JP7612205B2 - Plate changing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a plate changing device that changes the printing plates mounted on the plate cylinder of a rotary printing press.

A conventional printing plate changing device of this type is, for example, the printing plate changing device described in Patent Document 1. In this printing plate changing device, when a printing plate is mounted on the plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, the printing plate to be mounted on the plate cylinder is first set in the printing plate changing device. That is, the printing plate has a positioning hole drilled therein, and the positioning pin provided on the printing plate changing device is fitted into the positioning hole, so that the printing plate is set in the printing plate changing device in a state where it is aligned with the plate cylinder. Then, the bent gripping side tip, which is the front end in the length direction of the printing plate set in the printing plate changing device, is engaged with a gap portion recessed in the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder, and the printing plate is mounted on the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder by rotating the plate cylinder in the direction in which the printing plate is wound.

JP 2001-277472 A

The above-mentioned printing plate changing device can only use printing plates that have positioning holes that match the positioning pins of the printing plate changing device, and even if positioning holes are drilled, if the holes are not drilled in the correct position, the printing plate will be mounted out of position relative to the plate cylinder.

The printing plate changing device that solves the above problem is a printing plate changing device that changes printing plates that are mounted on the plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, and has a printing plate setting section in which the printing plate to be mounted on the plate cylinder is set, and the printing plate setting section is equipped with a printing plate moving section that moves the printing plate set in the printing plate setting section so that a side edge along the length direction of the printing plate comes close to and abuts against a part of the plate cylinder in the axial direction in order to position the printing plate relative to the plate cylinder in the axial direction of the plate cylinder.

According to this configuration, when the printing plate set in the printing plate setting section is moved in the axial direction of the plate cylinder by driving the printing plate moving section, the side edge of the printing plate comes into contact with a part of the plate cylinder that serves as the positioning section, and the printing plate is positioned in the axial direction of the plate cylinder relative to the plate cylinder. Then, in this state, when the plate cylinder is rotated in the direction in which the printing plate is wrapped around, even a printing plate that does not have a positioning hole can be attached in a state where it is positioned relative to the plate cylinder.

In the above printing plate changing device, it is preferable that the printing plate setting section has a printing plate supporting section capable of supporting the printing plate while allowing movement in the axial direction of the plate cylinder.
With this configuration, while the printing plate is supported by the printing plate support part, the printing plate can be moved along the axial direction of the plate cylinder by the printing plate moving part to a position where it abuts against a part of the plate cylinder that serves as the positioning part.

In the above-mentioned printing plate changing device, it is preferable that the printing plate moving section includes a moving member that can move to one side while abutting from the other side in the width direction against the side edge of the other side opposite to the one side on which the part that becomes the positioning part on the plate cylinder is located in the width direction intersecting the length direction of the printing plate set in the printing plate setting section, and a drive section that is driven to move the moving member in the width direction.

According to this configuration, when the movable member located on the other side of the width direction of the printing plate opposite the side on which the part that serves as the positioning part of the plate cylinder is located is moved to one side by the drive unit, the movable member pushes the side edge of the other side of the printing plate to one side. As a result, the printing plate can be moved by the drive unit to a position where the side edge of one side of the printing plate abuts against the part that serves as the positioning part of the plate cylinder.

In the above printing plate changing device, it is preferable that the printing plate moving section moves the printing plate in the axial direction of the plate cylinder while the plate head side bent portion, which is the front end of the printing plate in the longitudinal direction, is engaged with an engagement portion provided on the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder along the axial direction.

With this configuration, the bent portion on the plate head side of the printing plate engages with the engagement portion of the plate cylinder, and the side edge of the printing plate abuts against a part of the plate cylinder that serves as a positioning portion, so that the printing plate can be attached to the plate cylinder while being positioned in both the circumferential and axial directions of the plate cylinder.

In the above printing plate changing device, it is preferable that the printing plate setting unit includes a hook member that can hook the tail side bend portion, which is the rear end of the printing plate in the longitudinal direction, and can move in the longitudinal direction of the printing plate, and a biasing member that supports the hook member with a biasing force from the head side to the tail side of the printing plate hooked to the hook member.

With this configuration, when the bent portion of the printing plate at the head side is engaged with the engagement portion of the plate cylinder and the bent portion at the tail side is engaged with the engagement member of the plate support portion, the plate cylinder is rotated in the direction in which the printing plate is wound, and the printing plate can be wound around the plate cylinder with tension being applied in the length direction of the plate.

According to the present invention, even printing plates that do not have positioning holes can be attached while being positioned relative to the plate cylinder.

