Printing press and plate moving device

Abstract

To provide a printer and a plate movement device in which a storage space of a plate can be made compact.SOLUTION: A printer comprises: a printing unit 1A which has a plate cylinder; a plate attachment / detachment device for attaching / detaching the plate to / from the plate cylinder; a plate storage part 6 which is provided so as to be apart from the plate attachment / detachment device and stores a plate 12A; a plate holding part 4 which holds the plate 12A; movement means which moves the plate holding part 4 between the plate attachment / detachment device and the plate storage part 6; and posture change means which changes the posture of the plate by rotating the plate 12A held by the plate holding part 4 around an axial center in the thickness direction of the plate 12A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing press and a plate moving device. [Background technology]

[0002] Such a plate moving device is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, an old plate ejected from a plate cylinder is gripped by a plate gripping unit and moved to a rotational position above a step provided laterally outside the printing unit. After movement, the plate gripping unit is rotated 90 degrees to change the orientation of the old plate, and then moved to a plate storage box provided on the handrail of the step, and then the plate gripping unit is lowered. After being lowered, the gripped old plate is stored in the plate storage box, and the plate gripping unit releases its grip on the old plate, thereby storing the old plate in the plate storage box. Next, the new plate stored in the plate storage box is gripped by the plate gripping unit and moved to a rotational position above the step. After movement, the plate gripping unit is rotated 90 degrees to change the orientation of the new plate so that it is parallel to the rotation axis of the plate cylinder, and then moved to above the printing unit, where the new plate is placed on a plate loading guide plate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3045584 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, the plates used in printing presses are horizontally long, with a larger horizontal dimension than the vertical dimension. Therefore, in Cited Document 1, the plates (new and old plates) are stored in a storage box in a horizontal orientation extending from front to back in the printing unit, which requires a large storage space for the plates. For example, in a printing press equipped with multiple printing units, plate storage space must be secured for each printing unit, necessitating even larger storage space, leaving room for improvement.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing press and a plate moving device that can reduce the space required to store plates. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The printing press of the present invention is characterized by comprising a printing unit having a plate cylinder, a plate mounting / removal device for mounting / removing a plate to / from the plate cylinder, a plate storage section spaced apart from the plate mounting / removal device for storing the plate, a plate holding section for holding the plate, a moving means for moving the plate holding section between the plate mounting / removal device and the plate storage section, and an attitude changing means for rotating the plate held by the plate holding section around an axis in the thickness direction of the plate to change the attitude of the plate.

[0007] According to the above configuration, the horizontally elongated plate discharged from the plate cylinder is held by the plate holding unit, and the plate held by the plate holding unit is rotated around an axis in the thickness direction of the plate by the orientation change device, changing the orientation of the plate from horizontal to vertical, and then stored in the plate storage unit. This allows the installation space for the plate storage unit to be kept small. Furthermore, if the plate storage unit is configured to store plates in a vertical orientation, the plate held by the plate holding unit in a vertical orientation can be rotated around an axis in the thickness direction of the plate to change to a horizontal orientation and then supplied to the plate cylinder. This allows the installation space for the plate storage unit to be kept small.

[0008] In addition, in the printing press according to the present invention, the plate holding unit is configured to hold the top end of the plate in the vertical direction, and the axis around which the posture changing means rotates the plate held by the plate holding unit is positioned closer to one side in the width direction than the center of the width direction of the plate held by the plate holding unit, and when storing the plate held by the plate holding unit in the plate storage unit, it may be rotated around the axis so that the other side in the width direction is lower than the one side in the width direction.

[0009] As described above, the axis around which the position changing means rotates the plate held at the top end in the plate holding section is positioned closer to one side in the width direction than the width center of the plate held by the plate holding section, so the lower end position of the plate in the vertical position is located further downward than the lower end position of the plate in the horizontal position.

[0010] The printing press according to the present invention may further include an orientation changing means for rotating the plate held by the plate holding section about a vertical axis to change the orientation of the plate.

[0011] As described above, the orientation changing means rotates the plate held by the plate holding section about the vertical axis to change the orientation of the plate, thereby enabling the plate to be changed to an orientation that allows it to be supplied to the plate cylinder.

[0012] The printing press according to the present invention may further include a plate discharge guide section that supports the plate discharged from the plate cylinder so that the plate can be held by the plate holding section.

[0013] As described above, by supporting the discharged plate by the plate discharge guide portion, the plate can be reliably held by the plate holding portion.

