JPH0572821A - Electrophotographic engraving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an electrophotographic engraving device where the occurrence of a stain which becomes block at the time of elution processing is prevented and where a high-quality printing plate is engraved. CONSTITUTION:An absorbing roller 144 provided with a liquid absorber is arranged on the downstream side of a squeezing roller pair which is arranged on the downstream side of a developing part, and the shaft part 146 thereof is supported pivotally on a lengthwise wall 142A. A moving base 150 is placed in the vicinity of both ends of the absorbing roller 144 on a base 142. An absorbing roller 168 for an end part provided with the liquid absorber is arranged to be paired with the roller 144 on a vertical plate 150A. Since liquid developer adhering to the vicinity of the side end of a direct printing plate 14 carried from the squeezing roller pair is absorbed by the liquid absorbers of the rollers 168 and 144, it is not left in a thick film state in the vicinity of the side end of the direct printing plate 14. Therefore, the plate is formed after the liquid developer in the thick film state is vaporized, and the stain which becomes the block at the time of elution processing is prevented from occurring.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic plate making apparatus which develops a printing plate with a liquid developer to fix and elute it.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a direct plate making apparatus, there is an electrophotographic plate making apparatus which develops an electrophotographic printing plate with a liquid developer, passes through a pair of rubber rollers for removing an excess liquid developer, and then fixes and dissolves it. ..

In the liquid developer used in this electrophotographic plate making apparatus, generally, toner particles adsorbed with a resin imparting characteristics such as dispersibility, polarity controllability and fixability are dispersed in a carrier liquid. It is a thing. In the developing step, the toner particles adhere to the image portion of the electrophotographic printing plate to visualize the electrostatic latent image. After the development, the electrophotographic printing plate is
By being sandwiched by the pair of rubber rolls, the liquid developer in the form of water droplets adhering to the flat surface portion is squeezed out and carried out from the pair of rubber rolls.

However, as shown in FIG. 9, since a substantially triangular gap 204 is formed between the side edge portion 200A of the electrophotographic printing plate 200 and the rubber roll pair 202, the liquid developer on the developing portion side is formed. From the gap 204 to the rubber roll pair 20
2 bleeds to the downstream side. Therefore, the rubber roll pair 202
After passing through the electrophotographic printing plate 200, the liquid developer 204 is attached to the side end portion 200A, and the liquid developer remaining on the side end portion 200A oozes out toward the flat portion of the electrophotographic printing plate. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the flat portion of the electrophotographic printing plate 200 after passing through the rubber roll pair 202 is
A thick film-shaped band 208 of the liquid developer 206 is formed near the side end portion 200A. After that, electrophotographic printing plate 200
Is dried by warm air or the like, but the portion where the band 208 of the liquid developer 206 is finally dried, that is, the electrophotographic printing plate 20.
0 in the non-image area (the area outside the effective image area and within about 5 to 7 mm from the side end portion 200A of the electrophotographic printing plate 200 as shown in FIG. 11) 210 (so-called,
A dry line, which is a liquid developer concentrated and left) is formed along the transport direction (direction of arrow A in FIG. 11). Since the stain 210 acts as a block during the elution process, the portion of the photoreceptor on which the stain 210 is adhered may remain linear without being eluted. When printing with an electrophotographic printing plate in such a state, the ink adheres not only to the toner image but also to the photoconductor that remains linearly and is transferred to the printed matter.
When the printed matter is larger than the electrophotographic printing plate 200, such as a newspaper, it becomes a linear stain and deteriorates the print quality.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above facts, the present invention provides an electrophotographic plate making apparatus capable of making a plate of high quality by preventing the generation of block stains during elution treatment. That is the purpose.

[0006]

An electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a direct printing plate developed with a liquid developer is fixed and eluted after passing through a pair of squeezing rollers. A first roller disposed downstream of the aperture roller pair and in contact with the surface of the direct printing plate opposite to the image forming side, and a side end on the image forming side of the direct printing plate. A second roller that abuts inward by a predetermined dimension from the portion and holds the direct printing plate in pairs with the first roller, at least the second roller having a contact surface with the direct printing plate. Is formed of a liquid absorber that absorbs the liquid developer.

The electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to claim 2 is the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrophotographic plate making apparatus is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the second roller and adheres to the outer peripheral surface of the second roller. It is characterized in that a foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter is provided.

An electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to a third aspect is an electrophotographic plate making apparatus in which a direct printing plate developed with a liquid developer is fixed and eluted after passing through a pair of squeezing rollers. A first roller arranged downstream of the squeezing roller pair and in contact with a surface of the direct printing plate opposite to the image forming side, and an image forming of the direct printing plate provided downstream of the squeezing roller pair. An endless belt having a liquid absorptivity, which is in contact with the side surface from the side end of the direct printing plate toward the inner side by a predetermined dimension and absorbs the liquid developer, and the first roller, which forms a pair with the endless belt. 1
Endless belt supporting means for rotatably supporting the endless belt while sandwiching the direct printing plate between the roller and the endless belt, a drying means for drying the endless belt, and the endless belt contacting the endless belt. And a foreign matter removing unit having adhesiveness for removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of the belt.

