JPH06337615A - Developing and fixing processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To restrain a defective from being produced to the minimum by directly detecting the propriety of fixing processing and issuing an alarm. CONSTITUTION:Three halogen lamp heaters 540 heating a direct printing plate 14 are provided in a cover 530, and the printing plate 14 is heated by the heaters 540. A temperature sensor 566 is set on the downstream side of the heater 540 in a carrying direction so as to detect the temperature of the printing plate 14 in a non-contact state. The sensor 566 is connected to a controller 570, so that the detected temperature is transmitted to the controller 570. The controller 570 is connected to an alarm device 572. In the case the detected temperature transmitted from the sensor 566 is lower than temperature required for fixing processing, display that fixing becomes faulty is performed by the device 572.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing and fixing processing apparatus for heating and fixing a printing plate having an image forming surface formed of a photoconductive photoreceptor after development.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a drawing device for forming an electrostatic latent image,
A printing plate provided with a developing and fixing processing device that develops a printing plate having an image forming surface formed of a photoconductive photoreceptor with a liquid developer and heats and fixes the printing plate after development processing. There is a production apparatus, and the printing plate produced by this is usually called a direct printing plate. Further, as a photoconductive photoconductor of a direct printing plate used in this type of printing plate making apparatus, the wavelength range of light with high sensitivity is about 750 nm to 8 nm.
OPC (organic photoconductive) photoreceptors having a thickness of about 00 nm have been used in recent years.

In the plate making operation of this printing plate making apparatus, first, the photoconductive photosensitive member of the direct printing plate is charged to a uniform voltage by the charger of the drawing apparatus. After that, in the direct printing plate, the photoconductive photosensitive member is scanned with a laser beam (for example, a wavelength of 780 nm), and the potential of the portion hit by the laser beam is lowered to form an electrostatic latent image.

A direct printing plate on which an electrostatic latent image is formed is
In the developing section of the developing and fixing processing apparatus, development is performed with a liquid developer composed of charged toner particles and a carrier liquid. That is, the charged toner particles are attached to the image portion of the direct printing plate to visualize the electrostatic latent image. The developed direct printing plate is heated by the heating and fixing means provided in the fixing section of the developing and fixing processing apparatus, and the toner particles are melted and fixed to the direct printing plate.

Conventionally, a halogen lamp heater has been used as a heating and fixing means in the fixing section of a developing and fixing processing apparatus of this type because the temperature rises quickly and a high temperature can be obtained.

[0006]

By the way, it is known that the halogen lamp heater deteriorates over time due to its use, the heating temperature lowers, and finally the wire breaks.
Therefore, heating of the direct printing plate becomes insufficient, and a large number of defective products may occur in the direct printing plate. Therefore, a spare halogen lamp heater has been prepared and replaced as needed.

From the above-mentioned circumstances, it has been considered to prevent the generation of defective products by previously determining an appropriate replacement time of the halogen lamp heater according to the life of the halogen lamp heater. Specifically, a running test of the halogen lamp is performed, and the time during which the ability to fix is maintained is indirectly obtained by an experiment, and the time considering the safety factor is used as a guide for the replacement time of the halogen lamp heater. .

However, in this case, the life of the halogen lamp heater is experimentally obtained, and a large number of defective direct printing plates may be produced due to the variation in the quality of the halogen lamp heater from lot to lot, or the halogen lamp heater may still be used. The disadvantage is that the halogen lamp heater must be replaced.

Further, in order to more appropriately determine the replacement time of the halogen lamp heater, the illuminance of the halogen lamp heater or the temperature in the vicinity of the halogen lamp heater is
It is also conceivable that, for example, a sensor arranged for each halogen lamp heater is used to notify the operator of the time when the detected value does not satisfy the predetermined illuminance or temperature as the replacement time.

