Device for assembling, dismantling and transporting easily bent, arc-shaped objects with folded suspension edges

A device for mounting, removing and transporting an easily bendable, curved printing plate with front and rear, dimensionally stable beveled suspension edges which are resistant to being bent open, and whose respective legs form an opening angle (alpha) of less than 90.degree., on and from a cylinder of a rotary printing press, which has at least one suspension strip of a nose-shaped cross section and a closure which engages said rear beveled suspension edge of the printing plate and which has pivotable resilient clamping flaps comprising:

• at least one printing plate preparation device positioned near the plate cylinder and fixed on a press frame and which can receive at least one pre-positioned printing plate;
• a cross arm with at least one gripper and pressing device disposed so it can be positioned in a transport plane by means of a positioning device having linear drives, and wherein the transport plane lies approximately parallel with and above a tangent determined by a cylinder surface of the cylinder and a suspension strip of the printing plate preparation device;
• and
• a gripper unit in said at least one gripper and pressing device and equipped with suction strips acting on the printing side of the printing plate, said gripper unit, starting at the transport plane, being disposed movable away from and toward a suspension strip of the cylinder, said gripper unit being movable parallel with an axis of rotation of the cylinder along the suspension strip of the cylinder in such a way that a printing plate fixed on said gripper unit can be pressed with a definable force against lateral register stops disposed on the suspension strip of the cylinder.