Patent ID: 6899264

Claim:
An apparatus for producing a sleeve-shaped printing plate from a rectangular blank having a leading edge, an opposed trailing edge, and a registration feature toward the leading edge, said apparatus comprising: a circular shaping device for shaping the rectangular blank; a welding system for cutting and welding the edges to form a sleeve; a feed table for positioning said rectangular blank with said leading edge toward said welding system, said feed table being inclined at an angle so that it rises toward said welding system; and a displacement device for picking up the blank from the feed table and transporting it to the circular shaping device, said displacement device comprising a fixing frame having a first lifting element which engages said blank adjacent to said leading edge and a second lifting element which can be moved relative to said first lifting element and can engage said blank adjacent to said trailing edge, said first lifting element comprising a registration feature which engages said registration feature of said blank to align said leading edge of said blank in-register, and at least one contact element for holding said blank in-register, said second lifting element comprising at least one contact element for holding said blank in-register, said second lifting element being movable relative to said first lifting element, whereby, when the registration feature of the first lifting element engages the registration feature of the blank, the blank is aligned level and in-register toward said trailing edge on account of the weight of the blank on the inclined feed table.