1 is a side view showing a schematic diagram of a rotary printing press equipped with a printing plate changing device according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. Cross-section of a plate cylinder with a printing plate wrapped around it. FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of a portion of the plate cylinder surrounded by a rectangular dashed line A in FIG. 3 . FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the plate changing device as seen from the opposite side to that shown in FIG. 7 . 9 is a cross-sectional view of the printing plate changing device taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 8 . FIG. 11 is a side view showing the state of the gripping switching mechanism at the start of plate discharge. FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state in which the gripping switching mechanism has been operated from the state shown in FIG. 10 . 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the gripping portion of the plate cylinder has released the bent portion at the trailing edge of the printing plate. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the plate cylinder has rotated in the rotation direction for plate discharge from the state shown in FIG. 12 . 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the plate head side bent portion of the printing plate is released from the locking portion of the plate cylinder. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the printing plate detached from the plate cylinder is being returned to the printing plate changing device. FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating state of the printing plate changing device at the start of plate feeding. FIG. 4 is a front view showing a schematic state of alignment of a printing plate with respect to a locking portion of a plate cylinder. FIG. 18 is a front view showing a state in which the plate moving unit is actuated from the state shown in FIG. 17 . FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a printing plate is being wound around a plate cylinder. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state immediately before the completion of winding the printing plate around the plate cylinder. 13 is a side view showing the state of the gripping switching mechanism just before the trailing edge bent portion of the printing plate is gripped by the gripping portion of the plate cylinder. FIG. 13 is a side view showing the state of the gripping switching mechanism when the trailing edge bent portion of the printing plate is gripped by the gripping portion of the plate cylinder. FIG.

Below, an embodiment of a printing plate changing device provided in a rotary printing press will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the rotary printing press 11 is placed on a horizontal plane, and the up-down direction in FIG. 1 is defined as the vertical direction Z. Of the two directions perpendicular to the vertical direction Z when the rotary printing press 11 is viewed from the left side in FIG. 1, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1 is defined as the width direction X, and the left-right direction in FIG. 1 is defined as the depth direction Y. In the width direction X, the rear side in FIG. 1 is defined as the left side, and the front side in FIG. 1 is defined as the right side. In the depth direction Y, the left side in FIG. 1 is defined as the front side, and the right side in FIG. 1 is defined as the rear side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary printing press 11 has a box-shaped housing 12 that is long in the vertical direction Z. Inside the housing 12, a printing mechanism 13 that performs offset printing is housed. The printing mechanism 13 is composed of an ink fountain 14, various ink rollers 15, a plate cylinder 16, a blanket cylinder 17, an impression cylinder 18, etc. The front wall 12a of the housing 12 is provided with an inlet 20 for carrying the web 19 into the housing 12 from outside the housing 12, and the rear wall 12b of the housing 12 is provided with an outlet 21 for carrying the web 19 out of the housing 12 from inside the housing 12. The long strip-shaped web 19 carried into the housing 12 from the inlet 20 passes between the blanket cylinder 17 and the impression cylinder 18 in the housing 12 from the front side, which is upstream in the transport direction, to the rear side, which is downstream, to be printed, and is then carried out of the housing 12 from the outlet 21.

In other words, in this rotary printing press 11, the ink supplied from the ink fountain 14 is mixed appropriately as it is transferred sequentially through the ink rollers 15, and then transferred to the printing plate 22 attached to the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 16. The ink image transferred to the printing plate 22 is then further transferred to the circumferential surface of the blanket cylinder 17, and then transferred to the web 19 passing from upstream to downstream with its surface in contact with the blanket cylinder 17, completing offset printing of the web 19 by the printing mechanism 13.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plate changing device 23 is attached to the upper part of the rear wall 12b of the housing 12 of the rotary printing press 11. The plate 22 to be mounted on the plate cylinder 16 of the printing mechanism 13 is first set in the plate changing device 23 before being mounted. The plate changing device 23 can be moved between three positions: a standby position P1 shown by a solid line in FIG. 1, a maintenance position P2 moved upward and shown by a two-dot chain line, and a plate changing position P3 also shown by a two-dot chain line and inclined downward and forward. That is, the plate changing device 23 moves from the standby position P1 to the upper maintenance position P2 by the extension of an air cylinder 24 provided on the rear wall 12b of the housing 12 so as to be capable of expanding and contracting in the vertical direction Z. In addition, the plate changing device 23 moves from the standby position P1 to a plate changing position P3 diagonally downward and forward as the diagonally arranged air cylinder 26, which connects the upper end of the rear wall 12b of the housing 12 to the side of the plate changing device 23 in cooperation with the link member 25, contracts.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printing plate 22 is an overall rectangular sheet body in which the length of the side edges 22a, 22b along the length direction is longer than the width of the printing plate 22, and is made of a flexible metal plate such as an aluminum plate. The plate head 27, which is the front end in the length direction of the printing plate 22 and the lower end in FIG. 2, is bent to have a plate head side bent portion 28 that is L-shaped in side view. On the other hand, the plate tail 29, which is the rear end in the length direction of the printing plate 22 and the upper end in FIG. 2, is bent to have a plate tail side bent portion 30 that is hook-shaped in side view. The plate head side bent portion 28 and the plate tail side bent portion 30 are each bent to bend toward the winding surface 31, assuming that the surface that comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16 when the printing plate 22 is wound around the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16 is called the winding surface 31.

3 and 4, the plate cylinder 16 is a cylindrical body that rotates around an axis 32. On the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16, a locking portion 33, which is a groove capable of locking the plate head side bend 28 of the printing plate 22, and a gripping portion 34 capable of gripping the plate tail side bend 30 of the printing plate 22 are provided so as to extend along the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16. The locking portion 33 and the gripping portion 34 are provided on the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16 at positions spaced from each other in the circumferential direction of the plate cylinder 16 by a length equivalent to the length from the plate head 27 to the plate tail 29 of the printing plate 22. The axial direction of the plate cylinder 16, which is the length direction of the axis 32, coincides with the width direction X of the rotary printing press 11 and also coincides with the width direction of the printing plate 22 attached in a wrapped state to the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16. Additionally, in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16, the length of the locking portion 33 and the gripping portion 34 is longer than the width direction length of the printing plate 22.