[0014] In addition, the plate moving device of the present invention is installed in a printing press which has a printing unit equipped with a plate cylinder, a plate attaching / detaching device for attaching and detaching a plate to / from the plate cylinder, and a plate storage section which is spaced apart from the plate attaching / detaching device and stores the plate, and is characterized in that it comprises: a plate holding section which holds the plate, a moving means which moves the plate holding section between the plate attaching / detaching device and the plate storage section, and an attitude changing means which rotates the plate held by the plate holding section around an axis in the thickness direction of the plate to change the attitude of the plate.

[0015] According to the above configuration, the horizontally elongated plate discharged from the plate cylinder is held by the plate holding unit, and the plate held by the plate holding unit is rotated around an axis in the thickness direction of the plate by the orientation change device, changing the orientation of the plate from horizontal to vertical, and then stored in the plate storage unit. This allows the installation space for the plate storage unit to be kept small. Furthermore, if the plate storage unit is configured to store plates in a vertical orientation, the plate held by the plate holding unit in a vertical orientation can be rotated around an axis in the thickness direction of the plate to change to a horizontal orientation and then supplied to the plate cylinder. This allows the installation space for the plate storage unit to be kept small. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, a printing press and a plate moving device can be provided that can reduce the storage space for plates by providing a posture changing means that rotates the plate held by the plate holding section around an axis in the thickness direction of the plate to change the posture of the plate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view of a printing press equipped with a plate moving device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a printing press equipped with the plate moving device. [Figure 3] This shows the state in which a new plate in the plate storage section is sucked by a suction pad, (a) is a front view, and (b) is a side view of (a) seen from the left. [Figure 4] This shows the state in which the new plate, which is held by the suction pad in a vertical position, is raised and changed to a horizontal position, (a) being a front view, and (b) being a side view of (a) as seen from the left. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which the plate has been rotated around a vertical axis from the state in FIG. 4 to change its orientation so that a new plate can be inserted into the printing unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a front view of the state in which the new plate has been moved above the printing unit from the state in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state in which a new plate has been inserted into the printing unit from the state shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8]FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state in which the old plate discharged from the printing unit is supported by the plate discharge guide portion. [Figure 9] 9 is a front view showing a state in which the old plate has been sucked by the suction portion and moved above the printing unit from the state shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 10 is a front view showing a state in which the old plate has been moved to the plate storage section side from the state shown in FIG. 9 to change the orientation and posture of the plate. [Figure 11] 11 is a front view showing a state in which the plate holding unit is lowered from the state shown in FIG. 10 to store the old plate in the plate storage unit. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the part surrounded by XII in FIG. 3. [Figure 13] FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the main part in FIG. 8. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a front view showing another form of the new plate storage section for new plates. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, a printing press equipped with a plate moving device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] 1 and 2, the printing press 1 includes a paper feed section 7 for feeding out sheets (not shown) one by one, four printing units 1A to 1D for printing on the sheets from the paper feed section 7, and a paper discharge section 8 for discharging the sheets (printed materials) printed by the four printing units 1A to 1D. In the following description, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the paper feed section 7 is defined as the front side in the front-to-rear direction, the paper discharge section 8 is defined as the rear side in the front-to-rear direction, the width direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction is defined as the left-to-right direction, and the operation side is defined as the right side in the left-to-right direction, and the non-operation side is defined as the left side in the left-to-right direction.

[0020] Steps 9 and 10 are installed on both the left and right sides of the printing units 1A to 1D, extending in the front-to-rear direction along the printing units 1A to 1D. Step 9 is located on the right side (operation side), and step 10 is located on the left side (non-operation side). Steps 9 and 10 are located a predetermined distance above the floor.

[0021] Each of the printing units 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D is equipped with a plate moving device. The plate moving device includes a support column 2, an arm 3, a plate holding section 4, a plate removal guide section 5, a plate storage section 6, and a control section (not shown). Each of the printing units 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D is equipped with a plate cylinder (not shown) and a plate attaching / detaching device for attaching / detaching the plate to / from the plate cylinder. The plate is rectangular and is wound around the plate cylinder in a horizontal orientation, with the left-right dimension longer than the top-bottom dimension. The plate moving device also includes a moving means for moving the plate holding section 4 between the plate attaching / detaching device and the plate storage section 6, and this moving means is configured with the support column 2 and the arm 3.

[0022] <Strut section> The support column 2 includes a support column body 21 erected at a position spaced outward in the left-right direction from the handrail 11 of the step 10, and a first moving means 22 (see FIG. 12) for moving the arm 3 up and down along the support column body 21. The first moving means 22 is configured as a so-called ball-screw mechanism. Specifically, the first moving means 22 includes a screw shaft 23 (see FIG. 1) having a spiral ball groove formed therein and extending up and down along the support column body 21, a nut member 24 that threadably engages with the screw shaft 23 via balls (not shown) that roll freely in the ball groove, a pair of guide members 25, 25 that are arranged on both sides of the screw shaft 23 and extend up and down, and that penetrate the nut member 24 to guide the movement of the nut member 24, and a motor 26 that rotates the screw shaft 23 forward and backward. The screw shaft 23 extends from the middle of the support column body 21 in the up-down direction to the upper end. The left end of the arm 3 is supported by the nut member 24, and when the motor 26 rotates the screw shaft 23, the arm 3 moves up and down together with the nut member 24.

[0023] <Arm> The arm 3 is supported by the support column 2 so as to be movable up and down. The arm 3 extends from the support column 2 in the direction of the plate cylinder axis (left and right direction) toward the plate cylinder side (right side) of a printing unit (e.g., 1A). The arm 3 is equipped with a second movement means 31 (see FIG. 12) for moving the plate holder 4 horizontally left and right. The second movement means 31 is configured as a so-called ball screw mechanism. That is, the second movement means 31 is equipped with a screw shaft 32 having a spiral ball groove formed therein and extending left and right from one end (left end) of the arm 3 to the other end (right end), a nut member 33 that threadably engages with the screw shaft 32 via a ball (not shown) that fits freely in the ball groove, a motor 34 that rotates the screw shaft 32 forward and backward, and a bevel gear mechanism 35 (see FIG. 12) that links the motor 34 and the screw shaft 32. The bevel gear mechanism 35 includes a drive bevel gear 35A attached to the drive shaft 34A of the motor 34 so as to rotate integrally therewith, and a driven bevel gear 35B attached to the left end of the screw shaft 32 so as to rotate integrally therewith, meshing with the drive bevel gear 35A. The second moving means 31 also includes a guide mechanism for guiding the movement of the plate holding unit 4. As shown in FIG. 12 , this guide mechanism includes a pair of upper and lower guide members 36, 37 extending in the left-right direction and attached to the upper and lower ends of the nut member 33 on both vertical sides of the screw shaft 32, and twelve rollers 38 attached to the left and right ends of each guide member 36, 37, respectively, and rolling on the upper and lower end surfaces and the front and rear surfaces of the upper and lower ends of the main body of the arm unit 3 to guide the movement of the nut member 33 and the guide members 36, 37 when the nut member 33 and the guide members 36, 37 move in the left-right direction. When the motor 34 rotates the screw shaft 32 via the bevel gear mechanism 35, the nut member 33 and the guide members 36 and 37 move in the left-right direction.

[0024] <Plate holding section> The plate holding unit 4 is supported so as to be movable in the left-right direction relative to the arm unit 3. As shown in Fig. 12, the plate holding unit 4 includes a main body 43, a fourth moving means 44 fixed to the underside of the main body 43, and an adsorption unit 45 attached to the underside of the fourth moving means 44. The main body 43 is supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction via a third moving means 42 relative to a plate-shaped support member 41 extending in the front-rear direction and attached to a guide member 37 on the underside of the arm unit 3.

[0025] <Third transportation means> The third moving means 42 is configured as a so-called ball screw mechanism. That is, the third moving means 42 includes a screw shaft 46 having a spiral ball groove formed thereon and extending in the front-rear direction and supported on the lower surface of the support member 41, a nut member 47 that threadably engages with the screw shaft 46 via balls (not shown) that roll freely in the ball groove, a motor 48 that rotates the screw shaft 46 forward and reverse, and a bevel gear mechanism 49 that interlocks the motor 48 and the screw shaft 46. Note that the third moving means 42 can also be configured as a so-called feed screw mechanism in which the screw shaft 46 is a shaft member formed with a trapezoidal male thread and the nut member 47 is a member formed with a trapezoidal female thread that threadably engages with the trapezoidal male thread. The bevel gear mechanism 49 includes a drive bevel gear 49A attached to a drive shaft 48A of the motor 48 so as to be rotatable together with the screw shaft 46, and a driven bevel gear 49B that meshes with the drive bevel gear 49A and is attached to the rear end of the screw shaft 46 so as to be rotatable together with the drive bevel gear 49A. The third moving means 42 further includes a guide mechanism for guiding the forward and backward movement of the suction unit 45. As shown in Fig. 12, this guide mechanism includes a rail member 50 that is long in the forward and backward direction and is fixed to the lower surface of the support member 41, and an engagement member 51 that engages with the rail member 50 to guide the forward and backward movement of the suction unit 45. The main body 43 is attached to the lower surface of the engagement member 51. The motor 48 rotates the screw shaft 46 via a bevel gear mechanism 49, causing the main body 43 to move forward and backward.

