JPH04240648A - Processor for waterless planographic printing plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a simple and efficient developing scum removing mechanism by which developing scum flowing into a developing tank is rapidly removed and whose maintenance load is light. CONSTITUTION:An exhaust port 9 by overflow is arranged at a part having small aperture area at the entrance of the developer tank 2, and replenish liquid is supplied from an undiluted solution tank 10 and a diluted solution tank 11, then the developing scum such as silicone rubber whose specific gravity is smaller than the developer is efficiently removed to the outside when the level of the developer rises. Thus, the developing scum is efficiently removed by narrowing the vicinity of the exhaust port 9 by the overflow so that the developing scum may be centralized.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for waterless lithographic printing plates (hereinafter abbreviated as waterless PS plates), and more specifically, the present invention relates to a processing apparatus for waterless lithographic printing plates (hereinafter abbreviated as waterless PS plates). The present invention relates to a waterless PS plate processing apparatus having an improved mechanism for removing so-called development residue such as silicone rubber. Furthermore, the present invention is applicable not only to the processing solution for development, but also to the removal of development residue carried into the processing solution used in subsequent steps.

0002

[Prior Art] Currently known waterless PS plates have a photo-releasable, photo-curable, water-insolubilizable or photo-adhesive photosensitive layer and a silicone rubber layer as an ink repellent layer laminated on a support such as aluminum. Furthermore, a protective film is laminated on the surface as necessary.

There are several methods for developing the above-mentioned waterless PS plate after exposure, but the basic principle is to supply a developer to the photosensitive layer side of the waterless PS plate and develop the surface. The silicone rubber layer in the image area is removed by rubbing with a brush roller. In this method, the developer is stored in a developer tank and is supplied from above the brush roller by a pump, and the developer containing the scraped silicone rubber layer is collected in the developer tank. The waste is collected, circulated by a pump, and reused.

In conventional apparatuses, a filter is placed between the developer tank and the pump to prevent developer residue from being supplied to the processing section.

[0005] Also, the Toray waterless lithography automatic developing machine TWL
860 and TWL1160 use a conventional filter installed between the developer tank and the pump to remove developer residue.In addition, the developer tank is equipped with an overflow outlet to remove developer residue due to its small specific gravity. The developer residue floating on the surface is removed to the outside by replenishing 1 liter of developer per minute of operation and removing a large amount of overflow.

[0006] Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-220060, 2-2-
No. 220061 discloses that a collection tank for developer scum is placed in parallel with a developer tank, and the developer in the surface layer where developer scum is floating is poured into the collection tank by overflow.
A system for separating development residue is described.

[0007]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The development residue of the silicone rubber layer mentioned above (1) re-adheres to the plate surface to be processed and causes white spots in image areas and stains in non-image areas during printing; Pumps, filters, shower nozzles, etc. may become clogged, making it impossible to perform treatment, increasing the effort required for cleaning, and deteriorating maintainability. The amount of liquid supplied to the plate material decreases, causing problems such as deterioration of developability. It has also been pointed out that there are harmful effects caused by contamination of the developer tank due to developer residue.

[0008] Furthermore, the above-mentioned problem occurs not only in the developer but also in the development residue carried into the processing solution in the subsequent process.

Among the conventional techniques for removing developer residue described above, a filter device is provided in a part of the developer circulation system, and
The method that mainly uses a filter to remove development residue is
The filter gets clogged quickly, its lifespan is not long enough, and the maintenance load is large, and the system in which developer residue is directly discharged to the outside together with the developer due to overflow is unfavorable in terms of environmental hygiene. Furthermore, the method of discharging and removing a large amount of overflow is not preferable because it is inefficient and increases cost.

[0010]Furthermore, the system in which the developer scum collection tank is provided in parallel with the developer tank has the disadvantage that the device becomes larger accordingly, and the transfer of developer scum from the developer tank to the collection tank is not always sufficient. There are some drawbacks.

[0011] In view of the above, the present invention provides a water tank having an improved developer residue removal mechanism that is simple, efficient, and has a light maintenance load, and is capable of quickly removing developer residue that has flowed into a developer tank. The purpose is to clarify the PS version processing device.

0012

[Means for Solving the Problems] The waterless PS plate processing apparatus of the present invention is equipped with a developer scum removal mechanism, which has a developer scum concentration area at the inlet of the developer tank and an overflow outlet near the area. It is characterized by:

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the waterless PS plate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be explained in more detail according to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the waterless PS plate processing apparatus to which the first embodiment is applied, the waterless PS plate 1 is conveyed in a horizontal state, and undergoes a development process, a first water washing process, a dyeing process,
It is carried out to the outside through a second water washing process.

The developer stored in the developer tank 2 is supplied to the pump 4 through the filter 3, and is sprayed from the shower nozzle 5 by the operation of the pump 4, either directly or onto the brush roller 6. is supplied to the surface of the waterless PS plate via the waterless PS plate. After the processing process, the developer containing developer residue falls by gravity into the receiving section 7 provided below the development process section, passes through the filter 8, is collected in the developer tank 2, and is recycled. be done.

9 is a discharge port for overflow;
Preferably, when the processing apparatus is in operation, the waste liquid is discharged to the outside when replenisher liquid is supplied from the stock solution tank 10 and the dilution water tank 11. This waste liquid contains developer residue, and is recycled after the developer residue is separated by a developer residue removal device (not shown). Note that the developer scum removal device may be configured as a filter mechanism so that the waste liquid from which the developer scum has been separated is guided to the filter 3 or the pump 4.

