Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6463853
-
Patent Number
6,463,853
-
Date Filed
Thursday, September 14, 200023 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, October 15, 200221 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 101 477
- 101 4151
- 101 378
- 101 3821
- 101 383
- 101 216
- 101 DIG 36
- 101 485
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A scroll compressor has a pair of interleaved scrolls. An Oldham coupling is attached to the orbiting scroll to prevent of the orbiting scroll. This Oldham coupling has keys that are sliding received in slots. One side of each key is loaded while the opposite side is non-loaded. The non-loaded side of the key has stepped or profiled surface to provided clearance to allow deflection of the key. In another embodiment, the stepped or profiled surface is provided on the non-loaded side of the slot.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a plate exchanging apparatus and method in a rotary printing press, which automatically removes an,old plate from a plate cylinder and setting a new plate on the plate cylinder.
As a plate exchanging apparatus of this type, one is generally disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-77968. The plate exchanging apparatus disclosed in this reference has a cassette which is swingably supported by frames and has a new plate setting unit for setting a new plate and an old storage unit for storing an old plate, and an actuator for reciprocating the cassette between a plate mounting position and a retreat position. In this arrangement, when the cassette is moved from the retreat position to the plate mounting position by the actuator, the distal end of the cassette opposes the plate fixing unit of the plate cylinder. When the plate cylinder rotates almost one revolution from this state, an old plate whose leading and trailing edges are released from the plate fixing unit of the plate cylinder is stored in the old plate storage unit of the cassette.
In the conventional plate exchanging apparatus described above, however, the old plate may contact the inner surface of the old plate storage unit during the storage of the old plate in the old plate storage unit, thereby damaging the surface of the old plate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a plate exchanging apparatus and method in a rotary printing press, which can prevent damage to the surface of an old plate during plate removal and bending of the old plate, thereby reliably reusing the old plate.
In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, there is provided a plate exchanging apparatus in a rotary printing press for removing an old plate unfixed from a plate cylinder having a plate fixing unit and setting a new plate on the plate cylinder by the plate fixing unit, comprising first control means for executing a full-automatic plate exchanging mode to automatically remove the old plate from the plate cylinder and automatically set the new plate on the plate cylinder using plate holding means, and second control means for executing a semi-automatic plate exchanging mode to remove the old plate from the plate cylinder by a combination of automatic and manual operations and set the new plate on the plate cylinder by a combination of automatic and manual operations.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a view showing the schematic structure of a whole rotary printing press according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a view seen from the arrow II of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a view seen from the arrow III of
FIG. 2
;
FIG. 4
is an enlarged side view of the driver of the plate holder shown in
FIG. 3
;
FIG. 5
is a view seen from the arrow V of
FIG. 4
;
FIGS. 6A and 6B
are sectional views taken along the line VI—VI of
FIG. 2
;
FIGS. 7A and 7B
are sectional views taken along the line VII—VII of
FIG. 2
;
FIG. 8A
is a sectional view taken along the line VIIIA—VIIIA of
FIG. 2
, and
FIG. 8B
is a view seen from the arrow VIIIB of
FIG. 8A
;
FIG. 9
is a block diagram of the main part of the rotary printing press according to, the present invention to show its electric arrangement;
FIG. 10
is a flow chart showing selection between full-automatic plate mounting and semi-automatic plate mounting in the rotary printing press according to the present invention;
FIG. 11
is a flow chart showing the operation of full-automatic plate mounting in the rotary printing press according to the present invention;
FIG. 12
is a flow chart following
FIG. 11
to show the operation of full-automatic plate mounting;
FIG. 13
is a flow chart showing the operation of semi-automatic plate mounting in the rotary printing press according to the present invention;
FIGS. 14A and 14B
are sectional views taken along the line XIIII—XIIII of
FIG. 2
to show states in full-automatic plate exchanging operation wherein a new plate is set on the plate holder and a plate catch is opened, respectively;
FIGS. 15A and 15B
are sectional views taken along the line XIIII—XIIII of
FIG. 2
to show states in full-automatic plate exchanging operation wherein a safety cover is opened and the plate holder is moved to the second position, respectively;
FIGS. 16A and 16B
are sectional views taken along the line XIIII—XIIII of
FIG. 2
to show states in full-automatic plate exchanging operation wherein an old plate is removed and a new plate is inserted in the plate fixing unit of a plate cylinder, respectively;
FIGS. 17A and 17B
are sectional views taken along the line XIIII—XIIII of
FIG. 2
to show states in full-automatic plate exchanging operation wherein the new plate is set on the plate cylinder and the safety cover is closed, respectively;
FIGS. 18A and 18B
are sectional views taken along the line XIIII—XIIII of
FIG. 2
to show states in semi-automatic plate exchanging operation wherein the safety cover is closed and opened, respectively;
FIGS. 19A and 19B
are sectional views taken along the line XIIII—XIIII of
FIG. 2
to show states in semi-automatic plate exchanging operation wherein the fixed old plate is unfixed from the plate fixing unit of the plate cylinder and the old plate is being removed, respectively;
FIGS. 20A and 20B
are sectional views taken along the line XIIII—XIIII of
FIG. 2
to show states in semi-automatic plate exchanging operation wherein the new plate is being inserted in the plate fixing unit of the plate cylinder and the new plate is set on the plate cylinder, respectively; and
FIG. 21
is a sectional view taken along the line XIIII—XIIII of
FIG. 2
to show a state in semi-automatic plate exchanging operation wherein the safety cover is closed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1
schematically shows the structure of a rotary printing press according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to
FIG. 1
, a double-sided sheet-fed rotary printing press
1
is schematically comprised of a sheet feed unit
2
, four printing units
3
A to
3
D for face side printing lined up on the upper side, four printing units
4
A to
4
D for reverse side printing lined up on the lower side, and a delivery unit
5
.