[0026] <4th means of transportation> 12, the fourth moving means 44 is composed of an air-driven rotary actuator that rotates the suction unit 45 around an up-down axis (vertical axis) X. The suction unit 45 is attached via a fifth moving means 53 to an inverted L-shaped bracket 52 that is attached to the rotation axis of the rotary actuator. The fourth moving means 44 constitutes an orientation changing means that rotates the plate holding unit 4 that holds the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B around the vertical axis X to change the orientation of the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B.

[0027] <5th means of transportation> The fifth moving means 53 is composed of a motor with a rotating shaft. This motor is attached to the lower part of the mounting member 54 (the oblique plate portion 54B described later). The upper end of this mounting member 54 is connected to the lower end of the vertical plate portion of the bracket 52. The mounting member 54 has a vertical plate portion 54A that extends up and down and is attached to the lower end of the vertical plate portion of the bracket 52, and an oblique plate portion 54B that extends downward from the lower end of the vertical plate portion 54A. When the suction unit 45 is adsorbing the new plate 12A in the plate storage unit 6A (the state shown in FIG. 12), the oblique plate portion 54B is bent so that its lower end is inclined toward the support member 2. The rotation shaft (axis center Y) of the motor, which is the fifth moving means 53 attached to the oblique plate portion 54B, is inclined downward toward the front, with the tip end positioned downward. The inclination angle of the oblique plate portion 54B is set so that the oblique plate portion 54B is approximately parallel to the new plate 12A stored in the new plate storage unit 6A. The fifth moving means 53 constitutes a posture changing means that rotates the suction portion 45 around the axis Y which is in the thickness direction of the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B held by the suction portion 45, thereby changing the posture of the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B between a vertical posture and a horizontal posture.

[0028] <Adsorption part> The suction unit 45 can suction-hold the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B. The suction unit 45 includes a plate-shaped plate member 45A, one end of which is attached to the rotating shaft of a motor (fifth moving means 53) and the other end of which extends along the long side of the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B. Multiple suction pads 45B (three in this embodiment) are arranged at intervals along the length of the plate member 45A and suction-hold the back surface (the surface opposite the front surface on which the image is formed) of the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B. A hose (not shown) for supplying suction air (negative pressure air) is connected to each suction pad 45B. These suction pads 45B are configured to suction-hold the top edge of the new plate 12A at three locations across the width. The plate member 45A rotates around the axis Y of the rotating shaft of the motor (fifth moving means 53) to which one end (the upper end in FIG. 12) is attached. The axis Y extends in the thickness direction of the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B held by the suction portion 45 (suction pad 45B) of the plate holding unit 4. That is, the motor, which is the fifth moving means 53, rotates the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B held by the suction portion 45 (suction pad 45B) of the plate holding unit 4 around the axis in the thickness direction of the plate.

[0029] 5, the axis Y is positioned closer to one side in the width direction (left side in FIG. 5) than the center in the width direction of the upper side of the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B held by the suction pad 45B of the plate holding unit 4. The vertical axis X is also positioned closer to one side in the width direction (left side in FIG. 5, the same end side as the axis Y) than the center in the width direction of the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B. This positioning allows the fourth moving means 44 and the fifth moving means 53 to be positioned close to each other, thereby enabling the plate moving device, particularly the plate holding unit 44, to be made smaller. Furthermore, when the plate is rotated around the vertical axis X and the axis Y from the orientation in which it can be fed to the plate cylinder (see FIG. 5) to change its orientation, the position of the plate relative to the printing unit does not shift significantly in the front-to-rear direction. This allows the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B to be taken in and out at the side (directly beside) of the printing unit 1A, and the plate storage section 6 can be disposed at the side (directly beside) of the printing unit.

[0030] Furthermore, when storing the old plate 12B held by the plate holder 4 in the old plate storage unit 6B, the old plate 12B held in the horizontal orientation is rotated about the axis Y to change to a vertical orientation. Since the axis Y is positioned closer to one side of the widthwise center of the old plate 12B, the bottom end of the vertically oriented old plate 12B is positioned further downward and away from the arm 3 than the bottom end of the old plate 12B in the horizontal orientation. This allows the amount of descent of the arm 3 when moving the old plate 12B to the old plate storage unit 6B to be smaller than the amount of descent of the arm 3 when moving the old plate 12B to the old plate storage unit 6B while it is still in the horizontal orientation. Therefore, the screw shaft 23 of the first moving means 22 can be configured shorter. Furthermore, the position of the arm 3 that is lowered to move the old plate 12B in the portrait orientation to the old plate storage section 6B can be positioned higher than the position of the arm 3 that is lowered to move the old plate 12B in the landscape orientation to the old plate storage section 6B, so that clearance between the lowered arm 3 and the top surface of the printing unit can be easily ensured.

[0031] <Plate ejection guide section> As shown in Fig. 8, the plate removal guide unit 5 guides the old plate 13B that is removed from the plate cylinder by the plate loading / unloading device, and supports the old plate 12B so that the old plate 12B removed from the plate cylinder can be held by the plate holding unit 4. The plate removal guide unit 5 is supported by the tip of the arm 3 on the side opposite the support column 2, and is located above the plate loading / unloading device included in the printing unit (e.g., 1A). The plate removal guide unit 5 includes a pair of front and rear plate-like guides 13, 14 (see Fig. 10) that are connected to each other and arranged front to back so as to sandwich the upper part of the old plate 12B that is removed from the plate cylinder from the front to back, a sixth movement means 16 that moves the pair of guides 13, 14 in the vertical direction, and a rail 15 that guides the vertical movement of the guides 13, 14 by the sixth movement means 16.

[0032] As shown in Figure 13, the rail 15 includes a fixed rail 15A attached to the right end of a fixed member 17 fixed to the tip of the arm 3, and a movable rail 15B guided so as to be movable in the vertical direction relative to the fixed rail 15A. The movable rail 15B extends downward from the fixed rail 15A. The tip (lower end) of a piston rod 16b of a first left-side air cylinder 16A (described later) is connected to the lower end of a connecting plate 18 connected to the movable rail 15B. A cylinder tube 16c of a second right-side air cylinder 16B (described later) is connected to the movable rail 15B. The tip of a piston rod 16d of the second right-side air cylinder 16B is connected to the rear surface of the upper end of the rear guide 14.

[0033] 10, the rear guide 14 of the guides 13, 14 has both end legs 14A, 14A located at both left and right ends and extending downward, and a central leg 14B located in the middle between the both end legs 14A, 14A and extending downward. The front guide 13 has two left legs 13A, 13A located between the end leg 14A and the central leg 14B on one side (left side) of the rear guide 14 and extending downward while spaced apart from each other, and two right legs 13B, 13B located between the end leg 14A and the central leg 14B on the other side (right side) of the rear guide 14 and extending downward while spaced apart from each other. The lower ends of both end legs 14A, 14A and central leg 14B of the rear guide 14 and the lower ends of the four legs 13A, 13A, 13B, 13B of the front guide 13 are inclined so that they widen in the front-to-rear direction toward the bottom. By making the openings at the bottom ends of the guides 13, 14 wider in the front-to-rear direction in this way, the old plate 12B being discharged upward from the printing unit can be reliably inserted between the front guide 13 and the rear guide 14.

[0034] As shown in Figure 13, the sixth moving means 16 is composed of left and right air cylinders 16A and 16B that are extendable and have different strokes. The first air cylinder 16A on the left side, which has a relatively long stroke, includes a cylinder tube 16a fixed to a fixed member 17 fixed to the tip of the arm 3, and a piston rod 16b whose tip (lower end) is fixed to the lower end of a connecting plate 18 of the movable rail 15B. The second air cylinder 16B on the right side, which has a relatively short stroke, includes a cylinder tube 16c fixed to the upper end of the movable rail 15B, and a piston rod 16d whose tip is connected to the front surface of the upper end of the rear guide 14. Therefore, when lowering the master removal guide unit 5, the first air cylinder 16A on the left side is first extended to lower the movable rail 15B, thereby lowering the second air cylinder 16B, which is in a contracted state, and the pair of guides 13 and 14. Next, the second air cylinder 16B is extended to further lower the pair of guides 13, 14, thereby moving (lowering) the pair of guides 13, 14 to a position where they can guide and support the old plate 12B being discharged upward from the printing unit. To raise the lowered pair of guides 13, 14, the extended second air cylinder 16B is first contracted to raise the pair of guides 13, 14 by the stroke of the second air cylinder 16B. Then, the extended first air cylinder 16A is contracted to raise the movable rail 15B, thereby integrally raising the contracted second air cylinder 16B and the pair of guides 13, 14 (see FIG. 9). Note that the extension of the first air cylinder 16A and the second air cylinder 16B when lowering the pair of guides 13, 14 may be performed simultaneously. Furthermore, when the pair of lowered guides 13, 14 are raised, the first air cylinder 16A and the second air cylinder 16B may be retracted simultaneously.

[0035] <Plate storage section> The plate storage section 6 includes a new plate storage section 6A (shown in Figures 1 to 3) for storing new plates 12A provided for each printing unit, and an old plate storage section 6B (shown only in Figure 11) for storing old plates 12B discharged from the plate cylinder. The old plate storage section 6B may also be provided for each printing unit, or may be provided in only one location or in multiple locations. Note that Figures 1 and 2 only show the new plate storage section 6A. Both the new plate storage section 6A and the old plate storage section 6B are provided on the handrail 11 so as to be located outside the left step 10, i.e., outside the handrail 11. The old plate storage section 6B may be arranged so as to overlap the new plate storage section 6A in the left-right direction, or may be arranged side-by-side in the front-to-back direction. 3(a), the new plate storage section 6A is configured with an inclined plate section 6K located closer to the handrail 11 toward the upper end so that the new plate 12A can be leaned upright, but it may also be configured so that dividers are provided inside the plate storage box to allow plates to be stored one by one straight (vertically).Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the new plate storage section 6A is configured to store the new plate 12A with its lengthwise direction aligned vertically.

[0036] <Control unit> The control unit cooperates with the printing press to control the driving of the first moving means 22 to the sixth moving means 16. The control unit also handles errors that may occur when driving the first moving means 22 to the sixth moving means 16. When an error occurs, the control unit may, for example, stop driving the driving means and activate a notification means to notify the operator that an error has occurred.

[0037] A case where the new plate 12A or the old plate 12B is moved using the plate moving device of the printing press configured as above will be described.

[0038] <New version transfer process> 3(a) and 3(b), the new plate moving process for moving the new plate 12A from the new plate storage section 6A to the printing unit begins by driving the motor 26 of the first moving means 22 to lower the arm 3 so that the new plate 12A, which is leaned against the new plate storage section 6A in a vertically long position, can be adsorbed by the suction pad 45B. After the arm 3 has been lowered to a position where the height of the suction part 45 of the plate holding section 4 is aligned with that of the new plate 12A, the motor 34 of the second moving means 31 is driven to move the arm 3 slightly to the right in FIG. 3(a), so that the suction pad 45B of the suction part 45 comes into contact with the back surface of the new plate 12A, which is stored in a vertically long position. In detail, the motor 26 of the first moving means 22 and the motor 34 of the second moving means 31 are driven and controlled based on a pre-stored program so that the suction pad 45B of the suction section 45 abuts against the left end of the back surface of the new plate 12A (the end on the top side of the new plate 12A in the vertical direction, see Figure 3(b)).

[0039] After the new plate 12A is adsorbed by the suction pad 45B of the adsorption unit 45, the motor 26 of the first moving means 22 is driven to raise the arm 3, and then the fifth moving means (motor) 53 is driven to rotate the new plate 12A 90 degrees around the axis Y so that the new plate 12A changes from a portrait orientation to a landscape orientation (see FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b)). Next, the fourth moving means (rotary actuator) 44 is driven to rotate the new plate 12A 90 degrees around the vertical axis X, changing the orientation of the new plate 12A so that its thickness direction is aligned in the front-to-rear direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the plate cylinder (an orientation that allows a plate to be supplied to the plate cylinder) (see FIG. 5). Next, from the position shown in FIG. 5, the motor 34 of the second moving means 31 is driven to move the new plate 12A above the printing unit (see FIG. 6). After the new plate 12A is moved, the arm 3 of the plate holder 4 is slightly lowered by the first moving means 22. Then, the motor 48 of the third moving means 42 is driven to move the suction unit 45 slightly forward so that the lower end of the new plate 12A lightly contacts the upper end of the rear surface of the plate guide plate S of the plate loading / unloading device. This stabilizes the behavior of the new plate 12A suspended by the suction unit 45. The arm 3 is then further lowered, and the new plate 12A is moved (lowered) to a predetermined position between the rear surface of the plate guide plate S of the plate loading / unloading device and the roller R (see FIG. 7). After the new plate 12A has been moved, the suction pad 45B of the suction unit 45 is released from suction, and the plate holder 4 is moved to a preset standby position to enter a standby state. The standby position is preferably set above the plate storage unit 6 so as not to interfere with the operator working on the step 10. Specifically, it is desirable to set the state of FIG. 4(a) (however, a state in which the new plate 12A is not present) as the standby position.

