Patent ID: 8516961
Filing Date: 2013-08-27
Classification: B29C,B41C,B41P,B65H,G03F

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for loading printing plates comprising: a frame; a drum imager including a rotatable drum and configured for imaging a plate; a loading area adjacent to the drum and configured to hold a single plate that is to be loaded onto the drum, the holding of a to-be-loaded plate being at a loading position; an unloading area separate from the loading area, and configured to hold a single plate; one or more sources of ultraviolet energy configured to irradiate a plate with ultraviolet radiation during one or both of loading of the plate and unloading of the plate; and a control system configured to control: the loading of a particular plate from the loading position onto the drum; the imaging of the loaded plate to form an imaged plate; the irradiation by one or more of the sources; and the unloading of the imaged plate onto the unloading area, such that a plate that includes material that is curable by irradiation with ultraviolet radiation can be irradiated by one or more of the sources of ultraviolet energy in an automatic manner under control of the control system during one or both of loading of the plate and unloading of the plate; wherein the apparatus is configured such that while one plate is positioned at the loading position on the loading area, another plate can be unloaded from the imager or be situated at the unloading area.