The sheet feed unit
2
has a conventional widely known sucker unit (not shown) for feeding out sheets
11
stacked on a sheet pile plate
10
to a feeder board
12
one by one. Each sheet
11
fed out to the feeder board
12
is gripped by the grippers of a transfer cylinder
13
of the first-color printing unit
3
A by a swing unit (not shown) provided at the distal end of the feeder board
12
.
Each of the four printing units
3
A to
3
D for face side printing has a plate cylinder
15
on which a plate is set, a blanket cylinder
16
in contact with the plate cylinder
15
, and an impression cylinder
17
in contact with the blanket cylinder
16
and having a diameter twice that of the blanket cylinder
16
. An inker
18
for storing an inking device is provided above the plate cylinder
15
. The sheet
11
gripped by the grippers of the transfer cylinder
13
is then transferred to the grippers of the impression cylinder
17
and gripped by them. While the sheet
11
is being conveyed between the blanket cylinder
16
and impression cylinder
17
, first-color printing is performed on its face side.
Each of the four printing units
4
A to
4
D for reverse side printing has a plate cylinder
20
on which a plate is set, a blanket cylinder
21
in contact with the plate cylinder
20
, and an impression cylinder
22
in contact with the blanket cylinder
21
and having a diameter twice that of the blanket cylinder
21
. An inker
23
for storing an inking device consisting of a group of a large number of rollers (not shown) is provided below the plate cylinder
20
.
The sheet
11
is transferred from the grippers of the impression cylinder
17
of the face side printing unit
3
A to the grippers of the impression cylinder
22
of the reverse side printing unit
4
A and gripped by them. While the sheet
11
is being conveyed between the impression cylinder
22
and blanket cylinder
21
, first-color printing is performed on its reverse side. After that, second- to fourth-color printing operations are sequentially performed on the face and reverse sides of the sheet
11
by the face side printing units
3
B to
3
D and reverse side printing units
4
B to
4
C.
The sheet
11
gripped by the grippers of the impression cylinder
22
of the fourth-color reverse side printing unit
4
D is transferred to a gripper unit provided to a gripper bar extending between the pair of right and left delivery chains of the delivery unit
5
, and gripped by them. The sheet
11
gripped by the gripper unit is conveyed by the delivery chains and released from the gripper unit by a cam mechanism. Thus, the sheet
11
falls on a sheet pile plate
24
and is piled there.
As shown in
FIG. 3
, a leading edge plate clamp
25
and trailing edge plate clamp
26
are provided in a notch formed in the outer surface of the plate cylinder
20
. The two clamps
25
and
26
have bottom clamping rails
25
a
and
26
a
and gripper boards
25
b
and
26
b
, respectively. A pair of reference pins
27
lined up in the axial direction of the plate cylinder
20
vertically stand on the upper surface of the bottom clamping rail
25
a
of the leading edge plate clamp
25
. The reference pins
27
engage with a pair of notches
7
formed in the leading edge of a new plate P
2
to position the new plate P
2
in the circumferential and widthwise directions. The arrangement of the cylinders and the plate clamp units described above are not different from those of a conventional widely known double-sided sheet-fed rotary printing press.
A plate mounting unit in the sheet-fed rotary printing press, which is employed by each of the reverse side printing units
4
A to
4
D will be described with reference to
FIGS. 2
to
21
. Plate inserting apparatuses employed by the respective printing units
4
A to
4
D have completely the same structure, and accordingly only the plate mounting unit employed by the printing unit
4
A will be described.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, the printing unit
4
A has a pair of opposing frames
30
, and a pair of chain guides
31
are fixed to the inner sides of the upper portions of the frames
30
. A pair of chains
32
are supported by the chain guides
31
to be vertically slidable, and a plurality of elongated blocking plates
33
horizontally extend between the chains
32
.
As shown in
FIG. 3
, a safety cover
34
formed by the plurality of blocking plates
33
is driven by sprockets
35
to open/close the front surface of the plate cylinder
20
. The teeth of each sprocket
35
oppose the inside of the corresponding blocking plate
33
. More specifically, the teeth of the sprockets
35
mesh with the chains
32
, and the sprockets
35
are rotated clockwise or counterclockwise in
FIG. 3
by a safety cover drive motor
87
(
FIG. 9
) which drives in the forward/reverse directions. When the sprockets
35
rotate clockwise, the safety cover
34
moves upward to open the front surface of the plate cylinder
20
. When the sprockets
35
rotate counterclockwise, the safety cover
34
moves downward to close the front surface of the plate cylinder
20
. A pair of reference pins
36
stand vertically from a lowermost blocking plate
33
A of the plurality of blocking plates
33
. The reference pins temporarily position the plate before holding.
A plate inserting apparatus
40
will be described with reference to
FIGS. 2
to
5
. Referring to
FIG. 5
, the plate inserting apparatus
40
is comprised of a plate holder
41
for holding the new plate P
2
by drawing by suction its leading edge, a pair of guide rails
42
serving as posture changing means to guide the plate holder
41
, and actuators
43
for moving the plate holder
41
.
