JPH08234442A - Inclination type printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily discharge many original plates by improving the stocking capacity and performance of an original plate discharge part in an inclination type printing device. CONSTITUTION: This device is a printing device performing exposure and printing in a state where the original plate is brought into contact with photosensitive material, and is provided with a printing table 2 having an inclined surface 8 on which the original plate and the photosensitive material are placed, an exposure part 7 performing the exposure and printing by sucking and carrying the original plate and bringing the original plate into contact with the photosensitive material on the printing table 2, and a discharged original plate storage part 13 having a discharged original plate placing surface 13a on which the already exposed and printed original plate is placed on the more inside than the inclined surface 8 of the printing table 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tilt type printing apparatus,
In particular, the present invention relates to an inclined printing apparatus in which an original plate and a photosensitive material are brought into close contact with each other on an inclined table for printing, and the original plate which has been baked is discharged to a discharge section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of plate making, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-220957 discloses a printing apparatus as an apparatus for printing an image of an original plate on a photosensitive material such as a PS plate or a photosensitive film. This type of printing apparatus includes a printing table on which a photosensitive material is placed, an original plate holder that holds an original plate by suction and is movable in two directions orthogonal to each other on the baking table, and an accompanying printing plate moving along with the original plate holder. An exposure unit having a light source and an original plate supply unit for supplying the original plate to the original plate holder are provided. A plurality of original plates are positioned and stacked on the original plate supply unit. Further, in order to operate the printing apparatus unattended, the photosensitive material is automatically fed and discharged.

In the printing apparatus having the original plate supply unit and the photosensitive material supply / discharge unit, first, a large number of original plates are placed on the original plate supply unit, and the photosensitive material is set on the printing table by the photosensitive material supply / discharge unit. Then, the original plate placed on the original plate supply unit is
One by one is mounted on the original plate holder, and the photosensitive material and the original plate are brought into close contact with each other to perform exposure printing. After printing, the original plate is discharged, the photosensitive material is discharged by the photosensitive material feeding / discharging unit, and the photosensitive material is set again on the printing table.

[0004]

In the printing apparatus as described above, there is a tilting printing apparatus provided with a printing table capable of holding the original plate and the photosensitive material in an inclined standing posture in order to reduce the installation space. In this inclined printing apparatus, it is generally difficult to discharge a large number of original plates due to its structure.

This will be described in more detail. In the original plate discharging section of the conventional inclined printing apparatus, about 10 original plates can be loaded. However, if an unattended operation is performed at night, for example, several tens to 100 sheets of original plates are discharged to the discharge section. In this case, there is a problem that the loaded original plate finally falls forward and falls, or the loaded original plate is too thick and interferes with other moving parts.

Due to the above-mentioned problems, the structure of the original plate discharge part becomes a bottleneck in the automation of the inclined printing apparatus. An object of the present invention is to improve the stock capacity of the original plate discharge portion in the inclined printing apparatus so that a large number of original plates can be easily discharged.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inclined printing apparatus for exposing and printing an original plate and a photosensitive material in close contact with each other, the inclined surface on which the original plate and the photosensitive material are placed. A printing table having a sheet, an exposure part for adsorbing and transporting the original plate and exposing the original plate to the photosensitive material on the baking table for exposure and printing, and a discharge original plate mounting surface for mounting the exposed and baked original plate An original plate discharge section is provided on the back side of the inclined surface of the printing table.