[0009]

In the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the direct printing plate developed with the liquid developer passes through the pair of squeezing rollers to squeeze out the liquid developer adhering in the form of water droplets on the flat portion. The liquid developer adheres to the side edge of the direct printing plate that has passed through the pair of squeezing rollers, but in the electrophotographic plate making apparatus of the present invention, at least the second roller has a contact surface with the direct printing plate. Since the liquid absorber is provided, the liquid developer of the second roller is attached to the side end portion of the second roller when the liquid absorber is conveyed while being sandwiched between the first roller and the second roller. And absorbs the liquid developer that has exuded from the side edge portion to the surface on the image forming side. Therefore, the liquid developer does not remain as a thick film on the image forming side of the direct printing plate, and stains are formed on the image forming side of the dried direct printing plate after the liquid developer is dried. Not done. After that, the direct printing plate is subjected to a fixing process in the fixing section. The direct printing plate thus treated has no stain on the surface on the image forming side due to the liquid developer, which becomes a block at the time of elution. The body does not remain, and unnecessary ink other than images does not adhere to the printed matter. Further, since the second roller comes into contact with the inner side of the side edge of the direct printing plate by the predetermined dimension, the effective screen area (the area where the image is actually formed inside the side edge by the predetermined dimension) is formed. 2) does not come into direct contact with the second roller) and does not disturb the image after development.

Further, since the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to claim 2 is provided with the foreign matter removing means for removing the foreign matter adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the second roller, the foreign matter on the outer peripheral surface of the second roller ( For example, toner in liquid developer,
When other dirt is attached, the foreign matter removing means can remove the foreign matter attached to the outer peripheral surface of the second roller. This allows the second roller to be kept clean at all times without recontamination of the direct printing plate by the second roller.

Further, in the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the direct printing plate developed with the liquid developer passes through the pair of squeezing rollers to squeeze out the liquid developer adhering in the form of water drops on the flat portion. .. Although the liquid developer adheres to the side edges of the direct printing plate that has passed through the pair of squeezing rollers, an endless belt having liquid absorption is provided on the downstream side of the pair of squeezing rollers. The endless belt absorbs the liquid developer adhering to the side end portion and the liquid developer that has exuded from the side end portion to the image forming side surface when being conveyed while being sandwiched between the roller and the endless belt. .. Therefore, the liquid developer does not remain as a thick film on the image forming side of the direct printing plate, and stains are formed on the image forming side of the dried direct printing plate after the liquid developer is dried. Not done. After that, the direct printing plate is subjected to a fixing process in the fixing section. The direct printing plate thus treated has no stain on the surface on the image forming side due to the liquid developer, which becomes a block at the time of elution. The body does not remain, and unnecessary ink other than images does not adhere to the printed matter. In addition, since the endless belt comes in contact with the inside of a predetermined dimension from the side end of the direct printing plate,
The endless belt does not directly contact the effective screen area (the area where an image is actually formed, which is provided inside the side edge portion by a predetermined size), and the image after development is not disturbed.

Further, when foreign matter adheres to the surface of the endless belt, the foreign matter can be removed by the foreign matter removing means having adhesiveness. When removing the foreign matter on the surface of the endless belt, the endless belt is rotated to sequentially dry the wetted portion by the drying means, and the foreign matter removing means is brought into contact with the dried portion, thereby sticking the foreign matter removing means. Foreign matter is removed efficiently by force.

[0013]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.
Follow the instructions below.

As shown in FIG. 4, the direct printing plate 14 used in this embodiment is a thin plate electrophotographic printing plate.
A photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 is formed on one surface of the conductive support 28 to serve as an image forming surface. The conductive support 28 is made of an aluminum material and has a thickness of about 0.3 mm. In addition, the conductive support 28 is the photoconductive photosensitive layer 3
The boundary surface with 0 is subjected to hydrophilic treatment. As the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30, for example, an organic photoconductive photosensitive member is used.

As shown in FIG. 5, the electrophotographic plate making apparatus 10 to which the present invention is applied is provided with a plate feeding section 12 on the upstream side.

The plate supply section 12 is equipped with a conveyor device (not shown), and conveys the unexposed plate material 14 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. In the electrophotographic plate-making device 10, the longitudinal direction of the direct printing plate 14 is the transport direction (direction of arrow A in FIG. 5).
And is oriented in the direction along which the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 is directed upward for processing.

As shown in FIG. 6, the drawing unit 16 is provided with a carrying table 32 on which the direct printing plate 14 is placed.
The carrier 32 can be moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The drawing unit 16 is provided with a charger 34 for positively charging the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14 on the upper side of the carrier 32, and the exposure unit is provided on the arrow A direction side in FIG. 36 are arranged. The exposure section 36 is provided with a semiconductor laser (not shown), and this semiconductor laser irradiates a laser beam to the image portion of the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 after charging to scan and expose the image. Further, the drawing unit 16 is provided with a sandwiching claw (not shown) that discharges the exposed direct printing plate 14 in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, a developing and fixing processing section 18 is provided on the drawing section 16 side in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
The developing / fixing unit 18 is provided with a developing unit 38, a squeeze drying unit 42, and a fixing unit 44 in order, and a conveying device (not shown) including rollers for conveying the direct printing plate 14 therein. Are provided.