4 and 5, the locking portion 33 is formed by fixing a rod 36 longer than the width of the printing plate 22 in a groove 35 recessed in the axial direction on the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16. The groove 35 is formed so that its cross-sectional shape when viewed from the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16 is approximately trapezoidal, with a planar bottom surface along the axial direction and two planar inner surfaces that are perpendicular to the bottom surface and face each other and extend parallel to the axial direction. On the other hand, the rod 36 is formed so that its cross-sectional shape is approximately trapezoidal, slightly smaller than the cross-sectional shape of the groove 35, with three planar outer surfaces that are continuous at right angles with the bottom surface and the two inner surfaces of the groove 35 and face each other, and an arc-shaped outer surface that constitutes a part of the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16. Therefore, when the rod 36 is fitted into the groove 35, a gap-like groove is formed between one of the inner surfaces of the groove 35 and one of the outer surfaces of the rod 36 that faces the inner surface, into which the plate head side bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 can be inserted, and this groove forms the locking portion 33.

As shown in FIG. 5, a through hole 38 is formed at the end of the length of the rod body 36, into which the shaft of the set screw 37 can be inserted. The rod body 36 is fixed in a state in which a groove-shaped locking portion 33 is formed in the groove 35 by screwing the set screw 37, the shaft of which is inserted into the through hole 38, into a female threaded portion (not shown) in the plate cylinder 16. A pin insertion hole 39 is formed through the end of the rod body 36 at a position closer to the center of the rod body 36 than the position where the through hole 38 is formed. The pin insertion hole 39 is formed through the rod body 36 so as to extend in a direction crossing the groove-shaped locking portion 33 when the rod body 36 is fixed in the groove 35 with the locking portion 33 formed. Then, a positioning pin 40 inserted into the pin insertion hole 39 fits into a pin hole (not shown) in the plate cylinder 16, and a positioning portion is formed in the groove-shaped locking portion 33 that can position the printing plate 22 in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16. In other words, the positioning pin 40, which is part of the plate cylinder 16, forms a positioning portion on the plate cylinder 16 that allows the printing plate 22, whose plate head side bent portion 28 is engaged with the groove-shaped engagement portion 33, to be positioned in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the gripping portion 34 is configured to include a groove 41 recessed in the axial direction on the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16, and a round bar-shaped gripping rotor 42 accommodated in the groove 41 so as to be rotatable around an axis along the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16. The groove 41 is formed so that its cross-sectional shape partially includes an inner surface portion of a circular arc surface having the same curvature as the peripheral surface of the gripping rotor 42. The opening 43 of the groove 41 opens on the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16 so as to extend in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16, and the opening width is a width that allows the trailing bend 30 of the printing plate 22 to be inserted and is smaller than the diameter of the gripping rotor 42. A gap-shaped groove 44 into which the trailing bend 30 of the printing plate 22 can be inserted is recessed in the axial direction on the peripheral surface of the gripping rotor 42. As shown in FIG. 3, the gripping rotor 42 is configured to rotate around an axis that runs along the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16, with one end of the gripping rotor 42 protruding from the side end surface 16a of the plate cylinder 16.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the rotary printing press 11, a gripping switching mechanism 45 that switches the gripping state of the trailing edge bend 30 of the printing plate 22 by the gripping section 34 is provided near the side end surface 16a from which the end of the gripping rotor 42 of the plate cylinder 16 protrudes. The gripping switching mechanism 45 includes a rotating lever 46 fixed to the end of the gripping rotor 42 protruding from the side end surface 16a of the plate cylinder 16 so as to rotate integrally with the gripping rotor 42, and a pusher 47 that moves back and forth to rotate the rotating lever 46.

The rotating lever 46 has a planar shape resembling a "L"-shaped boomerang, and the end of the gripping rotor 42 is fixed to its center. A stopper pin 48 that can come into contact with the rotating lever 46 is provided in the axial direction at a location between the shaft 32 and the gripping rotor 42 on the side end surface 16a of the plate cylinder 16. That is, when the rotating lever 46 rotates together with the gripping rotor 42 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 6, the one-end arm portion 49 extending from the center of the rotating lever 46 to one end side comes into contact with the stopper pin 48. On the other hand, when the rotating lever 46 rotates together with the gripping rotor 42 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6, the other-end arm portion 50 extending from the center of the rotating lever 46 to the other end side comes into contact with the stopper pin 48.

As shown in FIG. 6, a cylindrical first protrusion 51 is provided on one end arm 49 of the rotating lever 46 in the axial direction, while a cylindrical second protrusion 52 is provided on the other end arm 50 of the rotating lever 46 in the axial direction. A connecting pin 53 is provided on one end arm 49 of the rotating lever 46 at a location on the one end side of the first protrusion 51. On the other hand, a support pin 54 is provided on the side end surface 16a of the plate cylinder 16 at a location slightly away in the clockwise direction in the circumferential direction of the plate cylinder 16 from the rotation locus described by the tip of the one end arm 49 of the rotating lever 46, so as to run along the axial direction via a bracket 55.