However, also in this case, when a large number of halogen lamp heaters are installed, the sensors must be arranged correspondingly, which increases the cost of the apparatus and also during the work of making a direct printing plate. When the sensor detects a decrease in illuminance or the like, a work time for replacing the halogen lamp heater is required, which has a drawback that the plate making work must be stopped. Further, if the sensor detects the illuminance and the like, the quality of the fixing process is indirectly determined as in the method of estimating the replacement time of the halogen lamp heater, and it is difficult to make a reliable determination. It also has drawbacks.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention directly detects the quality of the fixing process in order to effectively use the heater in accordance with the life of the heater, and issues an alarm to minimize the generation of defective products, and also promptly It is an object of the present invention to provide a developing and fixing processing device that enables a plate manufacturing operation.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a developing and fixing apparatus for heating and fixing a printing plate which is conveyed in a state where an image forming surface formed of a photoconductive photoreceptor is developed. And a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the printing plate immediately downstream from the heater in the transport direction of the printing plate with respect to the heater and immediately after being heated and fixed by the heater, and detected by the temperature sensor. A control means for judging whether the fixing process is good or bad by comparing the generated temperature with a predetermined temperature, and the control means connected to the control means and when the printing plate has not reached the temperature necessary for the fixing process. And an alarm generating means for issuing an alarm when instructed by.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a developing and fixing processing apparatus, wherein a heater for heating and fixing a printing plate which is conveyed in a state where an image forming surface formed of a photoconductive photosensitive member is subjected to development processing, and the heater. A temperature sensor that is located on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the printing plate and that detects the temperature of the printing plate immediately after being heated and fixed by the heater, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is determined in advance. The control means for judging the quality of the fixing process by comparing the temperature with the determined temperature, and the control means when the printing plate is not located at the temperature required for the fixing process and is located along the conveyance path of the printing plate. A preliminary heater which is started to raise the temperature of the printing plate.

[0014]

The operation according to claim 1 will be described below.

A printing plate having an image forming surface formed of a photoconductive photoconductor is conveyed in a state of being developed and heated by a heater to be fixed. Further, the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the printing plate immediately after being heated and fixed.

Further, the control means compares the temperature detected by the temperature sensor with a predetermined temperature to judge the quality of the fixing process, and when the temperature required for the fixing process is not reached, an alarm generating means is issued. Is instructed by the control means to issue a fixing failure warning.

Therefore, even if the heating temperature is lowered or the wire is disconnected and heating is insufficient due to deterioration of the heater with time, the heater can be immediately replaced, and defective printing plates can be minimized. It becomes possible.

The operation according to claim 2 will be described below. A printing plate having an image forming surface formed of a photoconductive photoconductor is conveyed in a state of being developed and heated by a heater to be fixed. Further, the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the printing plate immediately after being heated and fixed.

Further, the control means judges the quality of the fixing process by comparing the temperature detected by the temperature sensor with a predetermined temperature, and if the temperature required for the fixing process is not reached, the preliminary heater is operated. It is activated by the control means to raise the temperature of the printing plate.

For this reason, even if the heating temperature is lowered or disconnected due to the deterioration of the heater with time and the heating is insufficient, the preliminary heater is immediately started to maintain the heating temperature required for the fixing process. It

[0021]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 9 show an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which a developing and fixing processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, and the present embodiment will be described based on these drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, a direct printing plate 14 as a printing plate used in this embodiment is a thin plate electrophotographic printing plate, and a photoconductive photosensitive layer is formed on one surface of a conductive support 28. The image forming surface 30 is formed. The conductive support 28 is made of an aluminum material and has a thickness of about 0.3 mm. Further, the conductive support 28 has a boundary surface with the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 subjected to a hydrophilic treatment. In this embodiment, an organic photoconductive photosensitive member is used as the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the electrophotographic plate making apparatus 10 which is the printing plate making apparatus to which the present invention is applied, the drawing section 16 is arranged on the upstream side of the direct printing plate 14 in the conveying direction. The plate discharge unit 12 is arranged in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 3 of the drawing unit 16. In the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 3 of the plate discharge unit 12, a developing / fixing processing unit 18 as a developing / fixing processing device, an elution processing unit 22, a drying unit 117, and a standby unit 118 are sequentially arranged, and the standby unit 118 in FIG. A puncher portion 24 and a plate bending portion 26 are arranged in the direction opposite to the arrow B direction.