Each actuator
43
is constituted by a first actuator
43
A for the plate holder and second actuator
43
B for the plate holder. The rear portions of the two actuators
43
A and
43
B are connected and fixed to each other. The driving states, i.e., the operative state (ON) and the inoperative state (OFF), of the actuators
43
A and
43
B are combined to selectively position the plate holder
41
at three points A, B, and C described later.
The plate holder
41
has an elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has two rows of a large number of suction pads
45
on its front surface. Suction air from a suction pump
86
(
FIG. 9
) is supplied to the suction pads
45
as a negative pressure. As shown in
FIG. 4
, a pair of blind hole-type fitting insertion holes
46
are formed in the rear surface of the plate holder
41
. Spherical sliding bearings,
47
are fixed to the openings of the fitting insertion holes
46
. As shown in
FIG. 5
, two pairs of rollers
48
are rotatably supported at the right and left ends of the plate holder
41
.
The pair of guide rails
42
respectively have a pair of guide grooves
50
with a U-shaped section. As shown in
FIG. 5
, the guide rails
42
are fixed to the inner sides of the right and left frames
30
such that the guide grooves
50
face each other. As shown in
FIG. 4
, each guide rail
42
is comprised of a lower straight portion
42
a
extending substantially vertically, a curved portion
42
b
with one end connected to the straight portion
42
a
, and an upper straight portion
42
c
connected to the other end of the curved portion
42
b
and inclined obliquely upward toward the plate cylinder
20
.
As shown in
FIG. 16B
, the inclination of the straight portion
42
c
is set such that it is substantially the same as that of the upper surface of the bottom clamping rail
25
a
of the leading edge plate clamp
25
which is positioned at a predetermined position when inserting the new plate. When the rollers
48
of the plate holder
41
are engaged in the guide grooves
50
of the guide rails
42
, the plate holder
41
is movably supported to be guided by the guide grooves
50
.
Referring to
FIG. 5
, a pair of round rod-shaped driving levers
52
stand between the central portion and the ends of a driving shaft
51
rotatably supported between the frames
30
. The distal ends of the driving levers
52
are slidably and inclinably coupled to the spherical sliding bearings
47
of the plate holder
41
. That is, the plate holder
41
is swingably supported by the driving levers
52
to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the levers. The two ends of the driving shaft
51
project outwardly from the frames
30
. One end of each of a pair of intermediate levers
53
is fixed to the corresponding projecting end of the driving shaft
51
. The other end of each intermediate lever
53
is fixed with a rotor
54
, and the rotor
54
is fixed to the rod of the corresponding first actuator
43
A. The distal ends of the rods of the second actuators
43
B are fixed to the frames
30
.
Referring to
FIG. 4
, when the rods of the two actuators
43
A and
43
B are at the retreat position, the plate holder
41
is positioned at the point A of the straight portion
42
a
of each guide rail
42
. At the point A, the suction surfaces of the suction pads
45
are substantially vertical and substantially leveled with the front surface of the blocking plate
33
A so that the new plate P
2
can be set on the plate holder
41
. The posture of the plate holder
41
in this state is defined as the first posture at which the new plate P
2
is to be set on the plate holder
41
, and the point A is defined as the first position. When the plate holder
41
is in the first posture, the new plate P
2
, the leading edge of which is drawn by suction with the suction pads
45
, also becomes vertical. The plate holder
41
positioned at the first position is located immediately under the lowermost blocking plate
33
A of the closed safety cover
34
, as shown in FIG.
3
.
When the rod of each first actuator
43
A is moved forward, the driving shaft
51
pivots clockwise in FIG.
4
through the corresponding rotor
54
and intermediate lever
53
, and the plate holder
41
is positioned at the point B of the curved portion
42
b
of each guide rail
42
. At the point B, the suction surfaces of the suction pads
45
of the plate holder
41
are inclined from the horizontal plane by an angle α, as shown in
FIG. 16A
, and the leading edge of the new plate P
2
drawn by suction with the suction pads
45
is also inclined by the angle α. In this state, the leading edge of the new plate P
2
to be drawn by suction with the suction pads
45
is retreated from an old plate removal port
62
to open the front side of the old plate removal port
62
. An old plate P
1
can accordingly be removed from the old plate removal port
62
. The posture of the plate holder
41
at this time is defined as the second posture that enables removal of the old plate P
1
, and the point B is defined as the second position.
When the rod of each second actuator
43
B is also moved forward, the driving shaft
51
pivots further clockwise in
FIG. 4
, and the plate holder
41
is positioned at the point C of the straight portion
42
c
of each guide rail
42
. When the plate holder
41
is positioned at the point C, the upper surface of the bottom clamping rail
25
a
of the leading edge plate clamp
25
of the plate cylinder
20
is located on the extension of the suction surfaces of the suction pads
45
, as shown in FIG.
16
B. The posture of the plate holder
41
at this time is defined as the third posture that enables insertion of the new plate P
2
between the bottom clamping rail
25
a
and gripper board
25
b
, and the point C is defined as the third position.
Referring to
FIG. 4
, the plate holder
41
is slidably supported by each driving lever
52
. While the plate holder
41
moves along the straight portion
42
a
and straight portion
42
c
of each guide rail
42
, when each driving lever
52
pivots, the plate holder
41
moves in the radial direction of this pivot movement as well. Thus, the pivot movements of the driving shaft
51
and driving lever
52
are converted into the linear movement of the plate holder
41
along the straight portions
42
c
and
42
a.
In this manner, the plate holder
41
can be moved along the straight portions
42
a
and
42
c
of the guide rails
42
without using link mechanisms or cam mechanisms having a complicated structure, and the pivot movements of the driving shaft
51
and driving levers
52
are converted into the linear movement of the plate holder
41
. The number of components is therefore reduced, and the structure is simplified.
A stationary cover and a plate removal cover will be described with reference to
FIGS. 2
,
3
,
6
A,
6
B,
7
A, and
7
B. Referring to
FIG. 3
, a plate removal cover
55
is arranged immediately under the plate holder
41
positioned at the first point A. As shown in
FIG. 2
, the plate removal cover
55
is fixed to a stationary cover
57
at its lower end through a pair of hinges
56
, and can fall to the inside of the printing press about the hinges
56
as the pivot center, as shown in FIG.
6
B. In the normal state, the plate removal cover
55
is supported vertically.
As shown in
FIG. 3
, the stationary cover
57
is comprised of a front plate
58
, horizontal plate
59
, and rear plate
60
, and has a crank-shaped section. The two ends of the stationary cover
57
are attached to the inner sides of the frames
30
. An ink fountain
23
a
of the inking device stored in the inker
23
is provided below the horizontal plate
59
. To supply ink to the ink fountain
23
a
, an opening
58
a
is formed below the front plate
58
of the stationary cover
57
.
As shown in
FIG. 6A
, the lower ends of a pair of cover opening/closing actuators
61
are pivotally mounted on the rear surface of the front plate
58
of the stationary cover
57
, and the distal ends of rods
61
a
of the cover opening/closing actuators
61
are pivotally mounted on the rear surface of the plate removal cover
55
. When the rods
61
a
move forward, the plate removal cover
55
pivots counterclockwise about the hinges
56
as the pivot center to close the front surface of the printing unit
4
A. When the rods
61
a
move backward, the plate removal cover
55
pivots clockwise about the hinges
56
as the pivot center, as shown in FIG.
6
B. The front surface of the printing unit
4
A is thus opened to form the old plate removal port
62
.
Referring to
FIGS. 2 and 6A
, a guide member
63
is comprised of a guide
63
a
formed by bending a rod into a U shape, and a pair of legs
63
b
formed by bending the two ends of the guide
63
a
at the right angle to support it in the cantilevered manner. Of the guide member
63
, the legs
63
b
stand vertically at one end of the upper portion of the stationary cover
57
, and the guide
63
a
extends horizontally parallel to the stationary cover
57
at a predetermined distance from it toward the central portion of the stationary cover
57
. Thus, the old plate P
1
held by a plate catch member (to be described later) is removed from the open end of the guide
63
a.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, a pair of rectangular windows
64
are formed in the two ends of the front plate
58
of the stationary cover
57
. Referring to
FIGS. 2
,
7
A, and
7
B, a pair of elongated rectangular fitting insertion holes
65
are formed in the two ends of the horizontal plate
59
of the stationary cover
57
.
Referring to
FIGS. 2 and 7A
, link members (link mechanisms)
66
respectively have upper ends pivotally mounted on levers
67
fixed to the rear surface of the plate removal cover
55
, and lower ends pivotally mounted on flat plate-like plate approach regulating members
68
. The plate approach regulating members
68
have proximal ends pivotally supported by the rear surface of the front plate
58
of the stationary cover
57
. In the state of
FIG. 7A
wherein the plate removal cover
55
closes the old plate removal port
62
, the plate approach regulating members
68
are horizontally supported so that their swing end sides are parallel to the fitting insertion holes
65
. From this state, when the plate removal cover
55
pivots clockwise in
FIG. 7B
about the hinges
56
as the pivot center through a predetermined angle smaller than 90°, the plate approach regulating members
68
pivot clockwise through 90° through the link members
66
about their proximal ends as the pivot center, so that they pass through the fitting insertion holes
65
to close the upper portion of the opening
58
a.
Referring to
FIGS. 2
,
8
A, and
8
B, plate pushout members
70
oppose the rear sides of the windows
64
. The lower ends of the plate pushout members
70
are fixed to the pivot shafts of plate pushout actuators
71
fixed to the front plate
58
of the stationary cover
57
. When the pivot shafts of the plate pushout actuators
71
pivot counterclockwise in
FIG. 8A
, the plate pushout members
70
also pivot counterclockwise to project to the outside of the front plate
58
through the windows
64
.
A plate catch structure will be described with reference to
FIGS. 2
,
3
and
14
. Referring to
FIGS. 2 and 3
, a bracket
74
with a crank shape when seen from the side surface horizontally extends between the lower ends of the frames
30
, and has an upper surface
74
a
and lower surface
74
b
. A flat plate-like plate catch
75
has an elongated rectangular shape when seen from the front surface, and has a lower end connected to the lower surface
74
b
of the bracket
74
through hinges
76
. The plate catch
75
is supported to be pivotal about the hinges
76
as the pivot center to open/close the lower portion of the opening
58
a.
