Patent ID: 7143693

Claim:
An erasing and cleaning apparatus for cylindrical surfaces including printing forms and blanket cylinders of a printing press, comprising: a cassette including means for transporting a cleaning cloth, said means for transporting being packageable with the cleaning cloth in said cassette; a positioning unit having a superstructure for accommodating said cassette and including sidewalls connected by a crossmember, said cassette being exchangeabley inserted between said sidewalls of said positioning unit, said positioning unit being drivable for driving said means for transporting; a lateral guide arrangeable in the printing press comprising a carriage and means for moving the positioning unit between a first position, in the which the means for transporting is moved onto the cylindrical surface to be cleaned, and an out-of-contact position, at which said cassette is laterally removable from said positioning unit, said carriage comprising two telescopically displaceable pairs of double rails connectable to the printing press, each of said double rails comprising a fixed rail and a moveable rail, said carriage being connected to said movable rails; and at least one coupling module for selectively coupling and decoupling a removable one of said sidewalls of said positioning unit and said cassette, wherein said coupling module is pivotally mounted with said removable one of said side walls on one of said movable rails, said coupling module comprising a housing, shaft journals for producing a form-fitting and force transmitting connection, said shaft journals being mounted in said housing by a spring loaded mounting, and a transversely movable cam element comprising cams for securing said shaft journals against a spring force of the spring loaded mounting.