(Drawing Unit 16) As shown in FIG. 4, a carriage 32 on which the direct printing plate 14 is placed is movably provided on a guide stand 31 of the drawing unit 16.
2 can be moved in the arrow A direction and the direction opposite to the arrow A direction in FIG. In the direct printing plate 14, the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 is on the upper side, and the direction moved by the conveying means is the longitudinal direction.
It is placed on the carrier 32 (see FIG. 3).

Further, a charger 34 for positively charging the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 of the direct printing plate 14 is provided at the center of the guide 31. The charger 34 shown in FIG.
An exposure unit 36 is arranged on the arrow A direction side. The exposure unit 36 is equipped with a semiconductor laser (not shown),
An image portion of the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 after charging is irradiated with a laser beam (wavelength is 780 nm, for example) to scan and expose the image. The drawing unit 16 is provided with a holding claw (not shown) that discharges the exposed direct printing plate 14 to the plate discharging unit 12. The drawing unit 16 is covered with a cover (not shown) to prevent outside light from entering the inside.

(Plate Discharging Section 12) The plate discharging section 12 is provided with a conveyor device (not shown), and conveys the exposed plate material 14 to the developing and fixing processing section 18 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The plate discharge unit 12 is also covered with a cover (not shown) like the drawing unit 16 so that outside light does not enter the inside.

(Developing and Fixing Processing Section 18) Developing and Fixing Processing Section 1
8 is provided with a belt conveyor 126 (not shown in FIG. 3) as a conveying means for conveying the direct printing plate 14 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The upstream side of the printing plate 14 in the conveying direction (arrow A in FIG. 3).
From the side opposite to the direction) from the developing unit 38 to the squeeze unit 4
0, a drying unit 42, a fixing unit 44, and a cooling unit 300 are sequentially arranged. The developing unit 38, the squeeze unit 40, the drying unit 42, the fixing unit 44, and the cooling unit 300 are covered with a cover (not shown) to prevent outside light from entering the inside.

(Developing Section 38) As shown in FIG. 1, the developing section 38 is provided with a hollow frame 446 having openings at both ends on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14. Has been.

The frame body 446 is positioned such that the downstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14 is located below the upstream side and is inclined about 7 ° with respect to the horizontal. The frame body 446 is formed of an insulating material such as resin, and the developing electrode 4 is formed on the upper surface of the inner wall.
42 is attached. Developing electrode 442 and frame 446
A developing chamber 447 is provided between the developing chamber and the bottom of the developing chamber.

The plus side of the power source 445 is connected to the developing electrode 442. Further, below the upstream side and the downstream side of the frame body 446, a pair of ground terminals 448 connected to the negative side of the power source 445 are arranged. These ground terminals 448 come into contact with the conductive support 28 of the direct printing plate 14 when the direct printing plate 14 passes through the developing chamber 447.

A liquid feed nozzle 449 is arranged above the developing electrode 442 on the upstream side, and the developing liquid stored in a developer tank (not shown) during the developing process is passed through the liquid feed nozzle 449 to the developing chamber. 447.

As the developing solution used in this embodiment, a known developing solution can be used. Examples of the developing solution include JP-B-35-5511, JP-B-35-13424, JP-B-50-40017, JP-B-49-98634, JP-B-58-129438, JP-A-61-180248, and the basis of electrophotographic technology. The developer disclosed in Application (edited by The Electrophotographic Society, Corona Publishing Co., Ltd. (1988)) and the like can be mentioned.

These developing solutions are generally a carrier liquid, a colorant for forming toner particles, a coating agent made of a polymer resin for imparting fixability to the colorant, accelerating dispersion of toner particles, or stabilizing dispersion. And a charge control agent for controlling the polarity and charge amount of the toner particles.

A squeeze roller pair 422 for squeezing out the excess developer adhering to the direct printing plate 14 is disposed downstream of the developing electrode 442. The squeezing roller pair 422 is rotated by a driving unit (not shown), and holds the direct printing plate 14 from the front and back sides and horizontally conveys it in the direction of arrow A.

A developing solution receiver 450 is disposed below the squeezing roller pair 422, and the squeezed developing solution is collected in a developing solution tank (not shown) via the developing solution receiver 450. Further, an evaporation prevention cover 454 is arranged above the developing solution receiver 450 so that the developing solution vapor does not scatter to the surroundings.