[0040] As described above, the new plate 12A held in the plate holding unit 4 in a vertical position can be rotated about the axis Y in the thickness direction of the new plate 12A to change it to a horizontal position and then supplied to the plate cylinder. This allows the new plate storage unit 6A to be configured to accommodate the vertical position, thereby reducing the front-to-rear size of the new plate storage unit 6A. This also reduces the installation space for the new plate storage unit 6A.

[0041] <Old version moving process> In the old-plate moving process, which collects the old plate 12B and moves it to the old-plate storage section 6B, the control unit drives the motor 34 of the second moving means 31 to move the plate holding unit 4 from its standby position to above the printing unit. Once the plate holding unit 4 is above the printing unit, the control unit drives the motor 26 of the first moving means 22 to lower the arm 3, the plate holding unit 4, and the plate removal guide unit 5 to a predetermined height. The air cylinders 16A and 16B of the sixth moving means 16 are then extended to lower the plate removal guide unit 5, which then moves the plate removal guide unit 5 to a position where it can guide and support the old plate 12B being removed upward from the printing unit. After the plate removal guide unit 5 has lowered, the control unit rotates the plate cylinder and activates the plate attaching / detaching device to eject the old plate 12B above the printing unit, inserting the old plate 12B between the front and rear guides 13 and 14 of the plate removal guide unit 5 (see FIG. 8). Next, the motor 48 of the third moving means 42 is driven to move the plate holding unit 4 slightly backward, bringing the suction pad 45B of the suction unit 45 into contact with the backside of the old plate 12B. At this time, the old plate 12B is supported by the guides 13 and 14, ensuring that the suction pad 45B comes into contact with the backside of the old plate 12B. After the suction pad 45B of the suction unit 45 of the plate holding unit 4 has suctioned the old plate 12B, the motor 26 of the first moving means 22 is driven to move the old plate 12B upward (see FIG. 9 ). While the old plate 12B is moving upward, the air cylinders 16A and 16B of the sixth moving means 16 are contracted to raise the plate discharge guide unit 5. Next, the motor 34 of the second moving means 31 is driven to move the plate holding unit 4 toward the plate storage unit 6 (support unit 2), and then the fourth moving means (rotary actuator) 44 is driven to rotate the old plate 12B 90 degrees around the vertical axis X, changing the orientation of the old plate 12B so that its thickness direction is aligned left-right along the rotation axis of the plate cylinder. Next, the motor 53 of the fifth moving means is driven to rotate the old plate 12B from its horizontal orientation 90 degrees around the axis Y, changing the orientation of the old plate 12B to a vertical orientation (see Figure 10). After the orientation change, the old plate 12B is lowered to a predetermined position, and the suction pad 45B of the suction unit 45 releases the suction of the old plate 12B, so that the old plate 12B is leaned against the old plate storage unit 6B in a vertical orientation (see Figure 11).After the old plate 12B is placed upright in the old plate storage section 6B, the plate holding section 4 is moved to the standby position and placed in a standby state. Note that if the new plate transfer process is performed consecutively, the plate holding section 4 proceeds to the new plate transfer process without moving to the standby position.

[0042] As described above, the old plate 12B in a horizontal orientation discharged from the plate cylinder is held by the plate holding unit 4, and the old plate 12B held by the plate holding unit 4 is rotated by the orientation change means around the axis Y in the thickness direction of the old plate 12B to change the orientation of the old plate 12B from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation, and then stored in the old plate storage unit 6B. This allows the old plate storage unit 6B to be configured to accommodate the vertical orientation, thereby reducing the size of the old plate storage unit 6B in the front-to-rear direction. This also reduces the installation space for the old plate storage unit 6B.

[0043] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0044] In the above embodiment, the new plate storage section 6A was configured to store the new plate 12A with its longitudinal direction aligned vertically. However, the new plate storage section 6A can also be configured so that the longitudinal direction of the new plate 12A is tilted to the right at a predetermined angle relative to the vertical, as shown in FIG. 14 . In this embodiment, the predetermined angle is set to 15 degrees. Furthermore, by arranging the support members 6a and 6b, which respectively abut and support the lower and right ends of the new plate 12A on the inclined plate section 6K of the new plate storage section 6A, the new plate 12A can be stored in the new plate storage section 6A stably and with high positional accuracy. This prevents a decrease in the accuracy of the suction position of the new plate 12A stored in the new plate storage section 6A by the suction pad 45B. Even when the new plate 12A is stored in the new plate storage section 6A at an angle, the position of the new plate 12A can be accurately changed by adjusting the rotation angle of the fifth moving means 53. In FIG. 14, the left end of the new version 12A is the top end in the top-to-bottom direction.