Here, the original plate is conveyed onto a printing table, and the original plate is brought into close contact with the photosensitive material on the printing table, and exposure printing is performed. The original plate for which exposure and printing has been completed is conveyed from the baking table to the original plate discharging section and placed on the discharged original plate mounting surface. At this time, the discharge original plate mounting surface is formed on the back side of the inclined surface of the printing table. That is, this portion forms a storage portion that is recessed from the surface of the printing table. Therefore, even if a large number of original plates are placed on the discharge original plate placement surface, it is possible to prevent the original plates from falling forward or protruding from the surface of the printing table and interfering with the moving portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the inclined type printing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the discharge original plate mounting surface has an inclination angle less than the inclination angle of the inclination surface of the printing table. In this case, a large number of discharge original plates can be placed as described above, and the loaded original plates are less likely to fall forward. The inclined printing apparatus according to claim 3 is the apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lower end of the discharge original plate mounting surface is provided so as to project in a direction away from the discharge original plate mounting surface. It further has a receiving part for receiving the part. In this case, it becomes possible to stack a large number of original plates even when the inclination of the discharge original plate mounting surface is set to be gentle as described above.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the inclined printing apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the discharge original plate mounting surface and the receiving portion are continuously formed in a J shape. In this case, the lower end portion of the original plate placed on the original discharge plate mounting surface is supported from below and from the front, and the original discharge plate can be reliably held.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an automatic typesetting system in which an embodiment of the present invention is adopted. This automatic engraving system includes four inclined type automatic engraving machines 1 arranged in parallel, an inclined type engraving machine 40 arranged in parallel with the automatic engraving machine 1, and an automatic engraving machine 1.
And a plate conveying line 41 arranged along the arranging direction on the side of the inclined type plate-making machine 40, and a plate conveying line 41.
An ejector 44 for flat screen printing and printing plate discharge arranged at the end of, an automatic developing machine 45 arranged downstream of the ejector 44, and a pattern area meter 46 arranged downstream of the automatic developing machine 45. It is mainly composed of. The plate conveying line 41 is provided with a plate supply pallet 42 and a plate discharge pallet 43 that rotate around the horizontal axis.
Are configured to be movable along the arranging direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic platemaking machine 1 is mainly composed of a printing table 2 and an exposure section 7.
The exposure unit 7 includes a carriage 3 movable in the left-right direction of the printing table 2, a movable base 4 mounted in the carriage 3 and movable in the vertical direction, an original plate holder 5 attached to the movable base 4, and a light source unit. 6 and. The printing table 2 has an inclined surface 8 whose angle from the horizontal plane is set to, for example, 70 °. On the inclined surface 8, a rectangular printing section 9 for placing the printing plate arranged on the right side of the drawing is placed.
An original plate supply unit 10 formed at the lower left of the figure and a discharged original plate receiving unit 11 provided above the original plate supply unit 10 are provided. The original plate supply unit 10 is provided with a plurality of pairs of positioning pins 10a, 10b, 10c that can be selectively retracted. According to the size of the original plate, this pin 10a,
The original plate is positioned by either 10b or 10c. The pins 10a, 10b and 10c are designed to be retracted when the original plate is mounted. In addition, the original plate supply unit 10
Is provided with a suction groove (not shown), and a vacuum pump (not shown) is connected to the suction groove.

On the left side of the printing table 2 in the figure, a discharged original plate storage unit 13 as a original plate discharge unit for storing used original plates.
And a master plate storage unit 12 for storing a master plate to be supplied to the master plate supply unit 10 are arranged vertically. Raw plate storage unit 1
2 includes positioning pins 10a, 10 of the original plate supply unit 10.
Positioning pins 12a, 12b, 1 corresponding to b, 10c
2c is provided so that it can appear and disappear selectively. The length of this pin when advanced is such that about 100 original plates can be positioned. The discharge original plate storage section 13 has a discharge original plate mounting surface 1 having an inclination angle slightly gentler than that of the inclined surface 8.
3a, and the lower portion thereof is a receiving portion 13b formed in a substantially J shape. The discharge original plate mounting surface 13a is
It is located on the back side (rear side) of the surface of the baking table 2, and there is a step between the discharge original plate mounting surface 13 a and the surface of the baking table 2.