When the liquid developer is applied to the exposed direct printing plate 14, the electrostatic latent image on the direct printing plate 14 becomes visible. The development in the developing unit 38 is performed by reversal development, and the positively charged direct printing plate 14 is developed with toner having a positive charge. Further, the portion of the direct printing plate 14 to which the toner is attached becomes lipophilic. (Squeeze Section 40) The squeeze section 40 is provided with an air knife 455 and a blower 456. The air knife 455 and the blower 456 are used as the squeezing roller pair 422.
Air is jetted to the surface of the direct printing plate 14 carried out from the. The blower 456 is a direct printing plate 14
The air is sucked from the downstream side to the upstream side in the conveying direction. (Belt Conveyor 126) A belt conveyor 126 is arranged downstream of the squeeze unit 40. The belt conveyor 126 is provided with a pair of rotating shafts 510 and 512 spaced apart by a predetermined dimension in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, and an endless belt 125 is wound around these rotating shafts 510 and 512. . One of the rotary shafts 510 and 512 is rotated in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1 by a motor (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a portion of the belt conveyor 126 closer to the squeeze portion 40 is a drying portion 42, and warm air is blown to the direct printing plate 14 above the squeeze portion 40 of the belt conveyor 126. An end dryer 459 and a dryer 458 for blowing air are provided. The end dryer 459 blows warm air to the vicinity of the end of the direct printing plate 14, and the dryer 458 blows warm air over the entire width direction of the direct printing plate 14.

As shown in FIG. 1, the edge pressing roller 528 is located at a position corresponding to the side end portion 15 of the direct printing plate 14 on the upstream side and the downstream side in the carrying direction of the direct printing plate 14 with respect to the dryer 458. Is provided.
The edge pressing roller 528 is made of a material having insulating properties such as ceramic and abrasion resistance, and is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 6, the edge pressing roller 528 comes into contact with the non-image forming area 14A (hatched portion in FIG. 6) provided in a constant width around the upper surface of the direct printing plate 14, but the image area Is placed in a position that does not touch
During transport, it contacts the direct printing plate 14 and rotates.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fixing unit 44 is disposed downstream of the edge pressing roller 528 in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14. As shown in FIG. 7, the fixing unit 44 includes a box-shaped cover 530. The vertical wall 5 on the side opposite to the arrow A direction of the cover 530
A notch is formed in 32 for escape of the belt conveyor 126, and a thick plate member 536 is attached to the outside of this notch. A notch is also formed in the vertical wall 534 on the arrow A direction side, and a thick plate member 538 is attached to the outside of the notch.

Inside the cover 530, three halogen lamp heaters 540 as heat fixing means for heating the direct printing plate 14 are provided in this embodiment, and normally, three halogen lamp heaters 540 are used. The direct printing plate 14 is heated. Further, a spare halogen lamp heater 541 is arranged on the right side of the three halogen lamp heaters 540 on the downstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14.

These halogen lamp heaters 540, 5
Reference numeral 41 is an elongated pipe shape, and the longitudinal direction thereof is arranged along a direction (direction of arrow B in FIG. 7) orthogonal to the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14. Further, the halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541 are provided at both ends thereof with the structure shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8 which is an enlarged view of a main part of the halogen lamp heaters 540A and 541, the light emitting portions 540A and 541A are provided.
Electrode portions 540B and 541B each having a slightly smaller outer diameter are provided, and a wiring 558 extends from the respective electrode portions 540B and 541B to the power supply side (not shown). Therefore, power is supplied from the power source through the wiring 558 and the electrode portions 540B and 541B, and the light emitting portions 540A and 541A of the halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541 emit light.

