Back to results
US 8,550,000 B2Granted
Printing plate unloading apparatus and method
AssigneeGoss Graphic Systems, Inc.
InventorsStuart Michael Gahan, Tony Hollings
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeGoss Graphic Systems, Inc.
InventorsStuart Michael Gahan, Tony Hollings
Estimating the term…
Apparatus for removing printing plates (8) having leading and trailing edges located in a lock-up slot in a plate cylinder (2) of a rotary printing press, from said plate cylinder (2) is disclosed. The apparatus comprises means for extracting the trailing edge from a lock-up slot which is also operable to partially extract the leading edge from a lock up slot. The apparatus further includes an extraction member for engaging, as the printing cylinder rotates, a portion of the leading edge (8a) of the printing plate protruding from the lock up slot (9) following its partial extraction, to complete the removal of the printing plates from the printing cylinder and leave the removed plates, hanging by their leading edge (8a), on the extraction member. A method of loading printing plates onto a plate cylinder (2) is also disclosed.
Apparatus for removing one or more printing plates each having leading and trailing edges located in a lock-up slot in a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, from said plate cylinder, the apparatus comprising means for gripping and partially extracting the leading edge of a printing plate from a lock up slot subsequent to extraction of the trailing edge of the printing plate from its lock up slot and, an extraction member for engaging, as the printing cylinder rotates, a portion of the leading edge of the printing plate protruding from the lock up slot following its partial extraction, to complete the removal of the printing plate from the printing cylinder and leave the removed plate, hanging by its leading edge, on the extraction member, the extraction member being separate from the means for gripping and partially extracting the leading edge of a printing plate.
A method of removing one or more printing plates each having leading and trailing edges located in a lock-up slot in a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, from said plate cylinder, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.