The carriage 3 has a carriage driving unit 31.
(FIG. 7). This carriage drive unit 31
The printing table 2 is composed of a ball screw, a motor, and the like (not shown) provided in the left-right direction. The carriage 3 is movable on the printing table 2 in the left-right direction in FIG. 2 by a ball screw that can be rotationally driven by a motor. The movable base 4 can be moved in the vertical direction of the carriage 3 by the base drive unit 32 (FIG. 7).

On the left side surface of the carriage 3, the original plate transport section 1 is provided.
4 are arranged. A plate transport unit 15 for transporting a plate is attached to the right side surface of the carriage 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the original plate transporting unit 14 is arranged on the side surface of the carriage 3 so as to project vertically to the left and right.
The pair of support arms 16a and 16b and the support arm 16
It has a suction frame 17 disposed between a and 16b so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface. The original plate transport unit 14 moves in the left-right direction as the carriage 3 moves.

A pair of guide members 18 are provided at the tips of the support arms 16a and 16b along the direction orthogonal to the plane of the drawing.
a, 18b and air cylinders 20a, 20b are arranged. Linear bearings 19 are fitted on the upper and lower surfaces of the suction frame 17 so as to be rollably fitted to the guide members 18a and 18b.
a and 19b are arranged. This guide member 18a,
18b, linear bearings 19a and 19b, and an air cylinder 20
a, 20b, the suction frame 17 is fixed to the support arm 16
It is supported so as to be movable in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface with respect to a and 16b. The movement of the suction frame 17 is performed by the retracting operation of the air cylinders 20a and 20b. As shown in FIG. 4, the rods of the air cylinders 20a and 20b are attached with the tips of L-shaped brackets 22a and 22b extending vertically from the suction frame 17.

As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of suction cups 21 for sucking and holding the original plate D are arranged on the surface of the suction frame 17 facing the printing table 2. The suction cup 21 is arranged so as to adsorb the original plate D in the vicinity of the positioning pin 12a. This is for facilitating suction of the original plate D and attachment to the positioning pin 10a in the original plate supply unit 10.

The suction cup 21 is supported by the suction frame 17 so as to be movable in the left-right direction in FIG. Further, the suction cup 21 is always biased to the left in FIG. 4 by a spring 23 arranged around the support shaft of the suction cup 21. This is to make the strokes of the air cylinders 20a and 20b constant regardless of the number of original plates D. Therefore, the air cylinders 20a and 20b are controlled at two positions, that is, the advanced position and the retracted position.

The plate transporting section 15 has substantially the same structure as the original transporting section 14, and its details are omitted. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the discharge original plate receiving section 11 includes a carrier 25, an air cylinder 26 for moving the carrier 25 in the left-right direction in FIG. 5, and a guide rail 27 for movably supporting the carrier 25. It is mainly composed of and. On the front surface of the carrier 25, four suction cups 28 are arranged at equal intervals on the left and right. The carrier 25 is arranged so as to straddle the upper surface of the printing table 2 and hold the guide rail 27. The carrier 25 is fixed to the rod end of the air cylinder 26, whereby the original plate holder 5
It can be moved between a position for receiving the used original plate adsorbed and held by and a position for discharging the original plate in the discharged original plate storage unit 13.

Next, the structure of the control system of the automatic platemaking machine 1 will be described. The automatic platemaking machine 1 has a control unit 30 shown in FIG. 7. The control unit 30 includes a ROM, a RAM and a CPU
Equipped with a microcomputer. Control unit 3
0 is connected to the discharged original plate receiving unit 11, the original plate supply unit 10, the original plate transport unit 14, the carriage drive unit 31, the gantry drive unit 32, the plate transport unit 15, the original plate storage unit 12, and the light source unit 6, respectively. . A host computer (not shown) is connected to the control unit 30 via a host interface 33. Further, the keyboard 34 and other input / output units are also connected.