However, the halogen lamp heater 541 is
It is connected to a power supply via a control device 570 which is a control means, and is energized from the power supply side in response to a command from the control device 570.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, a pair of support plates 550 are attached to the top plate 530A of the cover 530 via the columns 543.
And four brackets 552 are respectively attached from these support plates 550 for mounting the halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541.
4, the base end sides of a pair of leaf springs 554 and 556 are planted on the lower surfaces of the brackets 552, respectively, as shown in FIG. On the lower side of the pair of leaf springs 554 and 556, semi-circular curved portions 554A and 556A that are located to face each other.
Are formed, and the halogen lamp heaters 540, 5 are formed.
41. Cylindrical electrode parts 540B, 54 located at both ends of 41
The halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541 can be fixed by sandwiching 1B between the curved portions 554A and 556A and the elastic force of the pair of leaf springs 554 and 556, respectively.

Further, in the cover 530, four reflectors 542A made of an aluminum electropolishing material and each having a parabolic cross section cover the upper sides of the four halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541, respectively. It is located in The lower ends of the four reflectors 542A are connected to each other to form an integral reflector 542, and both ends of the integral reflector 542 are covered by the cover 5.
It is screwed in 30. Therefore, these reflectors 5
42 are halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541, respectively.
The infrared rays emitted by will be reflected downward.

A cover 530 covering the upper part of the reflector 542A.
The top plate 530A is provided with a blower fan 544 for introducing outside air, and the blower fan 544 causes the internal air to flow downward, so that the reflector 542 and the electrode parts 540B and 541B of the halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541 are disposed. To be cooled.

Since the reflection plate 542 integrally covers the four halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541, the direct blowing plate 544 is directly attached to the direct printing plate 14 located below the halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541. It won't hit the wind.

Further, although not shown, in the developing and fixing processing section 18, a current breaker and a halogen lamp heater 5 for shutting off current when the halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541 are overheated due to a failure of the blower fan 544 and the like.
40, 541 has a wire breakage detection sensor for detecting the wire breakage of the heater by measuring the current flowing to the heater. The wire breakage detection sensor is connected to the control device 570, and the information on the presence or absence of wire breakage is provided to the control device 570. Ready to send.

The direct printing plate 14 is sandwiched between the cover 530 and the endless belt 125 of the belt conveyor 126 on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the direct printing plate 14 to suppress the flapping of the direct printing plate 14. An upstream-side transport roller 562 and a downstream-side transport roller 564 for transporting while being rotatably mounted are rotatably mounted, and these transport rollers 562 and 564 are respectively connected to driving means (not shown).

Further, these transport rollers 562, 564
A temperature sensor 566, which is, for example, an infrared radiation type thermometer, is installed between them so that the temperature of the direct printing plate 14 passing between the transport rollers 562 and 564 can be detected in a non-contact manner.

The temperature sensor 566 is connected to the control device 570 in the developing and fixing processing section 18, and the information on the detected temperature is sent to the control device 570. Further, the control device 570 is connected to an alarm device 572 that is an alarm generation unit including a buzzer, an alarm lamp, and the like, and has a temperature necessary for the fixing process of the direct printing plate 14 in advance (for example, a temperature of 80 ° C.). Is input and the detected temperature sent from the temperature sensor 566 is lower than the temperature required for the fixing process, the alarm device 572 notifies the operator that the fixing is defective, and The controller 570 energizes the halogen lamp heater 541 to maintain the heating temperature required for the fixing process. Even if a signal from the disconnection detection sensor indicates that there is a disconnection,
An alarm device 572 notifies the operator that the fixing has failed, and the halogen lamp heater 54
1 is energized to maintain the heating temperature required for the fixing process. (Cooling Unit 300) As shown in FIG. 9, a saucer 312 is disposed below the cooling unit 300.
A spray bed 31 that guides the direct printing plate 14 conveyed from the fixing unit 44 in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
4 is provided.

Each of the spray beds 314 has an L-shaped cross section with a vertical wall portion 314A on the upstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14, and has a predetermined gap along the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14. They are spaced apart and parallel to each other.

Further, a water absorption pipe 318 is erected from the bottom of the tray 312. This water absorption pipe 318
Is bifurcated near the bottom of the saucer 312,
One is further branched into three, and the tip portion 318A of each branch portion
Are arranged along the lower portions of the three spray beds 314, respectively. The other side of the water absorption pipe 318 is branched into two at the upper part of the three spray beds 314,
The tip portions 318B of the respective branch portions are arranged along the gaps between the three spray beds 314, respectively.

