, the recording head 51, and the head movement mechanism. 52, the display unit 61, the input unit 62, the continuity detector 858, and the rotation detector 86, respectively. The control unit 70 temporarily reads the computer program P stored in the storage unit 703 into the memory 702, and causes the processor 701 to perform arithmetic processing according to the computer program P, thereby controlling the operation of each unit described above. As a result, each process such as transportation of the printing plate 9, positioning in the second direction D2, punch hole formation, image recording, etc., proceeds in sequence.

FIG. 7 is a diagram conceptually showing part of the functions realized in the control unit 70. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7 , the control section 70 has a determination section 71 . The control unit 70 uses the determination unit 71 to perform contact determination processing for determining whether or not the printing plate 9 is in normal contact with the two positioning pins 83 , 83 . This contact determination processing will be described later.

<Operation of image recording apparatus 1>
FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a series of operations of the image recording apparatus 1 during image recording. The procedure of each operation shown in FIG. 8 is an example, and the procedure of operation of the image recording apparatus 1 may be changed as appropriate as long as there is no contradiction. Further, each operation of the image recording apparatus 1 described below is assumed to be performed under the control of the control section 70 unless otherwise specified.

When recording an image on the printing plate 9 in the image recording apparatus 1 , the printing plate 9 is set in the image recording apparatus 1 by an automatic feeder (not shown) or by a user. Also, the user inputs an operation start instruction by operating the input unit 62 . Based on this input, the image recording apparatus 1 starts carrying in the printing plate 9 by the transport mechanism 10 . Specifically, the transport mechanism 10 first places the transport belt 11 at the punch facing position P1. Then, step S1 is performed in which the printing plate 9 is conveyed toward each positioning body portion 81 of the positioning mechanism 80 by rotating the conveying belt 11 in the forward direction. The front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 passes between the width aligning pins 21 a and 21 b of the width aligning mechanism 20 and is inserted into the guide unit 87 of each positioning body portion 81 . Then, the front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 is pressed against the positioning pins 83 , 83 .

Subsequent to step S1, the printing plate 9 is laterally aligned in the second direction D2 by driving the pin drive mechanism 22 of the lateral alignment mechanism 20 (step S2). Here, the width aligning mechanism 20 aligns the printing plate 9 to a specified position in the second direction D2 so that the punch hole forming mechanism 30 can form punch holes at specified positions on the printing plate 9 . The width adjustment processing (positioning processing) in step S2 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing the process of the width aligning process by the width aligning mechanism 20. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the width aligning pins 21a and 21b of the width aligning mechanism 20 are positioned away from the printing plate 9 in the second direction D2 in the initial stage PH1. From this stage PH1, the width aligning mechanism 20 operates the pin drive mechanism 22 to move the width aligning pins 21a on one side of the printing plate 9 in the second direction D2 to the side of the printing plate 9 in the second direction D2. Make contact with the edge. Further, the width aligning mechanism 20 presses the printing plate 9 with the width aligning pins 21a to move the printing plate 9 in the other direction in the second direction D2 (step PH2). At this stage PH2, the printing plate 9 is once moved to a position on the other side in the second direction D2 from the prescribed position C indicated by the dashed line in FIG.

After stage PH2, the width gathering mechanism 20 operates the pin driving mechanism 22 to move one of the width gathering pins 21a in the second direction D2. As a result, the width aligning mechanism 20 temporarily separates the width aligning pin 21a from the printing plate 9 (step PH3).

Subsequently, the width aligning mechanism 20 operates the pin drive mechanism 22 to bring the other width aligning pin 21b into contact with the other edge portion of the printing plate 9 in the second direction D2, and the width aligning pin 21b. The printing plate 9 is pressed by 21b. This causes the printing plate 9 to move in one of the second directions D2. Then, the width aligning mechanism 20 moves the width aligning pin 21b to one side in the second direction D2 so that the position of the printing plate 9 in the second direction D2 coincides with the specified position C, and then stops. As a result, the position of the printing plate 9 in the second direction is positioned at the prescribed position C (step PH4).