Between the support pin 54 and the connecting pin 53, a compression coil spring 56 is arranged in a state where it is pressurized so as to rotate the rotating lever 46 at all times. Incidentally, in the state shown in FIG. 6, the compression coil spring 56 is pressurized so that the rotating lever 46 rotates clockwise around the gripping rotor 42. In this state, the one-end arm portion 49 of the rotating lever 46 abuts against the stopper pin 48, so that the clockwise rotation of the rotating lever 46 is stopped. Note that the state shown in FIG. 6 is obtained by moving the pusher 47 forward from a state in which the other-end arm portion 50 of the rotating lever 46, rather than the one-end arm portion 49, abuts against the stopper pin 48 under the pressure of the compression coil spring 56, and pressing the first protrusion 51 forward.

As shown in Fig. 6, the pusher 47 is a plate material with an approximately rectangular outer shape, and one end face, which is the left end face in Fig. 6, forms a flat pressing surface 57 that can selectively press the first convex portion 51 and the second convex portion 52 of the rotating lever 46. A circular engagement hole 58 is formed through the center of the pusher 47, and a long hole 59 is formed through a position above the engagement hole 58 in the pusher 47, which extends in the horizontal front-to-rear direction when the pusher 47 is positioned so that the pressing surface 57 is along the vertical direction Z. A sliding guide 60, which is fixed by connecting a pair of front and rear shaft members with a connecting piece, is inserted into the long hole 59, and the pusher 47 moves forward and backward in the front-to-rear direction as the long hole 59 slides on the sliding guide 60. A shaft 61 is provided below the pusher 47 so as to extend parallel to the shaft 32 of the plate cylinder 16, and the base end of a swing lever 62 is fixed to the shaft 61, with the tip end thereof slidably engaged with the engagement hole 58 of the pusher 47. The swing lever 62 swings around the shaft 61 in the direction of advancing and retracting the pusher 47 based on the driving force transmitted from a driving source (not shown), such as an air cylinder or a motor.

Next, the plate changing device 23 will be described.
7, 8 and 9, the plate changing device 23 includes a left side plate 63 and a right side plate 64 that are disposed opposite each other at a distance in the width direction X that is longer than the width dimension of the plate 22. In the plate changing device 23, the spatial region between the left side plate 63 and the right side plate 64 is partitioned by a partition plate 65 that is installed between the inner surface of the left side plate 63 and the inner surface of the right side plate 64. As shown in FIG. 9, in the plate changing device 23, the spatial region on the rear side of the partition plate 65 in the depth direction Y is a plate setting section 66, and the spatial region on the front side of the partition plate 65 in the depth direction Y is a plate recovery section 67. A new plate 22 to be mounted on the plate cylinder 16 is set in the plate setting section 66, and an old plate 22 removed from the plate cylinder 16 is recovered in the plate recovery section 67.

The plate setting section 66 is provided with a plate support section 68 that supports the plate 22, and a plate moving section 69 that moves the plate 22 supported by the plate support section 68 along the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16. The plate support section 68 is located at the upper part of the plate setting section 66 and has a hook member 70 that can support the plate 22 in a suspended state. As shown in Figures 7 and 9, the hook member 70 is a plate material whose lower end, which is the tip part, is bent into a hook shape that can hook the plate tail side bent part 30, which is the rear end of the plate 22 in the longitudinal direction, and the hook-shaped part is formed to be wide along the width direction of the plate 22. Therefore, the plate support section 68 supports the plate 22 in a state in which movement is allowed in the width direction X, which is also the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16, via the hook member 70 that has a wide hook-shaped part along the width direction of the plate 22.

In the printing plate support section 68, the hook member 70 is supported in an inclined state with the hook-shaped portion hanging down by a biasing member 71, which is, for example, an inclined tension coil spring. The biasing member 71 has its inclined upper end in the expansion and contraction direction supported by a fixed frame 72 extending in the width direction X between the left side plate 63 and the right side plate 64, while its lower end in the expansion and contraction direction is connected to the upper end of the hook member 70. Therefore, the biasing member 71 supports the hook member 70 in an inclined state by exerting a biasing force from the plate head 27 side to the plate tail 29 side in the length direction of the printing plate 22 hooked to the hook member 70, and the hook member 70 is movable in the length direction of the printing plate 22 as the biasing member 71 expands and contracts.

As shown in Figures 7 and 9, the plate moving section 69 has a pair of left and right moving members 73, 74 positioned to sandwich the plate 22 set in the plate setting section 66 from both sides in the width direction X with the plate trailing side bent portion 30 hooked to the hook member 70 of the plate support section 68. Each moving member 73, 74 is formed in a so-called tapered shape with its upper end portion expanding outward in the width direction X to make it easier to insert the plate 22 from above into the plate setting section 66. The pair of left and right moving members 73, 74 are connected by a connecting member 75 bridging in the width direction X so that they can move together.