On the upper surface of the tip portion 318A of the water absorption pipe 318, the axial direction of the tip portion 318A (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 9).
Circular through holes 320 are formed at predetermined intervals along the above, and circular through holes 322 coaxial with the through holes 320 are formed in the upper wall portion 314B of the spray bed 314. On the other hand, circular through holes 324 are formed at predetermined intervals in the lower portion of the tip end 318B of the water absorption pipe 318 along the axial direction of the tip end 318B (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 9), and the spray nozzles Has been done. A squeeze roller 326 is provided on the downstream side of the cooling unit 300, and the direct printing plate 14 passes between the squeeze rollers 326.

The water suction pipe 318 penetrates the bottom of the tray 312 and extends downward, and reaches the cooling water tank 328. Cooling water is filled in the cooling water tank 328, and this cooling water is pumped up into the water absorbing pipe 318 by the pump 330.

At the bottom of the tray 312, the recovery pipe 33 is provided.
The other end of the recovery pipe 332 reaches the cooling water tank 328, and the cooling water of the tray 312 can be recovered in the cooling water tank 328. . A filter 334 is provided in the middle of the recovery pipe 332 to remove foreign matter in the cooling water.

(Elution Processing Section 22) The elution processing section 22 includes
As shown in FIG. 3, an alkaline solution is applied to the direct printing plate 14 to elute the photoconductive photoreceptor layer in the non-image portion of the direct printing plate 14 (that is, the non-image portion other than the portion where the toner image is formed). Elution section 48, squeeze section 50 for removing the excess alkaline solution adhering to direct printing plate 14, water washing section 52 for washing the squeezed direct printing plate 14 with water to remove the alkaline solution, and water-washed direct printing plate 1
4. A gum solution applying section 54 for applying the gum solution to the No. 4, a drying section 117 for drying the direct printing plate 14 coated with the gum solution, and a plurality of carrying rollers (not shown) for nipping and carrying the direct printing plate 14 Is provided.

(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 opposite to the arrow B direction in FIG.

(Puncher section 24) The puncher section 24 has a punch (not shown) for forming a notch for positioning the direct printing plate 14 during plate mounting and the direct printing plate 14
A conveyor device (not shown) that conveys the sheet to the plate bending section 26 is provided.

(Plate Bending Section 26) 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. In the drawing unit 16, the unexposed direct printing plate 14 has the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30 facing upward and the longitudinal direction along the transport direction.
Carrier plate 32 mounted on the table and on which the direct printing plate 14 is mounted
Is moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4 by a driving device (not shown). 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 where 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
The sheet is clamped at its end by a clamping claw (not shown), conveyed to the plate discharge section 12, and then discharged from the plate discharge section 12 to the developing and fixing processing section 18.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the developing and fixing processing section 18, in the direct printing plate 14, the positively charged toner particles in the liquid developer in the developing section 38 are the photoconductive photosensitive layer 30.
Attached to the exposed areas of.

When the direct printing plate 14 reaches the squeeze portion 40, an air knife 455 is formed on the surface of the direct printing plate 14.
Air is blown from the surface, and the excess developer adhering to the surface is removed. Further, the blower 456 sucks air from the downstream side of the direct printing plate 14 in the transport direction toward the upstream side.

Next, the direct printing plate 14 is placed on the belt conveyor 126, conveyed in the direction of arrow A, and the drying section 42.
Leading to. Direct printing plate 14 conveyed to the drying unit 42
The toner moistened with the warm air of the dryer 458 is dried. Further, the direct printing plate 14 is conveyed from the drying section 42 to the fixing section 44. Direct printing plate 1 in fixing unit 44
When 4 is reached, the direct printing plate 14 is heated by receiving infrared rays from the halogen lamp heater 540.

As a result, the toner attached to the direct printing plate 14 is melted, fixed and fixed. Further, the temperature sensor 566 detects the temperature of the direct printing plate 14 immediately after being heated and fixed. At this time, the transport roller 56
Since 2, 564 suppress the fluttering of the direct printing plate 14 and convey the direct printing plate 14 while blocking the light, it is possible to detect the temperature with high accuracy.

Then, the control device 570 causes the temperature sensor 5 to
The temperature detected by 66 is compared with a predetermined temperature to judge the quality of the fixing process. If the temperature required for the fixing process has not been reached, the alarm device 572 causes the controller 570 to operate.
The control device 570 starts the energization of the spare halogen lamp heater 541 to raise the temperature of the direct printing plate 14 as well.

As a result, the halogen lamp heater 540
Even if the heating temperature is lowered or becomes insufficient due to disconnection due to deterioration with time or the like, the halogen lamp heater 541 is immediately started to maintain the heating temperature necessary for the fixing process. The operator can know from the warning that the fixing has failed. Therefore, only one sheet of the direct printing plate 14 determined not to have reached the temperature required for the fixing process has poor fixing, and the halogen lamp heater 540 has reached the end of its life with a margin after completion of the work. Can be exchanged. When replacing the halogen lamp heater 540, as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 8, the halogen lamp heater 540 is pulled downward to remove the electrode portion 540B from the pair of leaf springs 554 and 556, and a new halogen As shown by the arrow A, the lamp heater 540 is pushed upward to lift the pair of leaf springs 55.
The electrode portion 540B is sandwiched between 4, 556.

As described above, not only the halogen lamp heater can be effectively used according to the life of the heater, but also defective products of the direct printing plate 14 can be minimized, and a quick plate manufacturing operation can be performed.

The predetermined temperature for determining the quality of the fixing process is not the temperature during the fixing process of the direct printing plate 14, but the temperature decrease due to the conveyance after the fixing process is taken into consideration. It is necessary to examine and determine the relationship between the transport speed and the distance to the temperature sensor 566 and the temperature drop.

The direct printing plate 14 after the fixing process is
After that, the direct printing plate 14 transported to the cooling unit 300 and transported to the cooling unit 300 is transported along the spray bed 314 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 9, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Further, the optical sensor 316 allows the direct printing plate 1 to be printed.
4 is detected, the control device 317 causes the pump 33
0 is activated. As a result, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 328 is pumped up, the cooling water is sprayed from the through hole 320 of the leading end portion 318A to the direct printing plate 14, and the direct printing plate 14 is also fed through the through hole 324 of the leading end portion 318B. Be sprayed on. Therefore, the direct printing plate 14 is quickly cooled.

The cooling water sprayed on the direct printing plate 14 is collected in the tray 312, foreign matters are removed by the filter 334 provided in the recovery pipe 332, and returned to the cooling water tank 328. Then, the squeeze roller 326 squeezes the cooling water from the direct printing plate 14 and conveys it to the elution processing unit 22.

The direct printing plate 14 conveyed to the elution processing section 22 is sandwiched by conveyance rollers, conveyed into the elution section 48 and immersed in the alkaline solution. In the direct printing plate 14 dipped in the alkaline solution, the photoconductive photoreceptor layer 30 without toner adhered thereto, that is, the non-image area is eluted. By this elution process, direct printing plate 1
In the area of No. 4 where 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 treatment, the direct printing plate 14 is squeezed by the squeeze unit 50, which is sandwiched between the conveying rollers and the alkaline solution adhering to the surface thereof. The squeezed direct printing plate 14 is conveyed to the water washing section 52, and the washing water is sprayed on it. When the direct printing plate 14 is conveyed and reaches the gum solution applying section 54, the gum solution is jetted and the gum solution is applied to the direct printing plate 14.

After the gum treatment, the direct printing plate 14 is conveyed, and when the direct printing plate 14 reaches the drying section 117, the gum solution attached to the direct printing plate 14 is dried by hot air. As a result, the non-image portion of the direct printing plate 14 (portion to which toner is not attached) is made hydrophilic.

As shown in FIG. 3, the direct printing plate 14 processed by the elution processing unit 22 is temporarily waited by the waiting unit 118, and then sent to the puncher unit 24 through a plate inspection work and the like, and is sent by a punch (not shown). A notch for positioning at the time of plate hanging is formed.

The direct printing plate 14 having the notches for positioning formed in the puncher portion 24 is bent at a predetermined size at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the direct printing plate 14 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.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 10 shows a developing and fixing processing section of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which a developing and fixing processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied, and this embodiment will be described based on this drawing. To do. The same members as those described in the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicate description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, three halogen lamp heaters 540 are provided inside the cover 530. Further, a spare halogen lamp heater 54 is sandwiched between the transport rollers 562, 564 and the temperature sensor 566.
1 is arranged on the right side of the three halogen lamp heaters 540 on the downstream side in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14.

Also, these halogen lamp heaters 54
0, 541 and the transport rollers 562, 564, etc.
Partition plates 580 are installed to partition the halogen lamp heater 540, the transport rollers 562, 564, and the halogen lamp heater 541. Further, the top plate 530A above the halogen lamp heater 541 is provided with a blower fan (not shown) similar to the blower fan 544, and blows above the reflection plate 542A.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. This embodiment operates in the same manner as the first embodiment, but since the preliminary halogen lamp heater 541 is located downstream of the temperature sensor 566 in the transport direction of the direct printing plate 14, the direct printing is not sufficiently heated. The plate 14 can be heated again, and the direct printing plate 14 which causes poor fixing is not generated.

In the first and second embodiments, the halogen lamp heaters 540 and 541 are used as the heating and fixing means of the direct printing plate 14, but the kind of heater is not limited to these embodiments. Absent. Further, the number of the halogen lamp heaters 540 is three and the number of the halogen lamp heaters 541 is one, but the number of the heaters is not limited to these examples.

Further, in this embodiment, the photoconductive photosensitive layer 3 is used.
Direct printing plate 0 formed of an organic conductive photoreceptor
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the photoconductive photosensitive layer may be formed of another type of photoconductive photosensitive member such as an inorganic conductive photosensitive member.

[0084]

As described above, the developing and fixing processing apparatus of the present invention directly detects the quality of the fixing processing so that the heater can be effectively used according to the life of the heater. Therefore, an alarm is issued and a defective product is generated. Has an excellent effect that the printing plate manufacturing work can be carried out quickly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a developing and fixing processing section of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which a developing and fixing processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a direct printing plate used in an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which the developing and fixing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an arrangement of processing units of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which the developing and fixing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a drawing unit of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which the developing and fixing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a developing and fixing processing section of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which the developing and fixing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the vicinity of an edge pressing roller showing a state where a direct printing plate is placed on a belt conveyor of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which the developing and fixing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a fixing portion of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which the developing and fixing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of an essential part in the vicinity of a fixing portion of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which the developing and fixing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied, and is a view for explaining replacement work of a halogen lamp heater. is there.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a cooling unit of the electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which the developing and fixing processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a developing and fixing processing section of an electrophotographic plate making apparatus to which a developing and fixing processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 direct printing plate (printing plate) 18 developing and fixing processing section (developing and fixing processing apparatus) 38 developing section 30 photoconductive photoreceptor 540 halogen lamp heater 541 halogen lamp heater (preliminary heater) 566 temperature sensor 570 control device (control means) 572 Alarm device (alarm generating means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heater for heating and fixing a printing plate which is carried in a state where an image forming surface formed of a photoconductive photoreceptor is developed, and a printing plate carried to the heater. A temperature sensor which is located on the downstream side in the direction and which detects the temperature of the printing plate immediately after being heated and fixed by the heater, and comparing the temperature detected by the temperature sensor with a predetermined temperature. Control means for judging quality of processing, and alarm generating means connected to the control means and issuing an alarm when instructed by the control means when the printing plate has not reached the temperature necessary for the fixing processing. A developing and fixing processing device characterized by the above. 2. A heater for heating and fixing a printing plate, which is carried in a state where an image forming surface formed of a photoconductive photoreceptor is developed, and a printing plate carried to the heater. A temperature sensor which is located on the downstream side in the direction and which detects the temperature of the printing plate immediately after being heated and fixed by the heater, and comparing the temperature detected by the temperature sensor with a predetermined temperature. The control means for judging the quality of the processing and the temperature of the printing plate which is located along the conveyance path of the printing plate and is started by the control means when the printing plate has not reached the temperature necessary for the fixing process. A developing / fixing processing apparatus comprising: