Plate changing apparatus for offset printing machines

Abstract

Plate changing apparatus for use with offset printing machines, including a plate stacking table, plate individualizing means for sequentially withdrawing only the lowermost plate from the stacking table, and plate transporting and guiding means to guide the freshly withdrawn plate to a form cylinder of the printing machine after having passed through a fixing bath. The apparatus includes means to pass the separated plate through a fixing bath prior to its deposit on the form cylinder and a depository for used plates removed from the form cylinder. The novelty resides in the individualizing means including a rotatable vacuum roll disposed adjacent a partly open bottom surface of the plate stacking table or container or tray holding the plates so that it can engage the lowermost plate. The vacuum roll has its shaft mounted in parallel with the leading edge of the plate stack for linear displacement in parallel with the bottom stack surface. A fixing bath container is disposed directly below the plate stack and the individualizing means and adjacent the form cylinder. This arrangement results in a particularly compact construction while enabling the plates to be handled carefully.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.