A pair of support members
77
are provided to the two ends of the front surface of the plate catch
75
. Refection type photosensors
77
a
directed toward the inside of the plate catch
75
are attached to the rear portions or near the rear portions of the support members
77
. A pair of plate catch driving actuators
78
are pivotally mounted on the upper surface
74
a
of the bracket
74
, and the distal ends of rods
78
a
of the actuators
78
are pivotally mounted on the rear surface of the plate catch
75
. When the rods
78
a
of the actuators
78
are moved backward, the plate catch
75
pivots clockwise in
FIG. 3
about the hinges
76
as the pivot center to close the lower portion of the opening
58
a
. When the rods
78
a
of the actuators
78
are moved forward, the plate catch
75
pivots counterclockwise in
FIG. 3
about the hinges
76
as the pivot center to open the lower portion of the opening
58
a.
As shown in
FIG. 14A
, when the plate catch
75
is closed, as the leading edge of the new plate P
2
is to be drawn by suction with the suction pads
45
of the plate holder
41
, the support members
77
support the trailing edge of the new plate P
2
, as will be described later. From this state, when the plate catch
75
is opened as shown in
FIG. 14B
, the trailing edge of the new plate P
2
separates from the support members
77
, and abuts against the distal end of the plate catch
75
to be supported by it. At the same time, the trailing edge of the removed old plate P
1
is supported by the rear surface of the plate catch
75
, as will be described later.
FIG. 9
shows the main part of the rotary printing press. Referring to
FIG. 9
, the rotary printing press has a full-automatic plate mounting button
80
, a semi-automatic plate mounting button
81
, a plate suction button
82
for operating the suction pump
86
, and a plate catch button
83
for operating the actuators
78
. A plate mounting start button
84
automatically removes the old plate and starts the operation of supplying the new plate in the full-automatic plate exchanging mode. An operation button
85
drives leading and trailing edge plate clamp opening/closing actuators
89
and
90
in order to supply the new plate P
2
in the semi-automatic plate exchanging mode. A drive motor
88
rotates all the cylinders of the printing press. When exchanging the plate, the drive motor
88
rotates the plate cylinder
20
for a predetermined amount in the forward/reverse directions. A control unit
91
controls the operations of the actuators and the like described above upon operation of the buttons described above.
The actuator
89
serves to open/close the leading edge plate clamp. When the actuator
89
is operated, the leading edge cam shaft (not shown) of the leading edge plate clamp
25
in
FIG. 3
pivots in the forward/reverse directions by a predetermined amount through a lever (not shown). When the leading edge cam shaft pivots, the gripper board
25
b
swings to grip and release the leading edge of the plate with the bottom clamping rail
25
a
. When the trailing edge plate clamp actuator
90
is operated, the trailing edge cam shaft (not shown) of the trailing edge plate clamp
26
in
FIG. 3
pivots in the forward/reverse directions by a predetermined amount through a lever. When the trailing edge cam shaft pivots, the gripper board
26
b
swings to grip and release the trailing edge of the plate with the bottom clamping rail
26
a.
The operation of changing the plate full-automatically will be described with reference to
FIGS. 10
,
11
,
12
, and
14
A to
17
B.
As shown in
FIG. 14A
, the first and second actuators
43
A and
43
B are set inoperative to position the plate holder
41
at the first position. The full-automatic plate mounting button
80
is turned on to select full-automatic plate exchanging mode (step S
1
in FIG.
10
). In
FIG. 14A
, the trailing edge of the new plate P
2
is placed and supported on the support members
77
of the plate catch
75
, and the leading edge of the substantially vertical new plate P
2
is set on the suction pads
45
of the plate holder
41
from the outside of the guide
63
a
of the guide member
63
(step S
3
in FIG.
11
). Hence, the notches
7
of the new plate P
2
engage with the reference pins
36
of the lowermost blocking plate
33
A of the safety cover
34
. At this time, since the new plate P
2
is deflected between the support members
77
and reference pins
36
, its notches
7
are pushed by the reference pins
36
so that the new plate P
2
is reliably positioned before set by the plate holder
41
.
Then, the plate suction button
82
is turned on (step S
4
) to operate the suction pump
86
(step S
5
). The leading edge of the new plate P
2
is drawn by suction with the suction pads
45
of the plate holder
41
, so that the new plate P
2
is held by the plate holder
41
. At this time, the suction force of the suction pump
86
is adjusted to such a degree that the new plate P
2
is drawn by suction to be slidable with respect to the suction pads
45
. When the plate catch button
83
is turned on (step S
6
), the actuators
78
are operated to move the rods
78
a
forward (step S
7
).
Hence, as shown in
FIG. 14B
, the plate catch
75
is opened, and the trailing edge of the new plate P
2
is unfixed from the support members
77
. The new plate P
2
is accordingly supported on the distal end of the plate catch
75
in a slightly inclined state. The holding operation of the new plate P
2
is thus completed. At this time, since the leading edge of the new plate P
2
is held by the plate holder
41
and the trailing edge thereof is supported on the distal end of the plate catch
75
, the rear surface of the upper portion of the new plate P
2
covers the removal path of the old plate P
1
(to be described later) which is to be removed from the old plate removal port
62
.
When the plate mounting start button
84
is turned on (step S
8
), the safety cover drive motor
87
is driven in the forward direction (step S
9
), and the sprockets
35
rotate clockwise, as shown in FIG.
15
A. Hence, the safety cover
34
moves upward to open the front surface of the plate cylinder
20
, and the reference pins
36
of the blocking plate
33
A disengage from the notches
7
of the new plate P
2
.
The actuators
61
are then operated (step S
10
) to pivot the plate removal cover
55
such that its upper end falls toward the plate cylinder
20
, thereby opening the old plate removal port
62
. Simultaneously, as the plate removal cover
55
falls, the plate approach regulating members
68
pivot through the link members
66
. The pivoting plate approach regulating members
68
close the upper portion of the opening
58
a
. The first actuators
43
A are operated (step S
11
) to position the plate holder
41
at the point B as the second position, as shown in FIG.
