JP3011970B2 - Drum changer for color separation scanner - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drum changing device for a color separation scanner used in plate making for color printing and the like, and in particular, automatically changes a drum to which an image to be separated is attached. It relates to the technology to be performed.

[Conventional technology]

There is a plate making process as a preparation process for performing color printing, and color separation of an image to be printed is required to perform correct plate making. Color separation is defined as Y included in an image.
(Yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan) and B (black)
Is to be decomposed into four components. A color separation scanner is used for this color separation. The color separation scanner performs color separation processing by performing calculations by a built-in color computer in accordance with various color separation condition data for printing.

The image to be subjected to color separation is attached to the peripheral surface of a drum (also called a cylinder) made of a transparent cylinder in a state of a positive film. The image is subjected to a color separation process while the drum is detachably supported at a predetermined mounting position of the color separation scanner.

This drum needs to be replaced with a drum to which a new image is attached each time the color separation processing of the image attached to the drum is completed. The exchange period varies depending on decomposition conditions such as the number of images (or area), but is approximately in units of hours, for example. Heretofore, in general, this drum changing operation has been performed manually.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In order to improve the operation rate of the color separation scanner,
It is preferable to operate day and night continuously. However, for this purpose, workers need to work late at night, but late night work of workers should be avoided at various points, and unmanned operations are required here.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a drum changing device for a color separation scanner which can improve the work efficiency of color separation processing of an image and make the work unattended.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a plurality of drums (10
B) is held upright and arranged in a ring, and the horizontal preparation table (12), which rotates on a horizontal plane in synchronization with the replacement cycle of the drum (10B), and the drum (10B) are detachable. A color separation scanner (5) that supports and separates the original (34), and a drum (10C) that has been subjected to color separation attached to the color separation scanner (5) is collected, and the preparation table is collected. A transfer robot (7) for grasping the drum (10B) waiting at (12) and transferring it to the drum mounting position of the color separation scanner (5), and a color separation processing operation of the color separation scanner (5); The transfer robot (7)
And a control device (4) for controlling the operation sequence of the preparation table (12).

[Action]

According to the present invention, on the preparation table (12), for example, a plurality of drums (10B) of a number that can be processed at night are put on standby so that they can be arbitrarily taken out. A document (34) to be subjected to color separation is attached to each drum (10B) in advance.
The transfer robot (7) individually holds the drums (10B) on the preparation table (12) and transfers them to the drum mounting position of the color separation scanner (5). Disassembled drum (10
Collect C). In this way, the transfer robot (7) collects the processed drum (10C) and a new drum (10B).
Are automatically and sequentially performed in accordance with control information such as a preset exchange period and exchange order. This series of control operations and the color separation processing of the color separation scanner (5) are controlled by control arithmetic processing by the control device (4).

Example Next, the present invention will be described based on an example illustrated.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a drum changing device for a color separation scanner according to the present invention. Color separation scanner drum replacement apparatus includes a preparation station ST ₁ for carrying out the required preparation time of the color separation process, a process station ST ₂ for performing color separation processing is roughly divided into.

Color separation instruction data generating apparatus 2 is installed in the preparation station ST _1. The color separation instruction data creating device 2 is configured by a data processing device including a computer, and is for generating color separation instruction data including separation conditions for each image provided from the input device 1. The generated color separation instruction data is stored in the floppy disk 3 as a data transmission medium in the color separation instruction data creating device ₂ and passed to the processing station ST2.

The processing station ST _2, the control arithmetic unit 4, the color separation scanner 5, the transfer robot 7 is installed.

The control arithmetic unit 4 controls the color separation processing in the color separation scanner 5 and the transfer operation of the transfer robot 7 according to the color separation instruction data stored in the floppy disk 3.
As shown in FIG. 2, the control arithmetic unit 4 has a CPU 25, and a ROM 26 and a RAM 27 are connected via a system bus 28. Further, an I / O port 30 is connected to the system bus 28 via an I / O bus 29, and a floppy disk drive 31, a CRT 32, an input keyboard 33, a color separation scanner 5, and a transfer robot 7 are connected to the I / O port 30. It is connected.
The color separation instruction data stored in the floppy disk 3 is read by the floppy disk drive 31,
CPU 25 after being captured via O port 30 and I / O bus 29
Is stored in the RAM 27 as a work memory under the control of.
If necessary, transfer data from the floppy disk drive 31 and input keyboard 33 can be transferred to a DMA (Dynamic Memor
y Access) It is also possible to perform high-speed transfer by a device.

