JPH0349864B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a sheet autofeeder that feeds sheets from a sheet supply table to a next process such as an automatic developing machine.

(Prior art) Using an automatic processor, a photosensitive plate (a photosensitive layer whose solubility changes when exposed to light) is coated on both or one side of a support such as an aluminum plate, zinc plate, iron plate, paper, or plastic plate. When processing a large number of photosensitive plates continuously, a photosensitive plate auto feeder connected to an automatic developing machine is often used. The automatic developing machine mentioned above is of a type in which the photosensitive plate is conveyed by rollers, etc., and in addition to the developing zone,
It is equipped with a water washing zone, a gum application zone, a drying zone, etc. as required.

Conventional photosensitive plate auto feeders, for example, stack and store a plurality of exposed photosensitive plates horizontally on a mounting table installed in series on the photosensitive plate insertion opening side of an automatic processor.
There is a structure in which the photosensitive plates are sucked one by one using a suction cup from above and fed one by one into an automatic developing machine.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, when processing a large photosensitive plate, such as a PS plate, etc., such as a width of 800 mm and a length of 1050 mm, the photosensitive plate autofeeder described above cannot handle the photosensitive plate. Because it needs to be stored horizontally, a fairly large area is required.
Furthermore, since the structure is equipped with a photosensitive plate capturing means and a transport system, an extremely large installation space is required.

In addition, although there are several different sizes of photosensitive plates, conventional photosensitive plate auto feeders have poor operability when processing different sizes of plates in succession. If you suddenly need to process a photosensitive plate of a different size than the photosensitive plate currently in use, stop the photosensitive plate auto feeder in operation and manually insert the photosensitive plate of a different size into the plate insertion slot of the automatic processing machine. I had to send it to

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet autofeeder that can reduce the installation space and has excellent operability.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The above object of the present invention is to provide a sheet auto feeder that takes out sheets one by one from a sheet supply table 12 on which a plurality of sheets 10 are placed in a longitudinal direction and sends them to the next process. , a sheet capturing means 13 that sequentially captures the rear end portion of the uppermost sheet from the sheet supply table and transfers it to a side where it can be peeled off by a sheet peeling means;
a sheet capture/release unit that detects peeling of the sheet by the sheet peeling unit and releases the capture by the capture unit; and a sheet capture release unit that detects release of capture by the sheet capture/release unit and slides and supports the sheet. This is achieved by a sheet auto feeder characterized in that it is equipped with a conveying means for conveying the sheet along the section 8 to the next step.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a photosensitive plate auto feeder for feeding a photosensitive plate, which is an example of a sheet, to an automatic developing machine. A partially cutaway perspective view and a schematic side view are shown.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the photosensitive plate auto feeder 1 consists of a pair of chains 2 stretched in the vertical direction, a sprocket 3 connected to a driving means for driving the chains 2, and a chain at both ends. 2
A leading roller 4 and an intermediate roller 5 constituting a photosensitive plate peeling means supported by the respective parts, a rear support section 7 having a push-up hook 6, and a photosensitive plate 1.
A plurality of rotatable fixed rollers 8 disposed on the moving surface of 0 and forming a slide support section, a pair of upper and lower insertion rollers 9 for inserting the photosensitive plate 10 into the automatic developing machine 11, and a plurality of photosensitive plates. a photosensitive plate supply stand 12 holding the photosensitive plates 10 vertically, and a capture device equipped with a suction cup 14 (see FIG. 5) for loading the photosensitive plates 10 one by one from the photosensitive plate supply stand 12 into the conveyance system of the auto feeder. Means 1
It is equipped with 3rd class.

The rotary fixed roller 8 constituting the slide support section supports the back surface of the photosensitive plate 10, and its entirety forms a curved plane that expands appropriately toward the photosensitive plate supply table, and its upper end is automatically It is configured to face a pair of insertion rollers 9 disposed at a plate insertion opening of the developing device 11 .
The plate conveying member is composed of the chain 2, the intermediate roller 5, and the rear support section 7 having the push-up hook 6 as described above, and is configured to be able to move up and down along the slide support section. That is, the chain 2 is engaged with a sprocket 3, and this sprocket 3 is driven by a drive means (not shown). Further, the chain 2 is supported by a plurality of freely rotatable sprockets provided at appropriate intervals along the slide support portion and by guides if necessary. A support rod (not shown) suspended horizontally between the chains near the leading roller 4 is equipped with a sensor such as a detection phototube in order to detect the tip of the photosensitive plate 10. For example, a U-shaped push-up hook 6 for pushing up the photosensitive plate 10 is provided.