At stage PH4, when the printing plate 9 is positioned at the specified position C, the width aligning mechanism 20 moves one of the width aligning pins 21a in the second direction D2 to move the printing plate 9 to the second position. One edge in direction D2 is touched again (step PH5). As a result, the printing plate 9 is clamped by the width aligning pins 21 a and 21 b of the width aligning mechanism 20 and fixed at a fixed position.

Returning to FIG. 8, when the width alignment process of step S2 is completed, the determination unit 71 determines whether or not the printing plate 9 and the positioning pins 83, 83 are in normal contact (step S3). As described above, determination unit 71 determines the contact state based on the current value output from continuity detector 858 .

If it is determined in step S3 that the contact state is abnormal (No), the width adjustment process in step S2 is performed again. That is, until normal contact between the printing plate 9 and the positioning pins 83, 83 is confirmed, the width aligning process of step S2 is repeatedly executed. In the present embodiment, after step S3, it is determined whether or not the number of executions of the width alignment process exceeds a specified number of times (step S31). Then, in step S31, if the specified number of times is not exceeded (No), the process returns to step S2 and the width adjustment process is executed. On the other hand, if the number of executions of the width alignment process exceeds the specified number of times (Yes in step S31), an error is notified (step S32). As the error notification, for example, the control unit 70 displays on the display unit 61 a screen indicating that the contact state between the printing plate 9 and the positioning pins 83, 83 is abnormal. or the control unit 70 emits a predetermined warning sound from a speaker (not shown). After reporting the error, the control section 70 temporarily stops the operation of the movable section in the image recording apparatus 1 . This enables the operator to perform confirmation work in the image recording apparatus 1 . In this way, when the contact state between the printing plate 9 and the two positioning pins 83, 83 is abnormal, the error notification is performed, so that the operator can perform confirmation work (for example, positioning) corresponding to the error. Confirmation of adhesion state of shavings or the like on pins 83, 83 or printing plate 9) can be prompted.

If it is determined in step S3 that the contact state is normal (Yes), punch holes are formed by the punch hole forming mechanism 30 (step S4). Specifically, two punching tools 31, 31 of the punch hole forming mechanism 30 form punch holes in the printing plate 9 at stage PH5 (see FIG. 9) positioned at the specified position C by the width alignment process. . Specifically, by vertically moving each punch pin 33, a portion of the front edge 93 of the printing plate 9 is punched out. As a result, punch holes are formed at predetermined positions on the front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 .

After the punch holes are formed in the printing plate 9 in step S4, the control section 70 carries out a process of mounting the printing plate 9 on the drum 40 (step S5). In this step S5, the conveying mechanism 10 rotates the conveying belt 11 in the opposite direction, whereby the front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 is pulled out from the gap 32 of each punching tool 31, and then the printing plate 9 is pulled out. are placed on the conveyor belt 11 . Subsequently, the transport mechanism 10 switches the position of the transport belt 11 from the punch facing position P1 to the drum facing position P2. Thereafter, the transport mechanism 10 supplies the front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 to the drum 40 by rotating the transport belt 11 in the forward direction.

The leading edge 93 of the printing plate 9 fed to the drum 40 contacts a plurality of leading edge clampers 43 . This causes the printing plate 9 to stop. When the printing plate 9 stops, the controller 70 closes the front end clampers 43 . As a result, the front edge of the printing plate 9 is fixed between the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 and the front end clamper 43 . After that, the control unit 70 transfers the printing plate 9 from the conveying mechanism 10 to the drum 40 by rotating the drum 40 . After the entire printing plate 9 is placed on the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 , the control unit 70 closes the plurality of trailing end clampers 44 , and between the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 and the trailing end clampers 44 , The trailing edge of the printing plate 9 is fixed. As a result, the printing plate 9 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 .

When the printing plate 9 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface 41 of the drum 40 , the control unit 70 operates the head moving mechanism 52 to move the recording head 51 to a position facing the recording start position of the printing plate 9 . It is moved in two directions D2 (step S6).

After step S6, the control section 70 records an image on the recording surface 91 of the printing plate 9 (step S7). Specifically, the control unit 70 operates the rotation driving unit 42 , the head moving mechanism 52 and the recording head 51 . As a result, while the drum 40 rotates and the recording head 51 moves in the second direction D2 (sub-scanning direction) in parallel, recording light is emitted from the recording head 51 toward the printing plate 9. . Thereby, an image is formed on the recording surface 91 of the printing plate 9 .