While reading the color separation instruction data stored in the RAM 27, the CPU 25 transmits the instruction data to the system bus 28 and the I / O according to the control program and the arithmetic program stored in the ROM 26 in advance.
It is sent to the color separation scanner 5 and the transfer robot 7 via the O bus 29 and the I / O port 30, and is controlled so that the CRT 32 performs necessary display sequentially. The detailed control algorithm will be described later (FIGS. 5 and 6).

The color separation scanner 5 receives the target drum 10C under the set color separation conditions based on the instruction data from the control arithmetic unit 4.
Performs color separation of the image attached to the. The color separation scanner 5 has a mounting portion, on which the target drum 10C is mounted in a horizontal direction. The mounting structure is configured such that the flange 11 of the target drum 10C is detachably supported by an appropriate chuck mechanism. The color separation scanner 5 is provided with a light projector 6 movable in the axial direction inside the attached target drum 10C, and emits a laser beam from the light projector 6 to a target image 34 on the target drum 10C. The read light (not shown) receives the transmitted light, and performs color separation. In this case, when a plurality of target images 34 are attached to the target drum 10C, the reading scan operation using the laser light is performed under the color separation conditions set for each image. A preparation table 12 is arranged near the color separation scanner 5.

The preparation table 12 is constituted by a rotary table, and a target drum is controlled by a drive unit (not shown) under the control of the control arithmetic unit 4.
It rotates in synchronization with the replacement cycle of 10C. On the preparation table 12, a plurality of preparation drums 10B for color separation by the color separation scanner 5 are placed at predetermined intervals.

A transfer robot 7 is disposed at an intermediate position between the color separation scanner 5 and the preparation table 12 described above. The transfer robot 7 is the target drum 10C detached from the color separation scanner 5
, And transferred to the storage table 9 by a rotation operation,
Next, a new preparation drum 10B on the preparation table 12 is gripped, and the preparation drum 10B is transferred to a mounting portion of the color separation scanner 5 by a rotation operation. Also, if necessary, the standby position
Retreat linearly to P _w and wait for the next operation. FIG. 3 shows an example of the structure of the transfer robot 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer robot 7 has a base 21 for fixing to a floor or the like. The turntable 13 that rotates around the horizontal direction is connected to the base 21, and the shaft 15 of the first arm 16 is pivotally connected to a bearing 14 formed at the upper end of the turntable 13.

The first arm 16 pivots around the vertical direction (in other words, moves up and down) by pivotal connection between the bearing portion 14 and the shaft portion 15. A shaft 17 is formed at the upper end of the first arm 16, and a support portion is formed on the shaft 17.
18 is mounted so as to be rotatable around the vertical direction. A second arm 19 is attached to the support portion 18 so as to be rotatable in a direction intersecting the rotation direction of the support portion 18. A neck portion 20 is pivotally attached to the distal end of the second arm 19, and the hand 8 is attached via the neck portion 20 so as to be openable and closable. Hand 8
Are formed in a pair in the shape of a finger, and lock pins 22 are respectively attached to side surfaces on the inner peripheral side of the distal end. As shown in FIG. 4, the hand 8 has a notch 24, and the inner bottom of the notch 24 extends along the outer peripheral surface of the step 23 of the flange 11 of the target drum 10C. Then, the flange 11 is gripped and locked by engaging with the side surface of the notch 24. A hydraulic or electric motor is incorporated in each of the above-mentioned pivoting parts to perform a rotating operation in each part, and each part is driven in accordance with a control command sequence (FIG. 6) from the control arithmetic unit 4 to perform necessary operations. It performs a suitable holding operation and transfer operation.

Next, a series of operations of the above-described drum changing device for a color separation scanner will be described. FIG. 5 shows the operation flow. It is assumed that the color separation instruction data for each preparation drum 10A has been created in advance by the input device 1 and the color separation instruction data creating device 2, and has been stored on the floppy disk 3.

First, a preparation drum 10A to the preparation station ST _1, and inputs to the control arithmetic unit 4 is subjected to a priority to each preparation drum 10A (S1). At this time, each preparation drum 10A is associated with the mounting position (ST number) of the preparation table 12 (S2). Next, the floppy disk 3 is connected to the control arithmetic unit 4
And the ST number is automatically assigned, and the data of the floppy disk 3 is taken into the control arithmetic unit 4 (S3). At this time, the transfer robot 7 is
When the processing of the color separation scanner 5 is automatically stopped (S5), the transfer robot 7
Hold 10C (S7). When the color separation scanner 5 automatically stops, the previous work data of the color separation instruction data creating device 2 is automatically deleted, and the next preparation drum 10A is reset (S6). On the other hand, when the transfer robot 7 holds the target drum 10C, the color separation scanner 5 moves the flange 1 of the target drum 10C.
Release the drum claw (not shown) that is chucking 1,
The target drum 10C is released (S8). The transfer robot 7 removes the released target drum 10C from the color separation scanner 5, rotates, transfers it again to the preparation table 12, and returns it (S
9). This completes the collection of the previously processed target drum 10C (S10).

Next, a new preparation drum 10B is mounted and a color separation process is performed. First, the preparation table 12 is rotated by the control arithmetic unit 4, and the sequential drum 10B having a higher priority is moved to the standby position of the hand 8 of the transfer robot 7. (S11). At this time, the ST number is read (S12), and the control arithmetic unit 4 prepares new color separation instruction data for the preparation drum 10B. On the other hand, the color separation scanner 5 enters a preparation state for mounting the preparation drum 10B transferred by the transfer robot 7, and the positional relationship between the flange 11 of the preparation drum 10B and the mounting portion of the color separation scanner 5; The combination is adjusted (S15). The transfer robot 7, having received the signal of the completion of the adjustment, confirms the signal (S16), and then applies the preparation drum 10B to the color separation scanner 5 (S17). The color separation scanner 5 locks the drum claw (S19) and absorbs the color separation instruction data from the control arithmetic unit 4 (S20). And
The identification code (bar code) attached to the drum 10B is read, and it is confirmed whether or not it matches the sucked data (S2
1). At this time, the transfer robot 7 is separated from the color separation scanner 5 and stands by at a fixed position (S18). After the above processing, the color separation scanner 5 automatically starts (22),
After color separation (exposure) is performed according to a predetermined procedure, the operation is automatically stopped (S23).

In the above-described embodiment, the floppy disk 3 is used as a medium for transmitting data from the color separation instruction data creating device 2 to the control arithmetic device 4, but a dedicated transmission bus is connected between the two devices to directly transmit the data. You may do so.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the transfer robot collects the target drum subjected to the color separation processing, and automatically performs the replacement operation of setting a new preparation drum in the color separation scanner.
Continuous operation can be performed unattended, and the work efficiency of the color separation processing can be improved.

In addition, since the preparation table holding the drum to be set in the color separation scanner is rotated in synchronization with the drum replacement cycle, the exchange of the drum between the color separation scanner and the preparation table by the transfer robot can be more easily performed. Can be done quickly. Also, since the preparation table is a horizontal rotary table, the work of attaching and detaching the preparation drum and the processed drum to and from the preparation table is simplified, and moreover, the drums are arranged in an upright state on the preparation table in a ring shape, so that more space can be accommodated in a narrow space. Drum can be set.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a drum changing device for a color separation scanner according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control arithmetic unit, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a transfer robot, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a correspondence relationship with a drum, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a series of operations of a drum changing device for a color separation scanner, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a control sequence of a control arithmetic unit. ST ₁ … Preparation station ST ₂ … Processing station 1… Input device 2… Color separation instruction data creation device 3… Floppy disk 4… Control arithmetic unit 5… Color separation scanner 6… Emitter 7… Transfer robot 8 Hand 9 Storage table 10A Preparation drum 10B Preparation drum 10C Target drum 11 Flange 12 Preparation table 13 Rotary table 14 Bearing unit 15 Shaft 16 First arm 17 Shaft 18 Support 19 Second arm 20 Neck 21 Base 22 Lock pin 23 Step 24 Notch 25 CPU 26… ROM 27… RAM 28… System bus 29… I / O bus 30… I / O port 31… Floppy disk drive 32… CRT 33… Input keyboard 34… Target image, P _w ... Standby position.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A horizontal preparation table which holds a plurality of drums on which an original to be subjected to color separation is mounted in an upright state and arranged in a ring, and rotates on a horizontal plane in synchronization with a drum replacement cycle. A color separation scanner that detachably supports the drum to perform color separation of the document, and collects the color-separated drum attached to the color separation scanner, and waits in the preparation table. A transfer robot that grips a drum and transfers it to a drum mounting position of the color separation scanner, and a control device that controls a color separation processing operation of the color separation scanner and an operation sequence of the transfer robot and the preparation table. A drum exchanging device for a color separation scanner.