Further, a photosensitive plate supply stand 12 is attached to the front surface of the photosensitive plate auto feeder 1 with the back surface at an acute angle with respect to the vertical direction, and a capturing means having at least two or more suction cups 14 is installed. 13 are movable perpendicularly to the bottom surface of the photosensitive plate supply table 12 and are arranged in a straight line in the width direction of the photosensitive plate 10. In addition, sucker 1
4 can attract and hold the photosensitive plate 10 by negative pressure from a suction pump (not shown).

Here, the operation of the photosensitive plate auto feeder 1 having the above configuration will be explained.

First, a large number of photosensitive plates 10 to be developed are loaded onto the photosensitive plate supply stage 12. At this time,
When there are a plurality of photosensitive plates 10 of different sizes, it is preferable to load the photosensitive plates 10 with their side edges aligned to either the left or right.

Next, at least two or more suction cups 14 approach and suck the photosensitive plate 10 loaded on the photosensitive plate supply table 12 in the vertical direction, thereby causing the plate rear end of the uppermost photosensitive plate 10 to be suctioned. Turn it over and transfer it to the slide support section.
At this time, the leading roller 4 constituting the peeling means is located below the suction cup 14;
Detection means 19 for detecting the position of 4 detects the capture of the photosensitive plate. As this detection means, various types such as a micro switch and a photo sensor can be used.

Next, based on this capture detection signal, the sprocket 3 is rotated to drive the chain 2 upward, as shown in FIG. Then, the leading roller 4 serving as the peeling means sinks under the turned-up photosensitive plate 10, and as the rotation further progresses, the intermediate roller 5 also sinks in following the leading roller 4. Therefore,
Only one photosensitive plate 10 is separated from the photosensitive plate supply stage 12 between the rotating fixed roller 8 and each of the rollers 4 and 5. Then, when the leading roller 4 reaches the upper end of the photosensitive plate 10 and the peeling detection means installed on the support rod installed horizontally between the chains near the leading roller detects the upper end of the photosensitive plate 10, the peeling is completed. In response to the signal, the rotation of the chain 2 is temporarily stopped, and then the chain 2 is reversed to a position where the upper end of the photosensitive plate 10 protrudes from the leading roller 4 by, for example, several centimeters.
Stop. Here, as shown in FIG.
Release the suction of step 3 and replace it with the photosensitive plate 10.
The rear edge of the plate is held by a U-shaped push-up hook 6 located near the lower end of the plate. To release this suction, any method can be used, such as opening a solenoid valve installed in the suction path to equalize the suction path with atmospheric pressure, or stopping the operation of the suction pump. . Then, the chain 2 rotates again, pushing up the rear edge of the plate, and the photosensitive plate 10 supported by the hook 6 is conveyed to a position where its leading end is held between the insertion rollers 9.

Next, when it is detected that the leading end of the photosensitive plate 10 is held between the insertion rollers 9, the chain 2 stops and immediately retreats, so that the leading roller 4 moves onto the suction cup 14.
It returns to the lower position, that is, the standby position. Here, as a means for detecting that the leading end of the photosensitive plate 10 is held between the insertion rollers 9, for example, the conveyance speed of the chain 2 is faster than the circumferential speed of the insertion roller 9, and the photosensitive plate 10 is A slight shock generated on the photosensitive plate 10 when the photosensitive plate 10 is held between the insertion rollers 9 may be detected by a shock detection section, which may be constructed of, for example, a micro switch, provided on the push-up hook 6;
It may be detected by a sensor such as a detection phototube installed near the insertion roller 9.

Finally, the photosensitive plate 10 held between the insertion rollers 9 is sent to the plate conveyance system of the automatic developing machine 11.

By repeating the above steps, the auto feeder 1 of this embodiment can sequentially convey the photosensitive plates 10 one by one to the automatic developing machine.

Here, the configuration of the tip portion of the capturing means 13 in the above embodiment is shown in FIG. The capturing means 13 used in the present invention has a suction cup 14, a piping section 15 having a suction cup attachment part, a sphere 16, and at least one groove 17 provided in the axial direction on the inner wall of the suction cup attachment part. More specifically, the pipe section 15, which has one end connected to the suction pump, has a suction cup attachment section at the end of the piping section 15, which has a large diameter. A small diameter portion of a suction cup 14 made of rubber or plastic resin is inserted into the large diameter portion, and the inner wall of the suction cup mounting portion has, for example, four grooves 17 along the axial direction. A sphere 16 is inserted into the suction cup mounting portion and has a diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the suction cup mounting portion and is movable in the axial direction within the mounting portion. In this case, it is desirable that the groove 17 is configured such that its depth increases toward the distal end side.