15
B. At the second position, the plate holder
41
is switched to the second posture that allows removal of the old plate P
1
, as described above.
The drive motor
88
is driven in the reverse direction (step S
12
) to pivot the plate cylinder
20
in the reverse direction by a predetermined amount. When the plate cylinder
20
stops (step S
13
), the actuator
89
is operated (step S
14
) to open the leading edge plate clamp
25
of the plate cylinder
20
, thereby releasing the gripped leading edge of the old plate P
1
. Subsequently, the plate cylinder
20
pivots in the reverse direction by a predetermined amount and stops (steps S
15
and S
16
). After that, the actuator
90
is operated (step S
17
) to open the trailing edge plate clamp
26
of the plate cylinder
20
, thereby releasing the gripped trailing edge of the old plate P
1
. Subsequently, when the plate cylinder
20
rotates in the reverse direction (step S
18
), the trailing edge of the old plate P
1
is unfixed from the plate cylinder
20
and is guided by the plate removal cover
55
, so that the old plate P
1
is removed outside the printing press through the old plate removal port
62
.
As shown in
FIG. 16A
, when the old plate P
1
is removed, its trailing edge is guided downward along the inner side of the guide
63
a
of the guide member
63
. The leading edge of the old plate P
1
disengages from the leading edge plate clamp
25
, and the trailing edge of the old plate P
1
is supported by the plate catch
75
. At this time, since the trailing edge of the old plate P
1
is detected by the photosensors
77
a
, it is confirmed that the old plate P
1
is stored in the plate catch
75
, and the control unit
91
stops rotation of the plate cylinder
20
upon reception of output signals from the photosensors
77
a
(step S
19
). In this manner, since completion of removal of the old plate P
1
is detected by the photosensors
77
a
, the next new plate P
2
can be supplied safely and reliably.
At this time, the leading edge plate clamp
25
faces the end faces of the straight portions
42
c
of the guide rails
42
. When the actuators
43
B are operated (step S
20
), the plate holder
41
moves to the straight portion
42
c
of each guide rail
42
, as shown in
FIG. 16B
, and is positioned at the third point C. The inclination of the straight portion
42
c
and the inclination of the upper end face of the bottom clamping rail
25
a
of the leading edge plate clamp
25
become substantially equal, and the upper end face of the bottom clamping rail
25
a
is located on the extension of the suction surfaces of the suction pads
45
of the plate holder
41
positioned by the straight portions
42
c
. Hence, the leading edge of the new plate P
2
drawn by suction with the suction pads
45
is inserted between the bottom clamping rail
25
a
and gripper board
25
b.
At this time, the plate holder
41
is positioned at the third point C such that the notches
7
of the new plate P
2
are pushed by the reference pins
27
. When the notches
7
of the new plate P
2
engage (come into contact) with the reference pins
27
, the plate holder
41
pushes the new plate P
2
toward the reference pins
27
, while sliding on the new plate P
2
, against the suction force of the suction pads
45
. Therefore, the notches
7
of the new plate P
2
are further urged against the reference pins
27
, and the new plate P
2
is positioned to face the leading edge plate clamp
25
. Subsequently, the actuator
89
is operated (step S
21
), and the leading edge of the new plate P
2
is gripped between the gripper board
25
b
and bottom clamping rail
25
a.
Regarding insertion of the new plate P
2
to the leading edge plate clamp
25
, since the guide rails
42
have the curved portions
42
b
in addition to the straight portions
42
c
that serve for plate insertion, the guide rails
42
do not project between the adjacent printing units more than necessary. Thus, the plate holder
41
positioned at a position other than the third position where the new plate P
2
is to be inserted does not project between the adjacent printing units. As a result, the work space between the adjacent printing units is not narrowed, and the workability of maintenance and inspection is improved.
Since the guide rails
42
have the straight portions
42
a
serving to set the new plate, the suction surfaces of the suction pads
45
of the plate holder
41
positioned at the first position become vertical. Hence, in the operation of holding the new plate P
2
with the suction pads
45
, since the new plate P
2
can also be set in the vertical state by its own weight and drawn by suction with the suction pads
45
, it can be set on the plate holder
41
easily. Since the new plate P
2
is held by the plate holder
41
only at its leading edge, the plate holder
41
itself can be downsized.
When the suction pump
86
becomes inoperative (step S
22
), the new plate P
2
drawn by suction with the suction pads
45
of the plate holder
41
is released. Therefore, the new plate P
2
is held only by the leading edge plate clamp
25
. Subsequently, the plate cylinder
20
pivots in the forward direction by a predetermined amount and stops (steps S
23
and S
24
). After that, the actuator
90
is operated (step S
25
) to grip the trailing edge of the new plate P
2
with the gripper board
26
b
and bottom clamping rail
26
a
, and the new plate P
2
is set on the plate cylinder
20
, as shown in FIG.
17
A. Both the first and second actuators
43
A and
43
B become inoperative (step S
26
), and the plate holder
41
is moved from the third position to the first position along the guide rails
42
and positioned there, as shown in FIG.
17
B.
