Patent Application
20100064921
The present invention relates to an apparatus and methods to properly align originally packed printing plate pallets into a computer-to-plate imaging device.
A variety of systems and applications use stacks of sheets or plates or both, which may be made of metal, paper, plastic, and the like. Printing plates (hereinafter singly or collectively referred to as “plates”) are typically stacked in plate pallets which house the plates and facilitates their protection, transportation, and handling.
A system for handling printing plates will generally use cassettes having specific dimensions. Cassettes can usually be set to contain plates of various sizes, but all plates in the same tray are of one size. The plates may be manually removed from the plate pallets and inserted into the cassettes for use by the plate imaging system. Plates packed in plate pallets are separated by intermediate paper sheets, hereinafter referred to as separation paper.
Cassettes containing printing plates are heavy and bulky, and moving such trays requires complicated and expensive mechanisms and is time consuming; specifically, during the loading of the plates from the plate pallets into the cassettes. There is a widely recognized need for an automatic and efficient handling system for feeding plates directly from the original plate pallet into the imaging device, while maintaining precise alignment of the plate during the plate feeding process. This need is addressed by the invention described in commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/045,058.
The plate stacks received from plate manufacturers often comprised of at least 600 plates. Each plate is separated from the next by a separation paper, and the entire stack of plates is placed on a pallet. Plates may shift or fall from their original position, during transportation of the pallet into the plate loading device or during the loading process of plates into the imaging unit. The shift can occur also during shipping of the plate stacks from the manufacturer to the end user.
The invention disclosed hereunder suggests a solution to the described problem.
Briefly, according to one aspect of the present invention an apparatus limits the movement of plates within a plate stack where the plate stack is positioned on a plate pallet during plate handling in a computer-to-plate (CTP) imaging device. The apparatus includes a plate pallet adapter configured to carry the plates stack, which is positioned on a plate pallet, and the plate pallet is positioned on a plate pallet adapter. At least one limiter is attached to at least one facet of the plate stack wherein the limiters are configured to limit movement of the plate stacks.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
The present invention describes apparatus and methods to receive a pallet of printing plates in an original manufactured form into a computer-to-plate (CTP) imaging device. The plate pallet is brought into the CTP device, using regular fork lift machinery. This process introduces inherent position inaccuracies in placing the pallet, in respect to the plate loading system. The plate loading system, on the other hand, requires high precision prerequisites. The invention disclosed hereunder bridges between these two realms. The plate pallet is consumed by an automatic pallet loading (APL) device attached to the CTP device. APL receives the bulk of plates originally packed on a pallet. The stack of plates 11 on the pallet which are brought into the APL, should be positioned and aligned precisely relative to the plate loading system, in order to allow proper plate loading functionality, directly from the pallet.
In order to secure plate stacks 11 and avoid any shift of plates or separation sheets in the stack during the various transportation stages of plate stack 11 or during the loading process of plates into the image unit, plate limiter 19 is introduced. A limiter 19 is installed on at least one facet of the plate stack 11. Limiter 19 is secured to plate pallet adapter 17 via a limiter support frame 15 and fastens plate stacks 11 from shifting by pressing on a facet of plate pallet 13 with at least one plate stack limiter 19.
Another type of a limiter is introduced in
In the stage where plate stacks 11 contain a large amount of plates and the stack needs a high limiter support, the limiter 19 or 51 will be in an open position. In an open position, as is shown in
In the stage where plate stacks 11 contains less than a certain quantity of plates, the limiter 19 or 51 will be in a closed position. In a closed position, as is shown in
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the scope of the invention.
Reference is made to commonly-assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/045,058, filed Mar. 10, 2008, entitled PLATE PALLET ALLIGNMENT SYSTEM, by Korolik et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein.