Therefore, when the suction pump is operated, the sphere 16 is attracted to the pump side (the back side of the suction cup attachment part), but air is sucked in through the groove 17 and the suction cup 1
Negative pressure is generated at the suction port 4, and the photosensitive plate 10
As the adsorption of the photosensitive plate 10 progresses, it becomes almost equal to the negative pressure on both sides of the sphere 16, so the sphere 16 becomes free and the adsorption of the photosensitive plate 10 becomes complete. . On the other hand, even if the size of the photosensitive plate 10 is small and the plate surface does not come into contact with some of the suction cups 14 at this time, leakage from the suction cups 14 at the portions where the plate surface does not come into contact will cause the sphere 16 to be on the back side. As a result of being attracted to the That is, since the sphere 16 is sucked to the back of the suction cup attachment part, leakage from only a small gap in the groove 17 does not become a large leak, and a decrease in the suction force of other suction cups 14 that have captured the photosensitive plate 10 is prevented. It can be suppressed. Therefore, by using the capturing means of the present invention, even small-sized photosensitive plates 10 can be reliably captured by simply aligning the placement position of the suction cup 14 with the largest-sized photosensitive plate 10. Even if the photosensitive plates of different sizes are stored in the photosensitive plate supply table 12, these photosensitive plates can be captured.

Here, in the above embodiment, the leading roller 4,
Although the chain 2 is used as a means for locking and moving the intermediate roller 5 and the rear support member 7, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a rubber belt or the like may be used. Further, instead of the fixed roller that supports the photosensitive plate being conveyed from the back side, a means such as Etiquette Brush (trade name) may be used.

(Effect of the invention) As described above, the auto feeder of the present invention has the following features:
It is structured so that sheets such as photosensitive plates can be stored in a nearly vertical position.
Compared to conventional auto feeders, it requires a very small installation space, and the relatively simple structure at the tip of the sheet capturing means can reliably capture multiple photosensitive plates of different sizes. Extremely easy to operate.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an embodiment of a photosensitive plate auto feeder as one aspect of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the photosensitive plate auto feeder shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 and 4 are schematic side views showing the operation of the vicinity where the capturing means of this embodiment is provided, and FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view (a) and A- It is A sectional view (b). 1...Photosensitive plate auto feeder, 2...
Chain, 3...Sprocket, 4...Top roller, 5...Intermediate roller, 6...Push-up hook,
7... Rear support part, 8... Rotating fixed roller, 9...
...Insertion roller, 10...Photosensitive plate, 11...
...Automatic developing machine, 12...Photosensitive plate supply stand,
13... Capturing means, 14... Suction cup, 15... Piping section, 16... Sphere, 17... Groove, 19... Detecting means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sheet auto feeder that takes out sheets one by one from a sheet supply table 12 on which a plurality of sheets 10 are placed in the longitudinal direction and sends them to the next process, which a sheet capturing means 13 that captures the rear end of the upper sheet and transfers it to a side where it can be peeled off by a sheet peeling means; and a sheet capturing means 13 that detects peeling of the sheet by the sheet peeling means and releases the gripping of the sheet. and a conveyance means for detecting the release of the sheet capture by the sheet capture and release means and conveying the sheet along the slide support section 8 to the next step. Ida. 2. A pair of chains 2 in which the slide support section 8 is composed of a plurality of fixed rotating rollers and the sheet conveyance means are arranged in parallel, at least one intermediate roller 5 mounted between the two chains, and the sheet 10. The sheet auto feeder according to claim 1, comprising a rear end support section 7 having a push-up hook 6 for supporting the rear end edge. 3. The sheet auto feeder according to claim 1, wherein the sheet peeling means is a roller 4 suspended horizontally at the head of a pair of parallel chains 2 in the direction of travel. 4. The capturing means 13 is equipped with a suction cup 14 at the tip of a piping section 15 connected to a suction pump, and has a suction cup mounting part configured to have a large diameter, and has at least one suction cup 14 along the axis line on an inner wall surface of the suction cup mounting part. Groove 17
The sheet auto feeder according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a sphere 16 that is movable in the axial direction within the suction cup mounting portion.