Apparatus for film application
AssigneeHercules Incorporated
InventorMichael John Cairns
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention is apparatus for laying film in wrinkle-free fashion on a flat surface. A protective film is automatically laid down on a flat rigid vacuum support plate capable of having an image bearing transparency thereon when the instant invention traverses the rigid support plate in one pass in one direction. A photosensitive material and a backing material may then be subsequently supplied to the rigid support plate upon a second pass in the reverse direction to provide a photopolymer plate which may be exposed through a transparency covered by said first film. The resulting photopolymer plate having hardened relief image areas may then be further treated to provide a printing plate.
Claims2
Film application apparatus for laying film in wrinkle-free fashion on a flat plate comprising:
- a flat plate having vacuum channels in the surface thereof, said flat plate having a front end and a rear end;
- a carriage reciprocally mounted on said flat plate to traverse said flat plate;
- cover film supply roll rotatably connected to said carriage by friction clutch means to provide resistance to rotation of said film to statically and dynamically tension said film;
- pressure roller to press said film in contact with said plate;
- eccentric means rotatably connecting said pressure roller to said carriage, initial linear motion of said carriage in one direction from said front end to said rear end moving said pressure roller into contact with said film and initial linear motion in the opposite direction moving said pressure roller to an elevated spaced apart position above said flat plate;
- hot wire cutting means positioned adjacent said rear end of said flat plate to sever said film rolled onto the surface of said flat plate when said carriage reaches said rear end of said flat plate;
- vertically movable vacuum bar means movably connected to said carriage to force film into contact with said cutting means and to hold the trailing edge of the cover film supply roll when severed;
- a stationary vacuum bar positioned adjacent said hot wire cutting means at said rear end of said flat plate to retain the severed portion of the film on said flat plate after said vertically movable vacuum bar forces the film into contact with said hot wire cutting means;
- air bar means connected to said carriage and interconnected with said vertically movable vacuum bar to release said trailing edge of the cover film supply roll and blow said film toward said flat plate upon initial movement of said carriage in said one direction;
- and,
- means for feeding a liquid photosensitive material onto said film to form a layer of photosensitive material and means for laminating a backing material onto said layer of photosensitive material, said means for feeding liquid and said means for laminating a backing material, both mounted on said carriage and being activated upon return movement of said carriage in said opposite direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.