Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.

Arifumi Omoto

Kazuma Kan

Shiro Kitawaki

Toru Kawada

Tadaaki Tani

Keisuke Hirayama

Koichi Nishimura

Takayuki Mitsushima

Masahiro Nakajima

An image recorder and a method of recording an image on a printing plate are provided. A punch unit for forming punched holes and the like for use in a printing apparatus in the printing plate positions the printing plate by bringing a pair of reference pins into contact with an edge of the printing plate, and punches the printing plate. Next, the printing plate is transferred to a recording drum in the image recorder for image recording. The recording drum is provided with positioning pins mounted upright in substantially the same location as the reference pins of the punch unit. Thus, a portion of the edge of the printing plate which made contact with the reference pins of the punch unit is also brought into contact with the positioning pins of the recording drum. Therefore, the positional relationship between the punches holes for printing and the recorded image is held constant without being affected by an undulation or swell on the edge of the printing plate.

Method of recording image and image recorder

Positioning of a printing plate in an image recorder is performed by the same method used for punching positioning holes for printing press in the printing plate. Specifically, the positioning for image recording is performed with reference to an edge of the printing plate on the same side as the edge of the printing plate used as a reference for punching the positioning holes for printing press. When the positioning for punching the positioning holes for printing press is performed with reference to the central position of the printing plate, the central position of the printing plate is detected based on a measured width of the printing plate, and the positioning for image recording is carried out with reference to the central position. Consequently, an image recorded on the printing plate by the image recorder and the positioning holes for printing press in the printing plate always have the same positional relationship.

Image recorder

An image recorder includes a punch unit for punching a hole in a plate. The punch unit has six punchers disposed movably. Punches of the punchers can punch holes of different configurations. A punch of a required configuration moves to a required location toward a plate prepared on an upper tray of a feed/discharge unit. After a hole is punched in the plate by this punch, the plate is fed to a drum. This allows changes in the location of a punched hole in the plate without the need to simply increase the number of punchers when the range of plate sizes mountable on the drum is expanded. If competition in punch standards occurs, the image recorder allows a required puncher to be situated in a desired location.

Image recorder for punching hole by movable punching element

An image recorder is provided. For mounting two plates on a drum, two side-to-side adjustment sections are used. Each of the side-to-side adjustment sections includes an outer nut portion and an inner nut portion movable by respective ball screws in a first direction perpendicular to a second direction in which the plates are fed. When a plate is fed with reference to the center of the drum as seen in the first direction, the inner nut portion is pivoted about the corresponding ball screw aside to a location such as not to hinder the movement of the plate. Thus, when a plurality of side-to-side adjustment sections are provided for side-to-side adjustment of plates, at least one of the side-to-side adjustment sections which is not in use is prevented from interfering with the plates.

A recording drum has a clamp groove extending in its circumferential direction formed on its outer peripheral surface. A plurality of front end clamps are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the recording drum. Rear end clamps are attached so as to be movable and so as to be fixable along the clamp groove on the outer peripheral surface of the recording drum. A recording head is disposed ahead of the recording drum, and a clamp driving device is disposed behind the recording drum. The clamp driving device comprises a first driving device for fixing the front end clamps and fixing and releasing the rear end clamps and a second driving device for releasing the front end clamps. The front end clamps and the rear end clamps reliably fix a front end and a rear end of a plate to the outer peripheral surface of the recording drum by a reaction force produced by a spring and a centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the recording drum.

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Kyoto, Japan

Arifumi Omoto