As shown in FIG. 7, the developing section 38 is provided with a frame 120 formed in the shape of a hollow prism, and the direct printing plate 14 is inserted therethrough. Further, the frame body 120 is arranged such that the downstream side is inclined downward. The frame body 120 is entirely formed of an insulating material such as resin, and a developing electrode 122 formed of a metal plate is provided on the inner upper surface. A ground terminal 124 that contacts the lower surface (conductive support 28) of the direct printing plate 14 is provided near the upstream and downstream openings of the frame 120. These developing electrode 122 and ground terminal 1
A power source (not shown) is connected to 24, and a bias voltage is applied to the direct printing plate 14. Further, on the upstream side of the frame body 120, the liquid delivery nozzle 12
6 is arranged, and the liquid developer is supplied into the frame 120 via the liquid delivery nozzle 126. The liquid developer used here is generally a dispersion of toner particles in which a resin that imparts properties such as dispersibility, polarity controllability, and fixability to a pigment such as carbon black is adsorbed in a carrier liquid. .. In the electrophotographic plate making apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the direct printing plate 14 in the developing section 38 is developed by reversal development, and the positively charged direct printing plate 14 is developed with a toner having a positive charge. Further, the portion of the direct printing plate 14 to which the toner is attached becomes lipophilic, and oily ink is attached thereto.

A squeeze drying unit 42 is disposed downstream of the developing unit 38 in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 7).

The squeeze drying unit 42 is provided with a pair of squeezing rollers 130 on the developing unit 38 side. The squeezing roller pair 130 has an outer peripheral surface formed of an elastic body such as rubber. When the direct printing plate 14 is sandwiched in the thickness direction and rotated, excess liquid developer attached to the direct printing plate 14 is removed. Squeeze. Further, a cleaning pad 132 is pressed against the outer periphery of one of the aperture roller pairs 130, which is in contact with the image forming surface side of the direct printing plate 14, and has a role of cleaning the outer peripheral surface.

An air knife 134 is arranged above the direct printing plate 14 on the downstream side of the squeezing roller pair 130 in the conveying direction of the direct printing plate 14 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 7). The air knife 134 is provided with a blower 136 and a slit-shaped outlet 138. The air outlet 138 has a tip disposed near the squeezing roller pair 130, and blows air onto the image forming surface of the direct printing plate 14 conveyed from between the squeezing roller pair 130.

End squeeze devices 140, 141, 143 are sequentially arranged at predetermined intervals downstream of the air knife 134 in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 7).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the end squeeze device 140 is provided with a base 142. The base 142 is provided with a pair of vertical walls 142A on both sides in a direction intersecting with the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14.
A suction roller 144 as a first roller is arranged between the vertical walls 142A. This sucking roller 14
4, the shaft portions 146 at both ends are rotatably supported by the vertical wall 142A. As shown in FIG. 3, this suction roller 14
A liquid absorber 148 formed of artificial leather (for example, Clarino manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.) having a thickness of about 1 and 5 mm is attached to the outer periphery of the No. 4. The liquid absorber 148 has a liquid absorbing property and can absorb the liquid developer attached to the direct printing plate 14.

Moving bases 150 are mounted on the bases 142 near the ends of the suction rollers 144, respectively. The moving base 150 is formed long along the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14, and the horizontal plate 152 has a length of 3 in the longitudinal direction.
A book shaft 154 is erected. Rotating rollers 156 are rotatably supported on these shafts 154, respectively, and are used for guiding side end portions of the direct printing plate 14. In addition, in the vicinity of both longitudinal ends of the horizontal plate 152, a vertical wall 142A
A slide shaft 158 is vertically fixed to the side end portion on the side. An intermediate portion of the slide shaft 158 penetrates the vertical wall 142A of the base 142, and a head portion 158A is formed at the tip. Therefore, the moving base 150 is guided by the slide shaft 158 and can move on the base 142 only in a direction intersecting with the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14. The slide shaft 158 has a compression coil spring 162 between the moving base 150 and the vertical wall 142A.
Is wound, and urges the moving base 150 in a direction away from the vertical wall 142A. In addition, when the direct printing plate 14 is not conveyed, the moving bases 150 are arranged closer to each other than that shown in FIG. 2, and the dimension between the rotating rollers 156 ( The dimension W2 in FIG. 2 is smaller than the width dimension (dimension W1 in FIG. 2) of the direct printing plate 14 by a predetermined dimension.

Further, the moving base 150 includes a horizontal plate 1
The vertical plate 150A is integrally provided on the vertical wall 142A side of the longitudinal middle portion of 52. A large-diameter hole 164 is formed in the central portion of the vertical plate 150A, and the shaft portion 146 of the suction roller 144 described above penetrates therethrough. This vertical plate 1
One end of a shaft 166 arranged in parallel with the suction roller 144 is fixed near the upper end of the 50A.
An end suction roller 168 as a second roller is rotatably supported on the shaft 166. The suction roller 1 described above is attached to the outer periphery of the suction roller 168 for the end portion.
Similar to 44, a liquid absorber 148 made of artificial leather having a thickness of about 1 and 5 mm is attached, and the direct suction plate 14 is sandwiched between the end suction roller 168 and the suction roller 144. It has become. The side end 168A of the end suction roller 168, which is close to the direct printing plate 14, has the direct printing plate 14 of the rotary roller 156.
It is located at a position 5 mm inward of the direct printing plate 14 with respect to the tangent line on the side abutting against. Further, since the outer boundary line of the effective image area of the direct printing plate 14 used in this embodiment is set to 5 mm from the side end portion 14A, the edge suction roller 168 is located within the effective screen area of the direct printing plate 14. Never come into contact with.

Since the end squeeze devices 141 and 143 have the same structure as the end squeeze device 140,
The description is omitted.

Above the space between the end squeeze device 140 and the end squeeze device 141, a pair of fans 1 for blowing air toward the side end portions 14A of the direct printing plate 14 are provided.
76 are arranged. Further, the end squeeze device 14
A warm air drying device 170 is disposed above the space between the No. 1 and the end squeeze device 143. This hot air dryer 17
0 is provided with a pair of heaters 172 that do not emit visible light, and a crossflow fan 174 that blows air toward the direct printing plate 14 side is arranged above the heaters 172.

As shown in FIG. 5, a fixing unit 44 is arranged downstream of the squeeze drying unit 42 in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 (on the side of the arrow in FIG. 5). Fixing unit 44
Is equipped with a plurality of heating lamps (not shown), and the heat of the heating lamp melts and fixes the toner particles adhering to the direct printing plate 14.

The elution processing unit 2 is located downstream of the fixing unit 44 in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 5).
2 are arranged. As shown in FIG. 8, the elution processing unit 2
Reference numeral 2 denotes an elution portion 48 that applies an alkaline solution to the direct printing plate 14 to elute the photoconductive photoreceptor layer 30 in the non-image portion (that is, the non-image portion other than the portion where the toner image is formed) of the direct printing plate 14. The squeeze part 50 for removing the excess alkaline solution adhering to the direct printing plate 14, the water washing part 52 for washing the squeezed direct printing plate 14 with water to remove the alkaline solution, and the gum solution for the washed direct printing plate 14 Gum liquid application unit 54 for applying, drying unit 114 for drying the direct printing plate 14 applied with the gum liquid, and a plurality of conveying rollers 56, 5 for nipping and conveying the direct printing plate 14.
8, 60, 62, 64, 66 are provided.

The carrying roller 56 is arranged on the upstream side of the elution processing section 22 (on the side opposite to the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 8), and is on the downstream side of the carrying roller 56 in the carrying direction of the direct printing plate 14 (see the figure). The elution portion 48 is arranged on the side of the arrow 8 direction A). The elution section 48 is provided with an elution tank 68, and the elution tank 68 is provided with conveyance rollers 58, 60 and a plurality of guide rollers 88. The direct printing plate 14 is transported to the transport rollers 58 and 60 and the guide roller 88 and immersed in the alkaline solution in the elution tank 68. A circulation pump 84 is connected to the elution tank 68, and the alkaline solution in the tank is sucked to spray the alkaline solution from the nozzle 86 onto the direct printing plate 14.

Further, the direct printing plate 14 in the elution tank 68
A roller-shaped brush 90 is arranged at a position corresponding to the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30. The brush 90 is connected to a rotation driving unit such as a motor (not shown), and the rotation driving unit rotates the brush 90. A drain pipe 82 is connected to the lower end of the elution tank 68, and the deteriorated alkaline solution in the tank can be discharged to the outside of the tank through the drain pipe 82.

The squeeze portion 5 is located downstream of the elution tank 68 in the conveying direction of the direct printing plate 14 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 8).
0 is arranged, and the conveying roller 62 is arranged in this squeeze portion 50. The squeeze unit 50 has a receiving unit 94
Is provided, and the direct printing plate 14 includes the transport roller 6
The alkaline solution sandwiched by the two and adhering to the surface is removed. The roller 9 is provided on the receiving portion 94 side of the transport roller 62.
6 is disposed in close contact with the transport roller 62, and the alkaline solution removed by the transport roller 62 is transferred to the roller 96.
To the receiving portion 94 via. In addition, a pump 98 for returning the removed alkaline solution to the elution tank 68 is connected to the receiving portion 94.

A washing section 52 is arranged downstream of the elution section 48 in the conveying direction of the direct printing plate 14 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 8), and a conveying roller 64 is arranged in this washing section 52. .. The washing part 52 has a roller-shaped brush 10
0 and the water receiving tank 102 are provided. Wash water is stored in the water receiving tank 102, and the wash water is collected by the pump 104.
It is sucked up by and is sprayed from the nozzle 106 to the direct printing plate 14. The brush 100 is arranged at a position corresponding to the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14, and the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14 can be washed.

