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

Claim 54:
55. 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;
at least one thickness detector configured for measuring thickness of a printing plate relative to a surface of the plate handling system, the surface defining an X-Y plane for receiving the printing plate, the thickness detector comprising:
a sensor positioner controllable in at least Y and Z axes disposed above the surface;
a non-contact distance measurement sensor mounted on the positioner and configured to output a measurement signal indicative of distance along a Z axis perpendicular to the X-Y plane;
a processor configured to control the positioner and to receive a measurement signal from the sensor, the processor programmed with instructions for:
(a) receiving information defining X-Y dimensions and expected location of the plate;
(b) moving the positioner to a first position disposed above a point on the surface not above the expected location of the printing plate;
(c) obtaining a reference Z-distance measurement signal from the sensor for use as a reference Z-distance between the sensor and the surface;
(d) moving the positioner to a second position disposed above a point on the surface above the expected location of the printing plate;
(e) obtaining a second Z-distance measurement signal from the sensor and processing the second Z-distance measurement signal and the reference Z-distance measurement signal to obtain the measured thickness of the printing plate.