In this example, the printing plate 9 is moved in the second direction D2 in a state in which the printing plate 9 is in contact with the outer peripheral surfaces 835 of the positioning pins 83, 83 in the width alignment process of step S2. Therefore, the frictional force between the printing plate 9 and the outer peripheral surface 835 can rotate the outer peripheral surface 835 around the rotation axis Q1. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of shavings on each of the positioning pins 83 or the printing plate 9 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contact between the printing plate 9 and the positioning pins 83 from being hindered due to the shavings, thereby preventing the printing plate 9 from being poorly positioned in the first direction D1.

In this example, the continuity detector 858 detects continuity between the outer peripheral surfaces 835, 835 of the two positioning pins 83, 83, respectively. As a result, contact between the two outer peripheral surfaces 835, 835 and the printing plate 9 can be effectively detected, so that the printing plate 9 can be properly positioned in the first direction D1. Furthermore, the printing plate 9 can be properly positioned by repeating the width adjustment process until continuity between the outer peripheral surfaces 835, 835 is detected. That is, the occurrence of poor positioning of the printing plate 9 can be effectively reduced. Further, since the outer peripheral surface 835 of the positioning pin 83 can rotate, the friction between the outer peripheral surface 835 and the printing plate 9 is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress wear of the front end portion 93 of the printing plate 9 even when the width adjustment process is repeatedly performed.

In this example, in stage PH2, the movement distance L11 when the pin drive mechanism 22 moves the width adjustment pin 21a in the other of the second directions D2 is equal to, in stage PH4, the pin drive mechanism 22 moves the width adjustment pin 21b to the second direction. It is longer than the moving distance L12 when moving in one of the directions D2. In this case, the distance the printing plate 9 moves to the other side in stage PH2 is greater than the distance it moves to the one side in stage PH4. Then, when the width adjustment process is completed, the outer peripheral surface 835 of the positioning pin 83 rotates from the initial state in the direction corresponding to the other of the second directions. In this case, by sequentially positioning a plurality of printing plates 9, the outer peripheral surface 835 can rotate in one direction. Therefore, the sliding portion 856 of the conducting portion 85 can slide over the entire circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface 835 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sliding portion 856 from locally contacting the specific region of the outer peripheral surface 835 .

In this example, the determination unit 71 may acquire the detection signal from the continuity detector 858 after step S2 is completed. In this case, even if the printing plate 9 is temporarily separated from the positioning pins 83, 83 during step S2, it is possible to prevent the judgment unit 71 from judging that there is a conduction abnormality based on this. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the width adjustment process from being performed excessively.

It should be noted that the continuity detector 858 detects the continuity state during the width aligning process in step S2, that is, while the pin drive mechanism 22 is moving the width aligning pins 21a and 21b, and outputs the detection signal to the controller. 70. In this case, in step S3, the determination unit 71 may use the detection signal during step S2 as one of determination criteria to determine the contact state. Then, in step S3, the determination unit 71 determines that the contact between the printing plate 9 and the positioning pins 83 was not normal during step S2 based on the detection signal from the continuity detector 858 during step S2. In this case, the control unit 70 may repeat step S2 via step S31.

In step S<b>3 , the determination unit 71 may refer to the detection signal from the rotation detector 86 when determining the contact state with the printing plate 9 . Specifically, by referring to information such as the amount and direction of rotation of the rotating body 833 of each of the positioning pins 83 and 83 during the width alignment process in step S2, the rotation of the rotating body 833 as the printing plate 9 moves. It can be determined whether or not was rotating. As a result, it can be determined whether or not the printing plate 9 has been aligned with the two positioning pins 83 . If the rotation is abnormal, there is a possibility that the positioning error has occurred, so the determination unit 71 may determine that the contact is abnormal. As a result, even if the positioning pin 83 is defective in rotation, the alignment process (step S2) is repeated, or an error notification (step S32) is performed. can be reduced to

Also, if the printing plate 9 is made of a non-conductive material (for example, resin), even if the printing plate 9 contacts the two positioning pins 83, 83, the continuity detector 858 detects continuity. is difficult. On the other hand, the contact state of the printing plate 9 with respect to each positioning pin 83 can be indirectly detected by obtaining a detection signal relating to the rotation of the rotating body 833 from the rotation detector 86 . Therefore, the printing plate 9 can be properly positioned without relying on continuity detection.