A gum solution application section 54 is disposed downstream of the water washing section 52 in the conveying direction of the direct printing plate 14 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 8). The gum solution applying section 54 is provided with a gum solution tank 110, and the gum solution is stored in the gum solution tank 110. The gum solution in the gum solution tank 110 is sucked up by the pump 112 and sprayed from the nozzle 113 to the direct printing plate 14.

Direct printing plate 1 rather than gum solution application section 54
4, a drying unit 114 is arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction (direction of arrow A in FIG. 8). The drying unit 114 is provided with a drier 116, and the drier 116 dries the gum-treated direct printing plate 14.

As shown in FIG. 5, a standby section 118 is disposed downstream of the elution processing section 22 in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 (on the side of the arrow A in FIG. 5), and the standby section 118 is disposed after the elution processing. The printing plate 14 is conveyed to the standby unit 118. The standby unit 118 is provided with a conveyor device (not shown), which conveys the direct printing plate 14 in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

A puncher unit 24 is arranged downstream of the standby unit 118 in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 5). In this puncher section 24,
The direct printing plate 14 is provided with a punch (not shown) that forms a notch for positioning during plate mounting.

Direct printing plate 1 rather than puncher section 24
The plate curving portion 26 is arranged on the downstream side of the conveyance direction 4 (the arrow A direction in FIG. 5). The plate bending section 26 is provided with a folding device (not shown) that bends both ends of the direct printing plate 14 in the longitudinal direction by a predetermined dimension.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 5, the unexposed direct printing plate 14 is arranged with the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 facing upward in the longitudinal direction along the conveying direction, and is transferred to the drawing unit 16 by a conveyor device (not shown) of the plate supply unit 12. Be transported. As shown in FIG. 6, in the drawing unit 16, the transport table 32 on which the direct printing plate 14 is placed is moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
During this movement, the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14 on the carrier 32 is positively charged by the charger 34. When the direct printing plate 14 is conveyed to a position right below the exposure section 36, a laser beam corresponding to an original image emitted from a semiconductor laser (not shown) is applied to the surface of the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30. As a result, the incident portion on which the laser beam is incident becomes conductive, and positive charges move from the surface of the incident portion of the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image information. ..

Direct printing plate 14 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed
Is clamped at its end by a clamping claw (not shown), and is carried out to the developing and fixing processing section 18.

In the developing section 38, the inside of the frame 120 is filled with the liquid developer supplied from the liquid delivery nozzle 126, and when the direct printing plate 14 is conveyed into the frame 120 and immersed in the liquid developer. The positively charged toner particles during liquid development adhere to the exposed areas of the photoconductive photosensitive layer 14. The portion where the toner particles are attached becomes lipophilic.

When the direct printing plate 14 is further conveyed and reaches the squeeze drying section 42, the excess liquid developer on the flat surface portion of the direct printing plate 14 is squeezed by the squeezing roller pair 130, and the air blown from the air knife 134 is ejected. As a result, a part of the liquid developer attached to the side edges is blown off. After that, the direct printing plate 14 is inserted between the suction roller 144 of the end squeeze device 140, 141, 143 and the suction roller 168 for the end portion, and the liquid developer attached to the vicinity of the end portion 14A on the side is absorbed by the liquid absorber 148. Since it is absorbed, the liquid developer does not remain as a thick film. Further, the direct printing plate 14 has an end squeeze device 14
0 and the end squeeze device 141, the vicinity of both side end parts 14A receives the air blown from the fan 176 when passing between the end squeeze device 141 and the end squeeze device 143.
The hot air drying device 170 blows warm air to the surface of the direct printing plate 14 to dry the surface thereof. Thus, since the direct printing plate 14 is dried without the thick film liquid developer, no stain is formed after the drying. Since the rotary roller 156 abuts on and follows the side end of the direct printing plate 14, the end suction roller 168 always comes into contact with the direct printing plate 14 at a predetermined position. The image is not disturbed by coming into contact with the effective image area. Also,
Since the edge suction roller 168 absorbs the direct liquid developer, it is dried by being blown with air while being rotated.
The liquid absorber 148 which is always dried is the direct printing plate 14
The liquid developer can be absorbed by coming into contact with.

The direct printing plate 14 thus dried is conveyed to the fixing section 44. In this fixing unit 44,
The toner adhering to the direct printing plate 14 is melted, fixed and fixed by the heat of a heating lamp (not shown). Fixing unit 4
The direct printing plate 14 heated in 4 is sent to the elution processing unit 22 after being blown and cooled in the cooling unit 46.

In the elution processing section 22, as shown in FIG.
The direct printing plate 14 is sandwiched by the transport rollers 56, transported into the elution tank 68, and immersed in the alkaline solution. Direct printing plate 14 immersed in an alkaline solution,
The photoconductive photoreceptor layer 30 without toner adhered, that is, the non-image area is eluted. At this time, the photoconductive photoreceptor layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14 is rubbed by the brush 90, and the elution reaction is promoted. By this elution process,
In the area of the direct printing plate 14 on which the toner is not attached, the surface of the conductive support 14 which has been subjected to the hydrophilic treatment is exposed.

After the elution process, the direct printing plate 14 is squeezed by the squeeze unit 50, which is sandwiched by the conveying rollers 62 and the alkaline solution adhering to the surface thereof is squeezed. The squeezed alkaline solution falls through the roller 96 and is collected in the receiving portion 94. The alkaline solution accumulated in the receiving portion 94 is returned to the elution tank 68 by the pump 90.

The squeezed direct printing plate 14 is conveyed to the water washing section 52, and washing water is sprayed from the nozzle 106. Further, the direct printing plate 14 is rubbed by the brush 100 to completely remove the attached alkaline solution.

When the direct printing plate 14 is conveyed and reaches the gum solution applying section 54, the gum solution is jetted from the nozzle 114 and the gum solution is applied to the direct printing plate 14. The direct printing plate 14 after the gum treatment is conveyed to the direct printing plate 1
When 4 reaches the drying section 114, the gum liquid attached to the direct printing plate 14 is dried by the hot air of the dryer 116. As a result, the non-image portion (the portion to which toner is not attached) of the direct printing plate 14 is made hydrophilic.

The direct printing plate 14 processed by the elution processing unit 22 is then temporarily waited by the waiting unit 118, and is sent to the puncher unit 24 after the plate inspection work and the like, and is positioned by a punch (not shown) for positioning during plate mounting. A notch is formed.

In the direct printing plate 14 having the notches for positioning formed in the puncher portion 24, both ends in the longitudinal direction of the direct printing plate 14 are bent by a predetermined size by a folding device (not shown) of the plate bending portion 26. Thus, the plate making process of the direct printing plate 14 is completed.

As described above, in the direct printing plate 14 produced by the electrophotographic plate making apparatus 10 according to the present invention, the direct printing plate 14 after development does not have stains which prevent the elution after drying, and therefore the elution is performed. In the process, all of the photoconductive photoreceptor layer 30 other than the image is eluted. For this reason, ink does not adhere to places other than the image, and high-quality printed matter can be obtained.

In this embodiment, artificial leather is used as the material of the liquid absorber 148, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the liquid absorber 148 may be made of cloth, felt, non-woven fabric, sponge or the like. The liquid absorber may be used.

Further, in this embodiment, the suction roller 144 is used.
And the liquid absorber 1 on the outer peripheral portion of the suction roller 168 for the end portion.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the liquid absorber 148 may be provided at least on the outer peripheral portion of the edge suction roller 168 that contacts the image forming surface side of the direct printing plate 14. The liquid absorber 148 does not necessarily have to be provided on the suction roller 144.

Further, in this embodiment, the suction roller 144 is used.
Although the edge suction roller 168 and the edge suction roller 168 are freely rotated, the present invention is not limited to this, and the direct printing plate 14 is nipped by connecting a rotation means such as a motor to the suction roller 144 and the edge suction roller 168. It may be configured to be transported.

Further, in the present embodiment, the edge suction roller 168 is configured to follow the side edge 14A of the direct printing plate 14, but the present invention is not limited to this, and direct printing may be performed by another guide or the like. If the transport path of the plate 14 is constant, the attachment position of the end suction roller 168 may be fixed.

Further, in this embodiment, the position of the side end portion 168A of the end suction roller 168 is set to the direct printing plate 14.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the position of the end suction roller 168 in contact with the direct printing plate 14 is outside the effective image area of the direct printing plate 14. Good.

In this embodiment, the end squeeze device 140, the end squeeze device 141 and the end squeeze device 143 are provided on the downstream side of the developing section 38, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the end part is not limited thereto. The configuration may be such that only the squeeze device 140 is provided.

Further, in the present embodiment, the squeeze drying unit 42
No fan for blowing air is provided on the lower surface of the direct printing plate 14, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a drying unit such as a fan or a heater for blowing air on the lower surface of the direct printing plate 14 may be provided.

[Second Embodiment] A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
2 to 14 will be described. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 12, the moving base 150 of this embodiment is separated from the bottom surface of the base 142. The horizontal plate 152 of the moving base 150 has two shafts 1 in the longitudinal direction.
54 is provided upright, and in this embodiment, the rotary roller 156 supported by the shaft 154 is made of ceramic having excellent wear resistance and insulation. The rotary roller 156 may be made of a material other than ceramic as long as it is harder than aluminum and has high insulation.

As shown in FIG. 14, the moving base 150
The vertical plate 150A is provided with a bearing projection 310 on the upper side opposite to the arrow A direction side. As shown in FIG. 12, the projection 310 is opposite to the vertical wall 142A side. A fixed shaft 312 is erected on the side. As shown in FIG. 14, one end side of an arm 314 is rotatably supported on the fixed shaft 312, and a shaft 166 stands at the other end side of the arm 314 on the side opposite to the vertical plate 150A side. It is set up. An end suction roller 168 is rotatably supported on the shaft 166. In this embodiment, the arm 314
The end suction roller 168 is in contact with the upper part of the outer periphery of the suction roller 144 due to the own weight of the end suction roller 168.

In the end squeeze device 140 of this embodiment,
A cleaning unit 316 for cleaning the end suction roller 168 is provided above each moving base 150.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the cleaning unit 316, a movable base plate 318 parallel to the vertical plate 150A of the moving base 150 is arranged above the horizontal plate 152.