Next, the control operation of the control unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
And it demonstrates based on the control flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step S1 of FIG. 8, initial settings such as moving the carriage 3 and the movable base 4 to the origin are performed.
In step S2, it is determined whether or not a setting command has been input by the host computer or the keyboard 34.
In step S3, it is determined whether or not a work command has been input. In step S4, it is determined whether another command has been input. If another command is input in step S4, the process proceeds to step S7. At step S7, another command corresponding to the command is executed.

When it is determined that the setting command is input, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S5. In step S5, setting processing according to the command is performed. For example, if the breeding program is entered from the host computer,
Any one of the positioning pins 12a, 12b, 12c of the original plate storage unit 12 is advanced in accordance with the inputted breeding program. Further, the positioning pin 10 of the original plate supply unit 10
Any one of a, 10b, and 10c is advanced.

When the work command is input, the process proceeds from step S3 to step S6. In step S6, the breeding subroutine shown in FIG. 9 is executed. In the breeding subroutine of FIG. 9, first, in step S11, the uppermost original plate among the original plates stored in the original plate storage unit 12 is sucked by the suction cup 21 of the original plate transport unit 14. At this time, the exposure unit 7 is
As shown in FIG. 0 (A), the carriage 3 is arranged at the left end and the movable base 4 is arranged at the origin position at the lower end. In step S12, the exposure unit 7 is moved to the original plate supply position shown in FIG. This original plate supply position is
This is a position where the original plate transport unit 14 faces the original plate supply unit 10.

In step S13, the suction frame 17 of the original plate transport unit 14 is moved toward the original plate supply unit 10 to set the sucked original plate on the original plate supply unit 10. When the original plate is set, the original plate supply unit 10 sucks the original plate by a vacuum pump (not shown). At the same time, the suction by the suction cup 21 is released. In this way, the original plate is supplied to the original plate supply unit 10
Supply to. When the original plate is supplied to the original plate supply unit 10, in step S14, the exposure unit 7 is moved to the plate supply position shown in FIG. 10 (C). This printing plate supply position is a position where the unexposed printing plate placed on the two-vehicle connected pallet 42 traveling on the printing plate conveying line 3 can be adsorbed. The pallets 42, 43 are preset by an unillustrated rotating mechanism at the same angle as the inclination angle (70 °) of the printing table 2.

In step S15, the unexposed printing plate placed on the pallet 42 is adsorbed. In step S16,
The exposure unit 7 is moved to the origin (FIG. 10 (A)). In step S17, mounting of the original plate supplied to the original plate supply unit 10 on the original plate holder 5 is started. In step S18, at the same time as the mounting of the original plate, the setting of the printing plate adsorbed by the printing plate conveying unit 15 on the printing unit 9 is started. In step S19, it is determined whether or not there is a next original plate in the original plate storage unit 12. By this, the termination of the breeding program can be judged. If it is determined that the next original plate is present, the process proceeds to step S20. In step S20, the next original plate stored in the original plate storage unit 12 is sucked by the original plate transport unit 14.

Here, when the exposure unit 7 is at the origin,
It is possible to suck the original plate in the original plate storage unit 12, attach the original plate in the original plate supply unit 10 to the original plate holder 5, and supply the printing plate to the printing unit 9 at once without moving the exposure unit 7. Therefore, the total time required for the operation of supplying the printing plate and the original plate is shortened, and the breeding cycle is shortened. In step S21, the exposure unit 7 is moved to the original plate supply position shown in FIG. In step S22, the original plate sucked by the original plate transport unit 14 is supplied to the original plate supply unit 10. If it is determined in step S19 that the next original plate is not in the original plate storage unit 12, the process proceeds to step S23. In step S23, the end flag is set to "1". Step S22
Alternatively, when the process in step S23 is completed, step S
Move to 24.