[0045] In the above embodiment, the plate holding unit 4 is configured to hold the plate by suction, but this is not limiting. For example, the plate may be held by clamping.

[0046] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the axis Y of the rotation axis of the posture changing means is positioned at one end of the width direction of the plate held by the plate holding unit 4, but it may be at any position that is closer to one side of the width direction than the center of the width direction of the plate held by the plate holding unit 4.

[0047] In addition, in the above embodiment, the plate storage section 6 is located outside the step 10 located on the side of the printing unit, but it may also be hung from the ceiling above the printing unit, or it may be located anywhere as long as it does not get in the way during printing work.

[0048] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the printing press is provided with a plurality of printing units, but the printing press may be provided with a single printing unit.

[0049] In addition, in the above embodiment, the axis Y of the rotation shaft of the posture change means is configured to be in a forward-downward inclined position located downward as it approaches the tip, but the axis Y of the rotation shaft of the posture change means may also be configured to be a horizontal axis. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1...printing press, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D...printing unit, 2...support section, 3...arm section, 4...plate holding section, 5...plate discharge guide section, 6...plate storage section, 6A...new plate storage section, 6B...old plate storage section, 6K...inclined plate section, 6a, 6b...support section, 7...paper feed section, 8...paper discharge section, 9, 10...step, 11...handrail, 12A...new plate, 12B...old plate, 13, 14...guide, 13A, 13A...both end legs, 13B...central leg, 14 A...Left leg, 14B...Right leg, 15...Rail, 15A...Fixed rail, 15B...Movable rail, 16...Sixth moving means, 16A, 16B...Air cylinder, 16a...Cylinder tube, 16b...Piston rod, 16c...Cylinder tube, 16d...Piston rod, 17...Fixed member, 18...Connecting plate, 21...Support body, 22...First moving means, 23...Screw shaft, 24...Nut member, 25 ...Guide member, 26...Motor, 31...Second moving means, 32...Screw shaft, 33...Nut member, 34...Motor, 34A...Drive shaft, 35...Bevel gear mechanism, 35A...Drive side bevel gear, 35B...Followed side bevel gear, 36, 37...Guide member, 38...Roller, 41...Support member, 42...Third moving means, 43...Main body, 44...Fourth moving means (rotary actuator), 45...Suction portion, 45A...Plate member , 45B...suction pad, 46...screw shaft, 47...nut member, 48...motor, 48A...drive shaft, 49...bevel gear mechanism, 49A...drive side bevel gear, 49B...driven side bevel gear, 50...rail member, 51...engaging member, 52...bracket, 53...fifth moving means (motor), 54...mounting member, 54A...vertical plate portion, 54B...diagonal plate portion, R...roller, S...plate guide plate, X...upper and lower axis (vertical axis), Y...axis center

Claims

1. a plate mounting / detaching device for mounting / detaching a plate to / from the plate cylinder; a plate storage section spaced apart from the plate mounting / detaching device for storing the plate; a plate holding section for holding the plate; a moving means for moving the plate holding section between the plate mounting / detaching device and the plate storage section; and an attitude changing means for rotating the plate held by the plate holding section around an axis in the thickness direction of the plate to change the attitude of the plate.

2. 2. The printing press according to claim 1, wherein the plate holding unit is configured to hold the top end of the plate in the top-to-bottom direction, and the axis around which the position changing means rotates the plate held by the plate holding unit is positioned closer to one side in the width direction than the center of the width direction of the plate held by the plate holding unit, and when the plate held by the plate holding unit is stored in the plate storage unit, the plate is rotated around the axis so that the other side in the width direction is lower than the one side in the width direction.

3. 3. The printing press according to claim 1, further comprising an orientation changing means for rotating the plate held by the plate holding section about a vertical axis to change the orientation of the plate.

4. 3. The printing press according to claim 1, further comprising a plate discharge guide section for supporting the plate so that the plate discharged from the plate cylinder can be held by the plate holding section.

5. The printing press is provided with a printing unit including a plate cylinder, a plate loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a plate onto / from the plate cylinder, and a plate storage unit spaced apart from the plate loading / unloading device for storing the plate, A plate moving device comprising: a plate holding section that holds the plate; a moving means that moves the plate holding section between the plate attaching / detaching device and the plate storage section; and an attitude changing means that rotates the plate held by the plate holding section around an axis in the thickness direction of the plate to change the attitude of the plate.

Images