As shown in FIG. 13, the movable base plate 318
Is provided with a protrusion 320 near the lower corner on the arrow A direction side. A hole 322 is formed in the protrusion 320, and a shaft 324 erected from the vertical wall 142A is inserted into the hole 322. This makes the moving base 1
The reference numeral 50 is rotatable about the shaft 324.

As shown in FIG. 14, the movable base plate 318
A horizontal plate 326 extending toward the vertical wall 142A side is provided at an end portion of the arrow A direction side. In the direction of arrow A of the horizontal plate 326, the fixing pin 3 that is erected from the vertical wall 142A.
28 is provided, and one of the tension coil springs 330 is locked to the fixing pin 328.
The other side of the tension coil spring 330 has a horizontal plate 326.
This tension coil spring 33 is locked to
By 0, the movable base plate 318 is urged in the direction in which the horizontal plate 326 rotates toward the side closer to the fixed pin 328 side.

A take-up motor 332 is attached to the movable base plate 318 on the vertical wall 142A side, on the side opposite to the arrow A direction side. The rotation shaft 334 of the winding motor 332 penetrates the movable base plate 318 and projects to the opposite side, and has a function as a winding shaft of an adhesive tape 336 as a foreign matter removing unit described later.

On the movable base plate 318, a fixed shaft 338 is erected on the side opposite to the vertical wall 142A side and below the rotary shaft 334 of the winding motor 332. This fixed shaft 3
An elastic roller 340 is rotatably supported by 38.

Further, the movable base plate 318 is provided with a bearing 342 in the central portion thereof in the direction of arrow A. A supply shaft 344 is rotatably supported on the bearing 342. The supply shaft 344 is projected on both sides of the movable base plate 318, and an unused adhesive tape 336 is wound in layers on the side opposite to the vertical wall 142A side. An intermediate portion of the adhesive tape 336 is wound around the elastic roller 340, and a tip portion of the adhesive tape 336 is locked to the rotation shaft 334 of the winding motor 332. The adhesive tape 336
Is coated with an adhesive (not shown) on the outer surface of the elastic roller 340 in the semi-annual direction.

On the movable base plate 318, a locking pin 346 is provided upright on the vertical wall 142A side and below the supply shaft 344. As shown in FIG. 13, a back tension belt 350 is attached to the locking pin 346 via a tension coil spring 348. The other side of the back tension belt 350 is the horizontal plate 3 of the movable base plate 318.
26, and the intermediate portion is wound around the small diameter portion formed on the supply shaft 344.

The back tension belt 350 is pulled by the tension coil spring 348, and the supply shaft 344 is pulled.
Is pressed against. This back tension belt 350
Due to the friction that acts between the supply shaft 344 and the supply shaft 344, a predetermined braking force always acts on the supply shaft 344.

Below the movable base plate 318, the supply shaft 3 is provided.
One of the tension coil springs 352 is locked below 44.
The other is locked to the drive shaft 356 of the electromagnetic solenoid 354. This electromagnetic solenoid 354 has a vertical wall 142A.
The drive shaft 356 is attached to a support plate 358 attached to the side, and the drive shaft 356 is movable in the vertical direction. When the electromagnetic solenoid 354 is energized, the drive shaft 356 moves downward by a predetermined dimension (in the state shown in FIG. Has been moved to).

A stopper shaft 360 is arranged below the movable base plate 318. As shown in FIG. 14, the stopper shaft 360 is erected on the vertical wall 142A and contacts the lower end of the movable base plate 318 to limit the rotational movement angle of the movable base plate 318.

As shown in FIG. 13, the electromagnetic solenoid 35
4 is not energized, the cleaning unit 316 is pulled by the tension coil spring 330 as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 13, and the elastic roller 340 is separated from the end suction roller 168 by a predetermined dimension. On the other hand, when the electromagnetic solenoid 354 is energized,
As indicated by the solid line, the cleaning unit 316 is pulled by the electromagnetic solenoid 354, and the adhesive tape 336 wound around the elastic roller 340 is brought into contact with the end suction roller 168.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the solid component of the liquid developer adhered to the outer peripheral surface by cleaning the edge suction roller 168, that is,
The toner can be removed.

When cleaning the end suction roller 168, the electromagnetic solenoid 354 is energized.
The cleaning unit 316 is pulled by the electromagnetic solenoid 354, and the adhesive tape 336 wound around the elastic roller 340 is brought into contact with the end suction roller 168. At the same time, by rotating the suction roller 144, the edge suction roller 168 is rotated,
The adhesive tape 336 removes dirt such as toner adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the end suction roller 168.

When the adhesive tape 336 becomes dirty, the take-up motor 332 is rotated in the direction of arrow F to take up the dirty part on the rotary shaft 334, and a new unused part corresponds to the end suction roller 168. Can be made

During the cleaning of the end suction roller 168, the adhesive tape 336 may be stationary or the winding motor 332 may be rotated in the direction of arrow F to move.

Further, the timing for cleaning is the plate 1
4 may be in the middle of conveyance, or the printing plate 14 may not be in the middle of conveyance.

When the end suction roller 168 is not cleaned, the electromagnetic solenoid 354 is turned off. As a result, the cleaning unit 3
16 is pulled by the tension coil spring 330, and the adhesive tape 336 is separated from the end suction roller 168.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the outer peripheral surface of the end suction roller 168 can be cleaned by the cleaning unit 316, the end suction roller 168 can always be kept in the best state without manual intervention. ..

Further, the suction roller 168 for the end portion is the shaft 1
If the supporting position in the longitudinal direction is changed with respect to 66, the contact width with the direct printing plate 14, that is, the absorption width of the liquid developer can be set within a range of 0.2 to 5 mm, for example.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
It will be described according to 5. It should be noted that this embodiment is a modification of the second embodiment, and the same components as those in the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 15, the moving base 150 of this embodiment is longer than the moving base 150 of the second embodiment in the vertical direction (direction of arrow UD in FIG. 15), and the vertical plate 150A has an endless belt supporting means. A pair of upper and lower rollers 364 are rotatably supported. An endless belt 366 formed of the liquid absorber 148 is wound around the pair of rollers 364.

The endless belt 366 has an adhesive tape 336 having an outer peripheral upper end wound around the elastic roller 340.
And the lower end of the outer periphery is in contact with the suction roller 144.

In this embodiment as well, the liquid developer in the vicinity of the end portion of the direct printing plate 14 can be absorbed by the endless belt 366 as in the above embodiment.

Further, a nozzle 368 for blowing air as a drying means is arranged in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 15 of the endless belt 366 so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt 366. The air is blown to the endless belt 366 on the direction side.

In this embodiment, the rotation of the suction roller 144 causes the endless belt 366 to move in the direction of arrow H and is dried by the air blown from the lower roller 364 to the upper roller 364. .. For this reason,
The adhesive tape 336 as the foreign matter removing means is the endless belt 3
It is easy to remove the toner from 66.

[0088]

As described above, since the electrophotographic plate making apparatus of the present invention has the above-mentioned structure, it is possible to prevent the generation of block stains during the elution process and to make a high quality plate. Has excellent effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an end squeeze device of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an end squeeze device of the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a roller of the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which is perpendicular to the axis.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the structure of a direct printing plate used in the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the arrangement of processing units of the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a drawing unit corresponding to the bottom view of FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a developing unit and a squeeze drying unit corresponding to the bottom view of FIG.

8 is a cross-sectional view showing an elution processing unit corresponding to the bottom view of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a direct printing plate sandwiched between a pair of rubber rolls, showing a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a direct printing plate conveyed from a pair of rubber rolls, showing a conventional example.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a direct printing plate showing a conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the cleaning unit of the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the downstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate.

FIG. 13 is a side view seen from the width direction of the direct printing plate showing one of the cleaning units of the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing one of the cleaning units of the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a side view seen from the width direction of the direct printing plate showing one of the cleaning units of the electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electrophotographic plate making apparatus 14 Direct printing plate 14A Side end 22 Elution treatment section 44 Fixing section 28 Conductive support (opposite to image forming side) 30 Photoconductive photosensitive layer (image forming side) 130 Squeezing roller pair 144 Suction roller (first roller) 148 Liquid absorber 168 Suction roller for end portion (second roller) 336 Adhesive tape (foreign matter removing means) 364 Roller (endless belt supporting means) 366 Endless belt 368 Nozzle ( Drying means)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akihiro Kanazawa 1005 Kozono, Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Micrographix Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electrophotographic plate making apparatus in which a direct printing plate developed with a liquid developer is fixed and eluted after passing through a pair of squeezing rollers, and the electrophotographic plate making apparatus is arranged downstream of the pair of squeezing rollers. A first roller that comes into contact with the surface of the direct printing plate opposite to the image forming side, and a pair of rollers that come into contact with the image forming side of the direct printing plate from the side end toward the inside by a predetermined dimension. And a second roller for sandwiching the direct printing plate,
An electrophotographic plate making apparatus, characterized in that at least the second roller has a contact surface with the direct printing plate formed of a liquid absorber that absorbs the liquid developer. 2. The electrophotographic plate making apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the second roller by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the second roller. apparatus. 3. An electrophotographic plate making apparatus in which a direct printing plate developed with a liquid developer is fixed and eluted after passing through a pair of squeezing rollers, and is arranged downstream of the pair of squeezing rollers. A first roller that comes into contact with the surface of the direct printing plate opposite to the image forming side, and a side end of the direct printing plate on the image forming side surface of the direct printing plate that is provided on the downstream side of the pair of aperture rollers. Portion of the endless belt, which is in contact with the inner side of the portion by a predetermined dimension and absorbs the liquid developer, and the first roller and the endless belt that form a pair with the first roller An endless belt supporting means for sandwiching a printing plate and rotatably supporting the endless belt, a drying means for drying the endless belt, and an endless belt contacting with the surface of the endless belt. Electrophotographic plate making apparatus, characterized by the foreign substance removing means having an adhesiveness to remove foreign matter, that was provided.