In step S<b>1 , the determination section 71 may determine whether or not the printing plate 9 is in normal contact with the positioning pins 83 , 83 based on the detection signal from the continuity detector 858 . In this case, the determination unit 71 determines that a contact abnormality has occurred when, for example, a signal indicating that the printing plate 9 has come into contact with each positioning pin 83 is not output from the continuity detector 858 after a certain period of time has elapsed from the reference time. It may be determined that Then, when the determination unit 71 makes the determination, the control unit 70 may perform notification according to the content of the determination.

In the above embodiment, when the transport mechanism 10 is positioned at the punch facing position P1, the transport direction (first direction D1) of the printing plate 9 by the transport mechanism 10 is set to the horizontal direction. However, the conveying direction in this state may be set in a direction inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. For example, if the conveying direction is a direction inclined downward toward the downstream side of the first direction D1, the force of gravity causes the printing plate 9 to move toward the positioning pins 83 and 83 during the width alignment process (step S2). can be pressed against. In this case, the operation of the conveying belt 11 may be stopped during the width adjustment process.

<2. Variation>
Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications are possible.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , on the outer peripheral surface 835, the region RT1 corresponding to the regulation range RA1 is included inside the region RT2 that contacts the sliding portion 856. As shown in FIG. However, the positional relationship between regions RT1 and RT2 is not limited to this. FIG. 10 is a side view showing a positioning body portion 81A according to a modification. In the modification shown in FIG. 10, the sliding portion 856 is arranged above the regulation range RA1 in the third direction D3. Therefore, the contact height of the sliding portion 856 with respect to the outer peripheral surface 835 is set above the regulation range RA1. Therefore, on the outer peripheral surface 835, the region RT2 in contact with the sliding portion 856 and the region RT1 corresponding to the regulation range RA1 are set to have different heights in the third direction D3. In this case, on the outer peripheral surface 835, the contact area between the sliding portion 856 and the printing plate 9 does not match. Adhesion to RT1 can be suppressed. That is, in the case of the modification, it is possible to further suppress the shavings from interfering with the contact between the printing plate 9 and the outer peripheral surface 835 as compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 . In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the length of the positioning pin 83 in the third direction D3 can be shortened compared to the modification shown in FIG. Therefore, the space occupied by the positioning body 81 of the positioning mechanism 80 can be reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, the sliding electrode member 851 has the arc-shaped portion 853 and slides on the outer peripheral surface 835 of the rotating body 833 via the arc-shaped portion 853 . However, the sliding electrode member 851 may slide on the outer peripheral surface 835 in other manners. For example, the distal end of the sliding electrode member 851 may be formed in a flat plate shape, and may slide on the outer peripheral surface 835 of the rotor 833 via the flat plate portion.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, the above description is, in all aspects, illustrative and not intended to limit the present invention. It is understood that numerous variations not illustrated can be envisioned without departing from the scope of the invention. Each configuration described in each of the above embodiments and modifications can be appropriately combined or omitted as long as they do not contradict each other.

1 image recording device 10 transport mechanism (first moving unit)
20 Width gathering mechanism (second moving unit)
21a, 21b width adjustment pins (first moving member, second moving member)
22 Pin drive mechanism (moving drive unit)
50 light irradiation section (image recording section)
61 display unit (notification unit)
70 control unit 71 determination unit 80 positioning mechanism 81 body unit 83 positioning pins (first pin, second pin)
831 shaft portion 833 rotating body 835 outer peripheral surface 85 conductive portion (first conductive portion, second conductive portion)
851 sliding electrode member (elastic member, leaf spring)
852 Electrode holder 853 Arc portion 856 Sliding portion 858 Continuity detector 86 Rotation detector 87 Guide unit 871 Upper guide (first member)
873 lower guide (second member)
9 printing plate 93 front end C prescribed position D1 first direction D2 second direction D3 third direction Q1 rotation axis RA1 regulation range TB1 top end TB2 bottom end

Claims (18)