In step S24, the exposure unit 7 is moved in accordance with the breeding program, and the original plate and the printing plate are brought into vacuum contact with each other to perform exposure printing. In step S25, the exposure unit 7 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
It is moved to the original plate discharge origin indicated by 0 (D). The original plate discharge origin is a position where the original plate holder 5 faces the discharged original plate receiving portion 11. The position of the carriage 3 is the same as the above-mentioned origin.

When the exposure unit 7 reaches the original sheet discharge origin, the process proceeds to step S26. In step S26, the used original plate adsorbed to the original plate holder 5 is adsorbed by the carriage 25 of the ejected original plate receiving unit 11 in order to eject it, and the carriage 25 is moved to the ejected original plate storage unit 13 side, and the adsorbed used original plate is ejected. The original plate is dropped into the discharged original plate storage unit 13.
At the same time, in step S27, the exposed printing plate is adsorbed.

Here, since the exposed printing plate can be adsorbed at the time of discharging the original plate, the total time required for the discharging operation of the original plate and the printing plate is shortened. Moreover, the used printing plate can be easily discharged. In step S28, the exposure unit 7 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
It is moved to the plate supply position shown in (C). Step S2
In FIG. 9, the plate adsorbed by the plate conveying unit 15 is transferred to the pallet 43.
And then eject the printing plate.

In step S30, it is determined whether or not the end flag (step S23) is set to "1". If this is not set to "1", the processing from step S15 is repeated. If the end flag is set to "1", the process proceeds to step S31. In step S31, the end flag is reset to 0 and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

[0031]

In the inclined printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the discharge original plate mounting surface is formed on the back side of the inclined surface of the printing table, the discharge original plate mounting surface stores the discharge original plate. Forming a part. Therefore, even if a large number of original plates are placed on the discharge original plate placement surface, it is possible to prevent the original plates from falling forward or from protruding from the surface of the printing table and interfering with the moving portion.

In the inclined printing apparatus according to the second aspect, since the discharge original plate mounting surface has a gentler inclination angle than the inclined surface of the baking table, a large number of discharge original plates can be mounted. , The loaded originals are less likely to fall forward. In the inclined printing apparatus according to claim 3, since the receiving portion is provided at the lower end of the discharge original plate mounting surface so as to project in the direction away from the discharge original plate mounting surface, the inclination of the discharge original plate mounting surface is provided. Even if it is set loosely, a large number of original plates can be securely held.

In the inclined printing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, since the discharge original plate mounting surface and the receiving portion are continuously formed in a J-shape, the original plate placed on the discharge original plate mounting surface is formed. Since the lower end portion is supported from below and from the front, the discharge original plate can be reliably held.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic platemaking system adopting an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an automatic platemaking machine as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the original plate transport device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the original plate transport device.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the original plate discharging device.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the original plate discharging device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system thereof.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a main routine of a control unit.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a breeding subroutine of the control unit.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing various operating states.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic plate making machine 2 Printing table 6 Light source section 7 Exposure section 11 Discharged original plate receiving section 13 Discharged original plate storage section (original plate discharging section) 13a Discharged original plate mounting surface 13b Receiving section 14 Original plate conveying section 25 Carrier

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus for exposing and printing an original plate and a photosensitive material in close contact with each other, wherein a baking table having an inclined surface on which the original plate and the photosensitive material are placed, and the original plate are sucked and conveyed. At the same time, the exposure unit for exposing and baking the original plate to the photosensitive material on the baking table and the discharge original plate mounting surface for mounting the exposed and baked original plate on the back side of the inclined surface of the baking table. An inclined printing apparatus including: 2. The discharge original plate mounting surface has an inclination angle less than the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the printing table.
The inclined printing apparatus described in. 3. A receiving portion is provided at a lower end portion of the discharge original plate mounting surface so as to project in a direction away from the discharge original plate mounting surface, and further has a receiving portion for receiving a lower end portion of the discharge original plate. The inclined printing apparatus according to Item 1 or 2. 4. The inclined printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the discharge original plate mounting surface and the receiving portion are continuously formed in a J shape.