Apparatus for loading and unloading a supply of plates in an automated plate handler

• Main Authors: KRUPICA LIBOR, SMITH GERALD L, FREEMAN ROSS A, FOLSOM JAMES C, LARSEN DAVID B, ROMBULT PHILIP A, BLAKE LAURENCE S, RING ROBERT S, JACQUES ROGER A
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 02.11.2006
• Subjects: APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; CINEMATOGRAPHY; CONVEYING; ELECTROGRAPHY; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS,CABLES; HOLOGRAPHY; LINING MACHINES; MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGINGARTICLES OR MATERIALS; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PACKING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS; PRINTING; PROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR REPRODUCTION OF PRINTINGSURFACES; STAMPS; STORING; TRANSPORTING; TYPEWRITERS; UNPACKING

An apparatus is provided for positioning a plurality of cassettes within an automated printing plate handler. In a plate handler, a plurality of cassettes each contain a supply of printing plates for delivery to an automatic plate-recording device. The apparatus includes a separate support table for supporting each of the plurality of cassettes within the plate handler and an elevator device for moving each of the support tables along a vertical axis of the automated plate handler. The automated plate handler is configured to automatically position a selected cassette in a first position to facilitate removal of the cassette from the handler. The plate handler further includes a platform, which substantially forms an extension of the support table supporting the selected cassette in the first position. The platform provides a second position, at which the selected cassette is to be one of, loaded or unloaded. The selected cassette may be filled with a new supply of plates on the platform or the selected cassette may be removed from the platform and replaced by another cassette.