A printing plate positioning device for positioning a printing plate,
a first moving unit for moving a conductive printing plate in a first direction;
a second moving unit that moves the printing plate in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;
first and second electrically conductive pins spaced apart in the second direction;
a continuity detection unit that detects continuity between the first pin and the second pin;
with
The first pin and the second pin, respectively,
An end of the printing plate having a cylindrical shape whose axis is in a third direction intersecting both the first direction and the second direction, and which is moved downstream in the first direction by the first moving unit. an outer peripheral surface abutting the edge;
a holder that holds the outer peripheral surface rotatably about the rotation axis in the third direction;
including
The continuity detection unit is
a first conductive portion conductively connected to the outer peripheral surface of the first pin;
a second conductive portion conductively connected to the outer peripheral surface of the second pin;
and detecting electrical continuity between the first electrical continuity portion and the second electrical continuity portion. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 1, comprising:
The printing plate positioning device, wherein the first conductive portion has a sliding portion that slidably contacts the outer peripheral surface of the first pin. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 2, comprising:
The printing plate positioning device, wherein the first conducting portion urges the sliding portion in a direction to approach the rotation axis of the first pin. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 3, comprising:
The printing plate positioning device, wherein the first conducting portion biases the sliding portion in a direction crossing the first direction. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 4, comprising:
The printing plate positioning device, wherein the first conducting portion includes an elastic member that biases the sliding portion by elastic deformation. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 5, comprising:
The printing plate positioning device, wherein the elastic member includes a leaf spring. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 6, comprising:
the first conducting portion includes an arcuate portion that curves convexly toward the outer peripheral surface of the first pin and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface;
The printing plate positioning device, wherein the sliding portion is a portion of the arc-shaped portion that contacts the outer peripheral surface. The printing plate positioning device according to any one of claims 2 to 7,
A printing plate positioning device, wherein a sliding surface of the sliding portion that slides against the outer peripheral surface of the first pin has a length in the third direction. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 8, comprising:
a guide that regulates the position of the printing plate in the third direction within a predetermined regulation range;
further comprising
The printing plate positioning device, wherein the outer peripheral surface of each of the first pin and the second pin has a size that overlaps the regulation range in the first direction. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 9, comprising:
The printing plate positioning device, wherein both ends of the sliding portion are arranged outside the regulation range with respect to the third direction. 11. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 10, comprising:
The printing plate positioning device , wherein the third direction is the vertical direction, the upper end of the sliding portion is positioned above the regulating range, and the lower end of the sliding portion is positioned below the regulating range . A printing plate positioning device according to any one of claims 9 to 11,
Said guide
a first member;
a second member arranged with a gap in the third direction from the first member;
a printing plate positioning device. A printing plate positioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
The second mobile unit is
a first moving member disposed on one side of the printing plate in the second direction;
a second moving member arranged on the other side of the printing plate in the second direction;
By moving the first moving member in the other of the second directions, the printing plate is moved in the other of the second directions, and by moving the second moving member in one of the second directions. , a movement drive unit for moving the printing plate in one of the second directions;
including
A printing plate positioning device, wherein a moving distance of the first moving member in the other of the second directions is longer than a moving distance of the second moving member in one of the second directions. A printing plate positioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 13,
a control unit that executes prescribed positioning processing including controlling the driving of the first moving unit and the second moving unit in response to a detection signal from the continuity detection unit;
further comprising
The printing plate positioning apparatus, wherein the control unit repeats the positioning process until continuity between the first pin and the second pin is detected. 15. The printing plate positioning apparatus of claim 14, comprising:
a notification unit that notifies when the number of executions of the positioning process exceeds a specified number of times;
a printing plate positioning device. 16. The printing plate positioning device of claim 14 or claim 15,
a rotation detector that detects the direction and amount of rotation of the outer peripheral surface of the first pin;
further comprising
The control unit
A printing plate positioning device that executes the positioning process according to a detection signal from the rotation detector. 17. A printing plate positioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 16,
A printing plate positioning device, wherein the hardness of the first pin and the second pin is greater than the hardness of the printing plate. An image recording device,
A positioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 17;
an image forming unit that forms an image on the printing plate positioned by the positioning device;
An image recording device.

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