Patent ID: 7040229

Claim:
A method for loading and exchanging respective rollers of a plurality of printing units of a printing machine, wherein the printing machine includes a plurality of printing units in a sequence such that an item to be printed moves successively through the printing units in the sequence, and each printing unit includes a replaceable engraved roller and a cooperating printing cylinder which are operative together to apply printing to the object passing through the printing unit, the method comprising: bringing a first engraved roller to a loading station located at an entry to the sequence of printing units; operating a controllable robot to bring the first engraved roller from the loading station into an unloading position for the engraved roller located at a respective one of the printing units; bringing a second engraved roller to the loading station; operating the robot to bring the second engraved roller to a reserve station for engraved rollers located at the respective one of the printing units; operating the robot to bring additional first engraved rollers to the loading station; operating the robot to successively bring the additional first engraved rollers to the unloading position of each of the printing units and operating the robot to successively bring second engraved rollers to the respective reserve station at each of the printing units; operating the robot to bring one of the first engraved rollers at one of the printing units to a transport device and operating the transport device for bringing the one first roller to a working position where it cooperates with a respective printing cylinder to enable printing of an object between the one first roller and the printing cylinder; positioning and fixing the one first engraved roller in the working position in its respective printing unit; the method further comprising exchanging one of the first engraved rollers then located at the working position at one of the printing units comprising: withdrawing the one first engraved roller that is to be exchanged from the working position thereof at the respective printing cylinder in the one printing unit; transporting the withdrawn first engraved roller by a transport device into an unloading position at the one printing unit; operating the robot to bring the first engraved roller to be exchanged from the unloading position off the transport device to an unloaded storage location; operating the robot to move the second engraved roller from a reserve location to the transport device on the respective one printing unit and disposing the second engraving roller to the transport device of the one printing unit, and operating the transport device to bring the second engraved roller to the working position at the printing cylinder of the one printing unit, and fixing the second engraved roller at the working position.