Then, the actuators
61
become inoperative (step S
27
), and the plate removal cover
55
closes the old plate removal port
62
. When the actuators
71
are operated (step S
28
), the plate pushout members
70
project from the windows
64
of the stationary cover
57
, and the leading edge of the removed old plate P
1
is pushed by the plate pushout members
70
to the outside of the stationary cover
57
. The motor
87
is then driven in the reverse direction (step S
29
) so that the safety cover
34
moves downward to close the front surface of the plate cylinder
20
.
The operator manually removes the old plate P
1
(step S
30
), and turns off the plate catch button
83
(step S
31
). Thus, the actuators
78
become inoperative (step S
32
), and the plate catch
75
pivots to close the lower portion of the opening
58
a
. Simultaneously, the actuators
71
become inoperative, and the plate pushout members
70
are stored in the stationary cover
57
.
The operation of exchanging the plate in the semi-automatic manner will be described with reference to
FIGS. 10
,
13
, and
18
A to
21
.
If the full-automatic plate mounting button
80
is not turned on but the semi-automatic plate mounting button
81
is turned on (step S
2
in FIG.
10
), semi-automatic plate exchanging mode is selected. When the plate mounting start button
84
is turned on (step S
40
), the motor
87
is driven in the forward direction (step S
41
). Hence, from the closed state shown in
FIG. 18A
, the safety cover
34
moves upward, as shown in
FIG. 18B
, to open the front surface of the plate cylinder
20
. The plate cylinder
20
pivots in the reverse direction by a predetermined amount and stops (steps S
42
and S
43
). After that, the actuator
89
is operated (S
44
) to open the leading edge plate clamp
25
of the plate cylinder
20
, so that the gripped leading edge of the old plate P
1
is released.
When the plate cylinder
20
pivots in the reverse direction by a predetermined amount and stops (steps S
45
and S
46
), the trailing edge plate clamp opening/closing actuator
90
is operated (step S
47
) to open the trailing edge plate clamp
26
of the plate cylinder
20
, so that the gripped trailing edge of the old plate P
1
is released. When the plate cylinder
20
subsequently rotates in the reverse direction (step S
48
), the trailing edge of the old plate P
1
is unfixed from the plate cylinder
20
, as shown in FIG.
19
A. Hence, the operator manually holds the trailing edge of the old plate P
1
, as shown in FIG.
19
B. When the plate cylinder
20
subsequently rotates in the reverse direction through
25
substantially one revolution and stops (step S
49
), the leading edge of the old plate P
1
is also unfixed from the plate cylinder
20
. Thus, the operator manually removes the old plate P
1
(step S
50
).
The operator then manually holds the new plate P
2
(step S
51
), inserts it between the bottom clamping rail
25
a
and gripper board
25
b
of the leading edge plate clamp
25
of the plate cylinder
20
, as shown in
FIG. 20A
, and turns on the operation button
85
(step S
52
). When the actuator
89
is operated (step S
53
), the trailing edge of the new plate P
2
is gripped by the gripper board
25
b
and bottom clamping rail
25
a
. When the operator turns on the operation button
85
again (step S
54
), the plate cylinder
20
pivots in the forward direction by a predetermined amount, and stops, as shown in
FIG. 20B
(steps S
55
and S
56
).
The trailing edge plate clamp actuator
90
is then operated (step S
57
) to pivot a trailing edge cam shaft
26
c
. The trailing edge of the new plate P
2
is thus gripped by the gripper board
26
b
and bottom clamping rail
26
a
, and the new plate P
2
is set on the plate cylinder
20
. The motor
87
is then driven in the reverse direction (step S
58
), so that the safety cover
34
moves downward to close the front surface of the plate cylinder
20
, as shown in FIG.
21
.
The functional block of the control unit
91
shown in
FIG. 9
will now be described. The control unit
91
in
FIG. 9
is comprised of a plate exchanging mode determination unit
91
A for determining one of the full- and semi-automatic plate exchanging modes as a selected mode in accordance with the operation of a corresponding one of the buttons
80
and
81
, a full-automatic plate mounting controller
91
B for executing the full-automatic plate exchanging mode selected by the plate exchanging mode determination unit
91
A, and a semi-automatic plate mounting controller
91
C for executing the semi-automatic plate exchanging mode selected by the plate exchanging mode determination unit
91
A.
The plate exchanging mode determination unit
91
A executes steps S
1
and S
2
in FIG.
10
. The full-automatic plate mounting controller
91
B executes steps S
5
, S
7
and S
9
to S
19
in FIG.
11
and steps S
20
to S
29
and S
32
in FIG.
12
. The semi-automatic plate mounting controller
91
C executes steps S
41
to S
49
, S
53
, and S
55
to S
58
in FIG.
13
.
In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a sheet-fed rotary printing press for printing on sheet paper. The present invention can also be applied to a web rotary printing press for printing on a web.
In steps S
6
and S
8
in the full-automatic plate mounting process in
FIG. 11
, the plate catch button
83
and the plate mounting start button
84
are manually operated. However, in steps S
3
to S
5
, the buttons
83
and
84
need not be manually operated by arranging a detecting means for detecting that the new plate P
2
is held in the plate holder
41
. The flow automatically advances to the next step. As this detecting means, a photoelectric sensor for detecting that the new plate P
2
is held in the plate holder
41
or a pressure sensor for detecting a decrease in pressure of the suction pump
86
when the suction pads
45
draw the new plate P
2
by suction can be used.
Similarly, when this detecting means may be arranged, the plate mounting start button
84
need not be manually operated in step S
40
in the semi-automatic plate mounting process in
FIG. 13
, and the safety cover drive motor
87
can be automatically driven.