The overflow outlet 9 is disposed at a portion having a narrow opening area at the inlet of the developer tank 2, the details of which are shown in FIG. That is, the developer flowing down along the receiving part 7 passes through the tank inlet 20 and is collected in the developer tank 2.
A mesh filter 8 with a mesh size of m to 1 mm, particularly preferably 50 μm to 500 μm, is provided to prevent developer residue such as silicone rubber from flowing directly into the developer tank 2. The filter provided in the liquid prevents debris from flowing into the piping even when the processing liquid is sucked by the pump, and prevents the filter provided in the piping from clogging. Also, if the circulation is stopped, silicone rubber scum will float,
The filter in the liquid does not get clogged. The scum concentrated above the liquid is easily discharged by overflow. Furthermore, while the processing device is in operation, the replenisher is being replenished from the stock solution tank 10 and the dilution water tank 11, and the liquid level in the developer tank 2 rises, causing the tank inlet 2 to rise.
The developer that reaches the upper part of the overflow outlet 9 provided at the tank 0 and flows down from the tank inlet 20,
Due to its potential energy, a flow of liquid is formed in which the developer flows below the liquid level and the developer in the area already stored rises to the surface, and developer debris such as silicone rubber, which has a specific gravity lighter than the developer, flows into the tank inlet. As a result of concentrating on the narrow area 20, the gas is efficiently removed to the outside through the discharge port 9. Further, it is preferable that the bottom of the tank 2 is sloped.

In the conventional method of providing an overflow outlet directly to the developer tank 2 having a wide opening area, even if a large number of outlets are provided, the thickness of the surface layer of the developer containing developer residue is thin. In addition, the flow of the developer toward the discharge port is slow, compared to the mechanism of the present invention, which quickly removes developer residue concentrated in a narrow area.
There is a clear difference in the efficiency of preventing developer residue from accumulating in the developer tank 2 as much as possible, and this high efficiency also has the accompanying effect of being extremely effective in preventing clogging of the filter 8. ing.

As is clear from the above, the features of the present invention are as follows:
The purpose is to concentrate the developer residue near the discharge port 9 due to overflow and efficiently discharge the developer residue to the outside. Naturally, the developer tank 2, the tank inlet 20,
The specific configurations of the filter 8 and the overflow outlet 9 have various variations, one of which will be explained below. Moreover, the effects of the present invention can be obtained even without providing the filter 8.

The area near the discharge port 9 for overflow that concentrates developer residue does not need to be narrower than the cross-sectional area of the developer tank 2; for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the developer tank 2 itself may have an elongated shape. For example, the cross-sectional areas of both may be equal, and in extreme cases, as shown in FIG. 4, a mode in which the cross-sectional area near the discharge port 9 due to overflow is slightly larger is also included.

[0021] The overflow outlet 9 need not be single, and may be provided all around the tank inlet 20, as shown in FIG. 5, or may be provided at two or three locations.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the filter 8 may not be provided at the tank inlet 20 but may be placed inside the developer tank.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a sub-tank 22 is disposed above the developer tank 2, and the developer containing developer residue overflowing from the discharge port 9 is guided to the sub-tank 23 via a filter 23. However, the developer residue is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 24 due to overflow, and the cleaned developer is returned to the developer tank 2 by the operation of the pump 25. Note that it may be connected not to the developer tank 2 but directly to the piping of the circulation system. The operation of the pump 25 is preferably controlled by a liquid level sensor such as a float switch provided in the sub-tank 22, and furthermore, a valve may be used in place of the pump 25. Even if the filter in the sub-tank becomes clogged, water will drip gradually. When the liquid accumulates, it is supplied to the main tank and reused, so the amount of overflow can be increased and the removal efficiency is further improved. By adopting this method, stable running is possible without clogging of the circulation system from the main tank to the shower nozzle, and maintenance efficiency is greatly improved.

[0024] The filter 23 is configured to be detachable;
For example, it is preferable that the device can be easily taken out by opening a lid placed at the top.

In the above-described embodiment in which the sub-tank 22 is provided to recirculate the developer from which the developer residue has been removed, the amount of overflow from the discharge port 9 can be set to be large, thereby increasing the developer residue removal efficiency. It becomes possible to improve the performance.

[0026]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the waterless PS plate processing apparatus of the present invention, development residues such as silicone rubber mixed in the developer collected in the tank after the processing process or the processing solution in the subsequent process can be efficiently removed. , does not reach the subsequent circulation path, has a simple structure, has the advantage of ease of maintenance, and solves the above-mentioned problems.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the entire waterless PS plate processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of main parts.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Waterless PS version 2 Developer tank 3 Filter 4 Pump 5 Shower nozzle 6 Brush roller 7 Receiving part 8 Filter mechanism 9 Discharge port 10　Still solution tank 11 Dilution water tank 20 Tank inlet 22 Sub tank 23 Filter 24 Discharge port 25 Pump

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A waterless lithographic printing plate processing apparatus, comprising a developer scum removal mechanism that includes a developer scum concentration area at the inlet of a processing liquid tank and a developer scum removal mechanism provided with an overflow outlet near the area. .