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JP-7854932-B2 - Punching station and method for relief plate precursors

JP7854932B2JP 7854932 B2JP7854932 B2JP 7854932B2JP-7854932-B2

Inventors

  • ワッティン， バート マーク ルック

Assignees

  • エクシス プリプレス エヌ．ブイ．

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20201008
Priority Date
20191010

Claims (20)

  1. A punching station (300) for positioning one or more through elements (110) within or through the edge portion (E) of a relief plate precursor (P), or for positioning one or more perforations within the edge portion (E), A punching means (10) comprising one or more through elements (110) or perforating elements, wherein the one or more through elements or perforating elements are configured to be positioned through or within the edge portion of the relief plate precursor, A contact means (20; 20a, 20b) is aligned with the punching means and configured to form a contact portion with the edge of the relief plate precursor, Detection means (30; 30a, 30b) for detecting whether the edge portion of the relief plate precursor is correctly positioned with respect to the contact means at two or more locations along the contact means, wherein the two or more locations include a first location and a second location, In the detection function of the detection means, a signal means (40) configured to communicate a signal to the punching means, Equipped with, The punching station is configured such that the through element (110) is positioned on a conveyor bar (110), and the punching station receives the conveyor bar at a position aligned with the contact means .
  2. The punching station according to claim 1, further comprising a signal interface or operator interface, wherein the signaling means is configured to communicate the signal to the signal interface and/or operator interface, and/or the signal interface or operator interface is configured to generate an output based on the signal that can be sensed by an operator.
  3. A punching station (300) for positioning one or more through elements (110) within or through the edge portion (E) of a relief plate precursor (P), or for positioning one or more perforations within the edge portion (E), A punching means (10) comprising one or more through elements (110) or perforating elements, wherein the one or more through elements or perforating elements are configured to be positioned through or within the edge portion of the relief plate precursor, A contact means (20; 20a, 20b) is aligned with the punching means and configured to form a contact portion with the edge of the relief plate precursor, Detection means (30; 30a, 30b) for detecting whether the edge portion of the relief plate precursor is correctly positioned with respect to the contact means at two or more locations along the contact means, wherein the two or more locations include a first location and a second location, In the detection function of the detection means, a signal means (40) configured to communicate a signal to the punching means, Equipped with, A punching station comprising a contact means having at least a movably arranged first contact portion and a second contact portion (20a, 20b), wherein the first contact portion is in a first position when the edge portion is precisely positioned at the first location and is in a second position when the edge portion is not precisely positioned, the second contact portion is in a first position when the edge portion is precisely positioned at the second location and is in a second position when the edge portion is not precisely positioned.
  4. The punching station according to claim 3, wherein the first and second contact portions (20a, 20b) are rotatable (23) from the first position to the second position, and rotatable from the second position to the first position.
  5. The punching station according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the detection means (30) comprises first and second detectors (30a, 30b) for detecting the positions of the first and second contact portions, respectively.
  6. The punching station according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the detection means comprises an optical detection means, a proximity detection means, a pressure detection means, an electrical detection means, a magnetic detection means, a mechanical detection means, an iron/non-ferrous metal detection means, or a combination thereof.
  7. The punching station according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the contact means (20) comprises a plurality of alignment pins (25) arranged in a row so as to extend along the edge portion of the relief plate precursor.
  8. The punching station according to claim 7, wherein the punching means comprises a driving means, the driving means is configured to position the one or more through elements (110) or the perforating elements through or within the edge portion of the relief plate precursor .
  9. The punching station according to claim 8, wherein the driving means comprises a hammer (310) movably positioned to engage with the edge portion of the relief plate precursor in order to position one or more through elements (110) or perforating elements through or within the edge portion of the relief plate precursor.
  10. The punching station according to claim 9, wherein the conveying bar is positioned to be positioned with the one or more through elements on one side of the edge portion, the hammer (310) is positioned to engage with the other side of the edge portion, and the hammer has one or more holes (311) corresponding to the one or more through elements.
  11. The punching station according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the contact means (20) is movably, and in particular, movably, so as to be able to move away when the drive means is activated.
  12. The punching station according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the first location and the second location along the contact means correspond to the left and right locations of the center of the edge portion of the relief plate precursor, respectively.
  13. An apparatus for processing relief plate precursors, A conveying system having at least one conveying bar, A punching station according to any one of claims 8 to 11 , configured to connect the edge of a relief plate precursor to the conveyor bar of at least one conveyor bar, A processing section configured to process the relief plate precursor, A device equipped with the following features.
  14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the transport system is configured to transport the relief plate precursor such that the leading edge of the relief plate precursor contacts the contact means, and the signaling means is configured to trigger the punching means .
  15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 14 , further comprising a separation station configured to separate the relief plate precursor from the conveyor bar, The transport system is configured to move the transport bar from the exit side of the processing section through the discharge zone to the separation station, and to discharge the relief plate precursor within the discharge zone after it has been separated from the transport bar.
  16. The apparatus according to claim 15 , further comprising a removal means configured to remove the processed relief plate precursor after it has been separated from the transport bar at the separation station.
  17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15 to 16 , The transport system comprises a forward transport mechanism configured to transport the transport bar with the coupled relief plate precursor at least from the inlet side to the outlet side of the processing section, and from the outlet side to the separation station.
  18. The apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the conveying system further comprises a bar coupling means configured to connect the conveying bar to a relief plate precursor coupled to the forward conveying mechanism.
  19. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 18 , wherein the transport system comprises a rear transport mechanism configured to transport the transport bar from the division station to the punching station.
  20. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 19 , further comprising a control unit configured to control the transport system such that at least two transport bars move simultaneously through the apparatus.