As has been described above, according to the present invention, the old plate is removed while being gripped by the operator in the semi-automatic plate mounting function process. The old plate will not contact other members during plate removal. The old plate will not be damaged or bent during plate removal, thereby allowing reuse of the old plate.
Claims
- 1. A plate exchanging apparatus in a rotary printing press comprising:first control means for executing a full-automatic plate exchanging mode to automatically remove an old plate from a plate cylinder and to automatically set a new plate on said plate cylinder using a plate holding means; second control means for executing a semi-automatic plate exchanging mode to remove the old plate from said plate cylinder by a combination of automatic and manual operations and to set the new plate on said plate cylinder by a combination of automatic and manual operations; and wherein said second control means removes the old plate from said plate cylinder by rotating said plate cylinder in a plate removal direction in the state that the old plate wound around a circumferential surface of said plate cylinder is held by an operator, at least one end of the old plate being released from a plate fixing unit, and subsequently executing said semiautomatic plate exchanging mode to mount the new plate on said plate cylinder by a combination of automatic and manual operations.
- 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid first control means executes as said full-automatic plate exchanging mode an automatic plate removal mode for automatically removing the old plate and an automatic plate supply mode for automatically setting the new plate upon completion of said automatic plate removal mode, and said second control means executes as the semi-automatic plate exchanging mode a semi-automatic plate removal mode for removing the old plate by the combination of automatic and manual operations and a semi-automatic plate supply mode for setting the new plate by the combination of automatic and manual operations upon completion of said semi-automatic plate removal mode.
- 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, whereinsaid first control means continuously controls as the automatic plate removal mode at least a release operation of said plate fixing unit, a rotation of said plate cylinder, and a holding operation of the old plate, and as the automatic plate supply mode at least holding operation of the new plate by said plate holding means, operation of inserting the new plate into said plate fixing unit by said plate holding means, fixing operation of said plate fixing unit, and rotation of said plate cylinder.
- 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, whereinsaid first control means continuously controls operations including operation of forming a plate removal path as the automatic plate removal mode, and operations including operation of forming a plate supply path as the automatic plate supply mode.
- 5. The apparatus according to claim 2, whereinsaid second control means continuously controls as the semi-automatic plate removal mode at least release operation of said plate fixing means and rotation of said plate cylinder, and controls as the semi-automatic plate supply mode at least fixing operation of said plate fixing means and rotation of said plate cylinder in accordance with an input command.
- 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, whereinin the full-automatic plate removal mode, the old plate unfixed from said plate cylinder is held by a plate catch member in the plate removal path, and in the semi-automatic plate removal mode, said old plate unfixed from said plate cylinder is held by an operator.
- 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid apparatus further comprises selection means for selecting one of the full- and semiautomatic plate exchanging modes; and said first and second control means are selectively driven in accordance with an output from said selection means.
- 8. A plate mounting method in a rotary printing press comprising:selecting a plate exchanging mode from an old plate to a new plate; executing a full-automatic plate exchanging mode of automatically removing the old plate from said plate cylinder and automatically setting the new plate on said plate cylinder using plate holding means as a result of mode selection; executing a semi-automatic plate exchanging mode of removing the old plate from said plate cylinder by a combination of automatic and manual operations and setting the new plate on said plate cylinder by a combination of automatic and manual operations as a result of mode selection; and wherein said executing the semi-automatic plate exchanging mode removes the old plate from said plate cylinder by rotating said plate cylinder in a plate removal direction in the state that the old plate wound around a circumferential surface of said plate cylinder is held by an operator, at least one end of the old plate being released from a plate fixing unit, and subsequently executing said semi-automatic plate exchanging mode to mount the new plate on said plate cylinder by a combination of automatic and manual operations.
- 9. The method according to claim 8, whereinthe step of executing the full-automatic plate exchanging mode comprises the step of executing an automatic plate removal mode of automatically removing the old plate and an automatic plate supply mode of automatically setting the new plate upon completion of the automatic plate removal mode; and the step of executing the semi-automatic plate exchanging mode comprises the step of executing a semi-automatic plate removal mode of removing the old plate by the combination of automatic and manual operations and a semi-automatic plate supply mode of setting said new plate by the combination of automatic and manual operations upon completion of the semi-automatic plate removal mode.
- 10. The method according to claim 9, whereinthe step of executing the full-automatic plate exchanging mode comprises the steps of continuously controlling as the automatic plate removal mode at least release operation of said plate fixing unit, rotation of said plate cylinder, and holding operation of the old plate; and as the automatic plate supply mode at least holding operation of the new plate by said plate holding means, operation of inserting the new plate into said plate fixing unit by said plate holding means fixing operation of said plate fixing unit, and rotation of said plate cylinder.
- 11. The method according to claim 10, whereinthe step of executing the full-automatic plate exchanging mode comprises the steps of continuously controlling operations including operation of forming an plate removal path as the automatic plate removal mode; and operations including operation of forming a plate supply path as the automatic plate supply mode.
- 12. The step according to claim 9, whereinthe step of executing the semi-automatic plate exchanging mode comprises the steps of continuously controlling as the semi-automatic plate removal mode at least release operation of said plate fixing means and rotation of said plate cylinder; and controlling as the semi-automatic plate supply mode at least fixing operation of said plate fixing means and rotation of said plate cylinder in accordance with an input command.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
11-259803 |
Sep 1999 |
JP |
|
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