In addition, an air cylinder 76, which is an example of a drive unit that is driven to move the left and right moving members 73, 74 connected by a connecting member 75 in the width direction X, is fixed to the right side plate 64 of the printing plate changing device 23, and the tip of the extending and retracting rod is connected to the connecting member 75. In other words, the left and right moving members 73, 74 move together with the connecting member 75 in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16, which coincides with the width direction X, due to the extending and retracting action of the air cylinder 76, and the printing plate 22 set between the left and right moving members 73, 74 also moves in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16. In other words, the printing plate 22 set between the left and right moving members 73, 74 moves in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16, which coincides with the width direction X, by having one of the side edges 22a, 22b in the width direction X pushed to the other side in the width direction X by one of the left and right moving members 73, 74. In this embodiment, the plate moving section 69 is made up of a pair of left and right moving members 73, 74 connected by such a connecting member 75 and an air cylinder 76.

In addition, an axis member 77 is installed between the lower ends of the left side plate 63 and the right side plate 64 of the printing plate changing device 23 at a location below the printing plate setting section 66, and a pair of swing arms 78 are supported on both ends of the axis member 77 so that their tips can swing freely. An axis member 79 is installed between the tips of the left swing arm 78 and the right swing arm 78, and pressure rollers 80 are supported rotatably at two points in the longitudinal direction of the axis member 79. Furthermore, an air cylinder 81 is attached to the left side plate 63 of the printing plate changing device 23, and the tip of its expandable rod is connected via a link mechanism 82 to the part of the swing arm 78 that is further tip-side than the base end of the swing arm 78 so as to swing the swing arm 78.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the printing plate changing device 23 has a vertically long rectangular cover plate 83 that covers the printing plate recovery section 67 with a specified gap between it and the partition plate 65. An air cylinder 84 that expands and contracts along the length of the cover plate 83 is provided on the outer surface of the cover plate 83 above the midpoint in the length direction. A slider 85 is attached to the tip of the expandable rod of the air cylinder 84, which slides between two positions, the position shown in Figure 9 and a position diagonally above that position, as the air cylinder 84 expands and contracts.

At positions on the cover plate 83 corresponding to both sides of the slider 85, a pair of left and right cut grooves 86 are cut along the length of the cover plate 83 and extend downward from the upper edge of the cover plate 83. On the other hand, a hook lever 87 is supported on both sides of the slider 85 so that it can swing within the cut groove 86 of the cover plate 83. The hook lever 87 can swing between two positions, the hook position shown by the solid line in FIG. 9 and the pass-through position shown by the two-dot chain line, and is always biased in the direction of the hook position shown by the solid line by a torsion coil spring (not shown).

A pivot shaft 88 is installed between the lower ends of the left side plate 63 and the right side plate 64 of the plate changing device 23 at a location on the outer surface side of the cover plate 83, and a presser lever 89 is fixed to two locations in the longitudinal direction of the pivot shaft 88. An entry hole 90 is formed through the lower region of the cover plate 83 at a position corresponding to the presser lever 89, allowing the tip of the presser lever 89 to enter the plate recovery section 67 when the presser lever 89 swings with the rotation of the pivot shaft 88. As shown in FIG. 7, an air cylinder 91 is attached to the left side plate 63 of the plate changing device 23, and the tip of its expandable rod is connected to the pivot shaft 88 via a link mechanism 92 so as to rotate the pivot shaft 88. That is, when the rotating shaft 88 rotates as the air cylinder 91 contracts, the tip of the pressing lever 89 enters the printing plate recovery section 67 through the entrance hole 90, and presses the printing plate 22 located in the printing plate recovery section 67 toward the partition plate 65.

Next, the operation of the printing plate changing device 23 will be described.
First, the removal of the old printing plate 22 that has been used for printing from the plate cylinder 16 will be described with reference to FIGS.

Now, as shown in FIG. 10, when the old printing plate 22 is removed from the plate cylinder 16, the plate cylinder 16 is rotated to a rotation angle position where the second convex portion 52 of the rotating lever 46 faces the pressing surface 57 of the pusher 47 of the gripping switching mechanism 45 in the horizontal direction, and the rotation is stopped at that position. At this time, the used old printing plate 22 attached to the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16 has its plate head side bent portion 28 engaged with the engagement portion 33 of the plate cylinder 16, and its plate trailing side bent portion 30 gripped by the gripping portion 34 of the plate cylinder 16, as shown in FIG. 4, for example. First, the gripping switching mechanism 45 switches the gripping state of the gripping portion 34 of the plate cylinder 16 with respect to the plate trailing side bent portion 30 of the printing plate 22.

That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the pusher 47 of the gripping switching mechanism 45 moves forward, which is to the left in FIG. 10, from the retracted position in FIG. 10, and the pressing surface 57 on its front surface presses the second protrusion 52 of the rotating lever 46 forward. Then, the rotating lever 46 rotates together with the gripping rotor 42 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, which is the direction in which the gripping state is released. In this case, the rotating lever 46 in the state of FIG. 10 is biased to rotate clockwise around the gripping rotor 42 by the biasing force of the compression coil spring 56. Therefore, the pusher 47 presses the second protrusion 52 against the biasing force of this compression coil spring 56, causing the rotating lever 46 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction.

Then, when the rotational angle position of the rotational lever 46, after the second convex portion 52 is pushed by the pusher 47 and starts to rotate in the counterclockwise direction, passes the intermediate rotational angle position between the rotational angle position shown in FIG. 10 and the rotational angle position shown in FIG. 11, the rotational lever 46 rotates in the counterclockwise direction all at once. In this case, the rotational lever 46 is urged to rotate in the clockwise direction by the compression coil spring 56 until it passes the intermediate rotational angle position, but after it passes the intermediate rotational angle position, it is urged to rotate in the counterclockwise direction by the compression coil spring 56. In this respect, the compression coil spring 56 functions as a so-called toggle spring, which switches the direction in which the rotational lever 46 is urged to rotate between the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction at a predetermined rotational angle position. Then, the rotational lever 46 urged to rotate in the counterclockwise direction is stopped at the rotational angle position shown in FIG. 11 by the other end side arm portion 50 abutting against the stopper pin 48.

As shown in FIG. 12, the gripping rotor 42 of the gripping part 34 provided on the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16 rotates counterclockwise in the same manner as the rotating lever 46 rotates counterclockwise, and the rotation is stopped at that rotation angle position. Then, the trailing edge bent part 30 of the printing plate 22, which was gripped by the gripping part 34 with its tip inserted into the gap-like groove 44 of the gripping rotor 42 as shown in FIG. 4, for example, is deformed in a direction away from the gripping part 34 by the elastic force of the printing plate 22 itself. That is, the trailing edge bent part 30 of the printing plate 22 elastically returns from the curved surface position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 12 to the planar surface position shown by the solid line. Then, the elastically returned trailing edge bent part 30 of the printing plate 22 presses against the lower end 65a of the partition plate 65.

Then, as shown in Fig. 13, the plate cylinder 16 is rotated in the direction to eject the printing plate 22. That is, the plate cylinder 16 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction as shown by the arrow in Fig. 13. Then, the printing plate 22, which is still wrapped around the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 16 for the majority of its length with the plate trailing bent portion 30 placed on the lower end 65a of the partition plate 65, slides from the front downward diagonal to the rear upward diagonal along the upper surface of the partition plate 65. At this time, the printing plate 22 moving upward along the upper surface of the partition plate 65 moves rearward diagonally upward while pushing aside the hook lever 87 hanging down at the hook position above the plate recovery section 67 to the passage allowance position against the biasing force by the plate trailing bent portion 30. Then, when the plate cylinder 16 has rotated to the rotation angle position shown in FIG. 13, the majority of the printing plate 22 in its longitudinal direction is moved into the printing plate recovery section 67 with its plate head side bent portion 28 engaged with the engagement portion 33.

As shown in FIG. 14, the air cylinder 91 then drives the presser lever 89 to swing its tip into the plate recovery section 67 and press down the printing plate 22 resting on the top surface of the partition plate 65. The pressing force of the presser lever 89 then restricts the printing plate 22 from moving along the top surface of the partition plate 65. When the plate cylinder 16 is then rotated from this state in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 14, the plate head side bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 disengages from the groove-shaped engagement portion 33 of the plate cylinder 16. At this point, the plate head side bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 is still in contact with the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16.

Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the air cylinder 91 is driven in the opposite direction to that in FIG. 14, and the presser lever 89 swings so as to retract its tip from inside the plate recovery section 67 to outside the plate recovery section 67. Then, the printing plate 22, which had been pressed by the presser lever 89 toward the partition plate 65 inside the plate recovery section 67 up to that point, becomes free and slides diagonally downward and forward on the partition plate 65, and the trailing edge bent portion 30 is caught by the hook lever 87 in the hooking position. Then, when the slider 85 slides diagonally upward and backward from that state by the drive of the air cylinder 84, the leading edge bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 separates from the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16, and the entire plate is collected into the plate recovery section 67.

Next, the mounting of a new printing plate 22 to be used for printing on the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 16 will be described with reference to FIGS.
16, when a new printing plate 22 is to be mounted on the plate cylinder 16, the plate cylinder 16 is rotated to a rotational angle position where the locking portion 33 on its circumferential surface faces the pressure roller 80 located at the lower end of the plate changing device 23, and the rotation is stopped at that position. At this time, the new printing plate 22 to be mounted is in a set state in which the trailing edge bent portion 30 is hooked to the hook member 70 of the printing plate support portion 68 and suspended within the printing plate setting section 66. In this set state, the swing arm 78 is driven by the air cylinder 81 to swing counterclockwise in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 16, as the swing arm 78 swings, the pressure roller 80 presses the vicinity of the plate head side bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 toward the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16, so that the base end of the plate head side bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 bends and deforms, and the tip of the plate head side bent portion 28 contacts the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16. In other words, the tip of the plate head side bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 contacts a position on the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16 that is slightly shifted clockwise from the locking portion 33. Then, when the plate cylinder 16 rotates clockwise from that state in FIG. 16, the base end of the plate head side bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 that had been bent elastically returns, and its tip slides along the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 16, then falls into the groove-shaped locking portion 33 and is locked.

That is, as shown in FIG. 17, the printing plate 22 is in a state in which one side edge 22a is located on the other side of the positioning pin 40 in the locking portion 33 in the width direction X, which intersects with the length direction, and the tip of the plate head side bent portion 28 is inserted into the groove-shaped locking portion 33. Note that FIG. 17 and the following FIG. 18 are views of the plate cylinder 16 and the lower half of the printing plate changing device 23 in FIG. 16 as viewed in the direction of the white arrow in the same figure, but for convenience, the illustration of members such as the shaft members 77, 79, the swing arm 78, and the pressure roller 80 is omitted. In this case, a predetermined gap is secured between the left and right moving members 73, 74, which sandwich the printing plate 22 from both sides in the width direction X, and the side edges 22a, 22b of the printing plate 22, as shown in FIG. 17. Then, from this state, the air cylinder 76 is driven in the contracting direction.

As shown in FIG. 18, the left and right moving members 73, 74 move together with the connecting member 75 in the width direction X in a direction approaching the positioning pin 40 of the plate cylinder 16. Therefore, the right moving member 73 in FIG. 18 approaches and abuts the side edge 22b of the printing plate 22 on the other side opposite the side on which the positioning pin 40 is located in the width direction X from the other side of the width direction X, and then moves to one side in the width direction X while maintaining the abutting state. As a result, the side edge 22a of the printing plate 22 on one side in the width direction X approaches and abuts the positioning pin 40, thereby positioning the plate cylinder 16 in the axial direction. At that time, the printing plate 22 is moved to one side in the width direction X while the plate trailing bend 30 remains hooked to the hook member 70 of the printing plate support part 68.

Next, as shown in FIG. 19, the plate cylinder 16, with the plate head bend 28 of the printing plate 22 engaged with the engagement portion 33, is rotated clockwise in the drawing, which is the direction in which the printing plate 22 is wound. Then, the printing plate 22 moves diagonally downward and forward within the printing plate setting portion 66, and the engagement member 70 to which the trailing edge bend 30 of the printing plate 22 is engaged also moves diagonally downward and forward by extending the biasing member 71 supporting the engagement member 70. Then, when the plate cylinder 16 rotates further clockwise than the rotation angle position shown in FIG. 19, the trailing edge bend 30 of the printing plate 22 is disengaged from the engagement member 70, and most of its length is wrapped around the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 16.

That is, as shown in FIG. 20, the printing plate 22 is wrapped around the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 16 until the trailing edge bend 30 at the rear end of the plate 22 faces the gripping portion 34 on the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 16. When the plate cylinder 16 rotates further clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 20, the portion of the printing plate 22 up to the trailing edge bend 30 is pressed against the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 16 by the pressure roller 80. As a result, the tip of the trailing edge bend 30 of the printing plate 22 is pushed into the gap-like groove 44 of the gripping rotor 42. When the tip of the trailing edge bend 30 of the printing plate 22 is pushed into the groove 44 of the gripping rotor 42 in this way, the rotation of the plate cylinder 16 is stopped.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 21, the gripping switching mechanism 45 has the pusher 47 in the retracted position, and the plate cylinder 16 has stopped rotating at a rotation angle position where the first protrusion 51 of the rotating lever 46 faces the pressing surface 57 of the pusher 47 in the horizontal direction. The rotating lever 46, which rotates integrally with the gripping rotor 42, is urged to rotate by the biasing force of the compression coil spring 56 so that the other end arm 50 abuts against the stopper pin 48. Then, from this state, the gripping switching mechanism 45 is driven, and the gripping state of the gripping portion 34 of the plate cylinder 16 with respect to the trailing bend 30 of the printing plate 22 is switched.

22, the pusher 47 of the gripping switching mechanism 45 moves forward from the retracted position in FIG. 21 to the left in the figure, and the pressing surface 57 on its front surface presses the first protrusion 51 of the rotating lever 46 forward. Then, the rotating lever 46 rotates together with the gripping rotor 42 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 22, which is the direction in which the gripping state is reached, against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 56. Then, when the rotation angle position of the rotating lever 46 after the first protrusion 51 is pushed by the pusher 47 and the rotation angle position after the rotation lever 46 starts to rotate in the clockwise direction passes the intermediate rotation angle position between the rotation angle position shown in FIG. 21 and the rotation angle position shown in FIG. 22, it rotates in the clockwise direction all at once. Then, the rotation lever 46, which is biased to rotate in the clockwise direction, is stopped from rotating at the rotation angle position shown in FIG. 22 by the arm portion 49 on one end abutting against the stopper pin 48.

Then, the gripping rotor 42 of the gripping portion 34 provided on the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 16 rotates clockwise in the same manner as the rotating lever 46 rotates clockwise, and its rotation is stopped at that rotation angle position. Then, the trailing edge bent portion 30 of the printing plate 22, which was not yet gripped until that point, but only had its tip inserted into the groove 44 of the gripping rotor 42 as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 12, is gripped by the gripping rotor 42 rotating clockwise. As a result, the mounting of the new printing plate 22 on the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 16 is completed, and the rotary printing press 11 is driven to start printing using the new printing plate 22.

Next, the effects of the printing plate changing device 23 will be described.
(1) When the printing plate 22 set in the printing plate setting section 66 is moved in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16 by driving the printing plate moving section 69, the side edge 22a of the printing plate 22 comes into contact with the positioning pin 40 of the plate cylinder 16, and the printing plate 22 is positioned in the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16 with respect to the plate cylinder 16. Then, in this state, when the plate cylinder 16 is rotated in the direction in which the printing plate 22 is wound, even a printing plate 22 that does not have a positioning hole can be mounted in a state where it is positioned relative to the plate cylinder 16.

