Patent ID: 11860543
Assignee: ESKO-GRAPHICS IMAGING GMBH
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. A plate handling system for transporting printing plates between workstations in a process workflow, the system comprising:
a plurality of vacuum gripper end effectors configured to grip the printing plates and mounted to a computer controlled transporter, the transporter configured to translate in at least three orthogonal directions and to rotate about at least one rotational axis;
at least one sensor for detecting orientation of the plate relative to at least one staging location in the process workflow; and
a controller, connected to the transporter and the at least one sensor, configured to cause the transporter to move based upon programmed instructions in accordance with information provided by the sensor;
wherein the transporter comprises a carriage configured to translate in an X direction, a Y linear stage connected to the carriage and configured to translate in a Y direction orthogonal to the X direction, a rotation stage connected to the Y linear stage and configured to rotate about a Z axis orthogonal to the X and Y directions, and a Z linear stage connected to the carriage and configured to translate along a Z direction orthogonal to the X and Y directions.