Description

[Field of Invention] The field of this invention relates to die-cutting stations, die-cutting methods, and apparatus and methods for preparing and/or processing relief plate precursors, particularly printing plate precursors. [Background] A cleaning apparatus for printing plate precursors is known. Typically, a conveyor bar is used to move the printing plate precursor through such a cleaning apparatus. For this purpose, the area of the printing plate precursor is provided with a series of through-holes in the punching station. Next, the operator connects the pre-punched printing plate precursor to a printing bar having multiple pins that can extend into the holes in the conveyor plate. Then, the conveyor bar with the connected plate is brought to the inlet side of the cleaning apparatus by the operator. The conveyor bar leaves the cleaning apparatus at the outlet side, where it is recovered by the operator who separates it from the printing plate precursor. These steps are repeated for the next printing plate precursor to be cleaned. Such a cleaning apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2018/0217502. A transport strip is attached to the flexographic printing element. For this purpose, the flexographic printing element is first perforated, and then the pins of the transport strip are positioned within the perforations. Another example of a cleaning device is disclosed in PCT application PCT/EP2019/060370 under the applicant's name. A drawback of known devices and methods is that the plates must be properly aligned and positioned in the punching station to avoid transport problems such as the plates tearing or being damaged, which would require operator intervention. overview An object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a punching station in an improved manner with less risk of misalignment for positioning one or more through elements within or through the edge portion (typically the leading edge portion) of a relief plate precursor (P), or for positioning one or more perforations in the edge portion of a relief plate precursor. According to a first aspect of the present invention, a punching station is provided for positioning one or more through elements within or through the edge portion (typically the front edge portion) of a relief plate precursor (P), or for positioning one or more perforations in the edge portion of the relief plate precursor. The punching station is intended to directly connect the edge portion to a conveyor bar provided with one or more through elements, or to position perforations or holes in the edge portion, in which case the conveyor bar may be connected to the perforated edge portion in a later step. The punching station comprises punching means, contact means, detection means, and signaling means. The punching means includes one or more through elements or perforating elements and is configured to position one or more through elements or perforating elements through or within the edge portion of the relief plate precursor. The contact means is aligned with the punching means and is configured to form a contact portion with respect to the edge of the relief plate precursor. The detection means is configured to detect at two or more locations along the contact means whether the edge portion of the relief plate precursor is precisely positioned with respect to the contact means. The signaling means is configured to communicate signals in the detection function of the detection means. By detecting whether the edge portion of the relief plate precursor is accurately positioned relative to the contact means at two or more locations along the contact means, it is possible to determine whether the entire edge portion is accurately positioned in a punchable position. Further including a signaling means that communicates a signal based on the detection by the detection means, it is possible to determine whether or not to operate the punching means using this signal. The punching means may be configured to be operated manually or automatically. For example, if the signal indicates that the edge portion is accurately positioned, the punching means may be automatically activated to perform the punching operation. Ensuring accurate punching ensures that the relief plate precursor is accurately attached to the conveyor bar, thereby avoiding tearing or other damage to the relief plate precursor. Furthermore, if the conveyor bar with the attached relief plate precursor is conveyed through the machine for processing the precursor, correct punching contributes to good alignment of the relief plate precursor while it is being conveyed through the machine. Preferably, the signal is configured to communicate the signal to the punching means. For example, the punching means is configured to automatically trigger the punching action when it receives a signal from the signal means indicating the precise positioning of the edge portion of the relief plate precursor. In another