(2) While the printing plate 22 is supported by the printing plate support portion 68, the printing plate 22 can be moved along the axial direction of the plate cylinder 16 by the printing plate moving portion 69 to a position where the printing plate 22 abuts against the positioning pin 40, which serves as a positioning portion on the plate cylinder 16.

(3) When the movable member 73, which is located on the other side of the width direction X of the printing plate 22 opposite the side where the positioning pin 40 of the plate cylinder 16 is located, is moved to one side by driving the air cylinder 76, the movable member 73 presses the other side edge 22b of the printing plate 22 to one side. As a result, the printing plate 22 can be moved by driving the air cylinder 76 to a position where the other side edge 22a of the printing plate 22 abuts against the positioning pin 40, which is the positioning part of the plate cylinder 16.

(4) The plate head side bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 engages with the engaging portion 33 of the plate cylinder 16, and the side edge 22a of the printing plate 22 abuts against the positioning pin 40 on the plate cylinder 16, so that the printing plate 22 can be attached to the plate cylinder 16 in a positioned state in both the circumferential and axial directions of the plate cylinder 16.

(5) When the plate head side bent portion 28 of the printing plate 22 is engaged with the engaging portion 33 of the plate cylinder 16 and the plate tail side bent portion 30 is engaged with the engaging member 70 of the printing plate support portion 68, the plate cylinder 16 is rotated in the winding direction of the printing plate 22, and the printing plate 22 can be wound around the plate cylinder 16 with tension applied.

The above embodiment may be modified as shown in the modified examples below. The configurations included in the embodiment may be combined in any way with the configurations included in the modified examples below, and the configurations included in the modified examples below may be combined in any way.

The biasing member 71 that expands and contracts while supporting the hook member 70 on the fixed frame 72 may be formed of a member having elasticity, such as a rubber band, other than a tension coil spring.
The hook member 70 may be made of a material such as rubber having elasticity in the portion closer to the base end than the hook-shaped tip, and the portion made of such a material such as rubber may be made to function as the biasing member 71.

- The drive unit for moving the moving members 73, 74 of the printing plate moving unit 69 may be configured with a motor or the like other than the air cylinder 76. In this case, it is preferable to provide a rack that meshes with a pinion that rotates by the driving force of the motor so that it moves integrally with the moving members 73, 74 in the width direction X of the printing plate 22.

The moving members 73, 74 of the printing plate moving section 69 may be only the moving member 73 on one side that pushes the other side edge 22b of the printing plate 22 to one side when moving.
The printing plate moving section 69 is not limited to a configuration in which the moving member 73 on one side pushes the side edge 22b on the other side of the printing plate 22 to one side when it moves, but may also be configured to pull and move the printing plate 22 to one side while clamping the printing plate 22 from both sides in the thickness direction.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11...Rotary printing press 16...Plate cylinder 22...Printing plate 22a...Side edge 22b...Side edge 23...Printing plate changing device 27...Plate head 28...Plate head side bent portion 29...Plate tail 30...Plate tail side bent portion 33...Engaging portion 66...Printing plate setting portion 68...Printing plate support portion 69...Printing plate moving portion 70...Hooking member 71...Using member 73...Moving member 74...Moving member 76...Air cylinder, which is an example of a driving portion

Claims (5)

A plate changing device for changing a printing plate mounted on a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, comprising:
a plate setting section in which the printing plate to be mounted on the plate cylinder is set;
the printing plate setting section includes a printing plate moving section that moves the printing plate set in the printing plate setting section so that a side edge along a length direction of the printing plate approaches and abuts against a part of the plate cylinder in the axial direction in order to position the printing plate relative to the plate cylinder in the axial direction of the plate cylinder ,
The plate moving unit includes:
a pair of movable members positioned to sandwich the printing plate set in the printing plate setting section from both sides in a width direction intersecting with the length direction;
a drive unit that is driven to move the pair of moving members in the width direction;
A printing plate changing device comprising : The printing plate changing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the printing plate setting unit has a printing plate support unit capable of supporting the printing plate while allowing it to move in the axial direction of the plate cylinder. the pair of movable members are movable to one side in a state in which one movable member abuts against the side edge of the other side opposite to the one side on which the part serving as a positioning portion on the plate cylinder is located in the width direction of the printing plate set in the printing plate setting section, from the other side in the width direction;
3. The printing plate changing device according to claim 1 or 2. The printing plate changing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the printing plate moving section moves the printing plate in the axial direction of the plate cylinder while the plate head side bent section, which is the front end of the printing plate in the longitudinal direction, is engaged with an engagement section provided on the peripheral surface of the plate cylinder along the axial direction. The plate setting unit includes:
a hook member movable in the longitudinal direction of the printing plate and capable of hooking a trailing edge bent portion of the printing plate, the trailing edge being a rear end of the printing plate in the longitudinal direction;
a biasing member that supports the hook member with a biasing force directed from a head side to a tail side of the printing plate hooked on the hook member;
The printing plate changing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: