Joseph Lyons

US Patent:

6675712, Jan 13, 2004

Filed:

Apr 5, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/117412

Inventors:

Thomas Marincic - Tyngsboro MA
Aron Mirmelshteyn - Marblehead MA
Joseph Lyons - Wilmington MA

Assignee:

Agfa Corporation - Wilmington MA

International Classification:

B65H 354

US Classification:

101477, 101483, 271106

Abstract:

An apparatus and method for picking a single printing plate from a stack of printing plates. The apparatus includes a plurality of suction cups, a peeler, a drive system for displacing the suction cups and the peeler against the surface of the top printing plate on the stack, a vacuum source for supplying a vacuum to the suction cups to secure the suction cups against the surface of the top printing plate, and a system for rotatably displacing the suction cups relative to the peeler to peel a portion of the top printing plate off of the stack. The center line of rotation of the displacing system is located at a contact point between the peeler and the surface of the top printing plate. This prevents any relative motion of the top printing plate against the next, underlying printing plate on the stack during the peeling operation.

US Patent:

6880462, Apr 19, 2005

Filed:

Jan 3, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/039901

Inventors:

Thomas Marincic - Tyngsboro MA, US
Aron Mirmelshteyn - Marblehead MA, US
Joseph Lyons - Wilmington MA, US

Assignee:

Agfa Corporation - Wilmington MA

International Classification:

B41L047/14
B65H005/08

US Classification:

101477, 101479, 101483, 271105, 4147966, 4147972

Abstract:

An apparatus and method for supporting and feeding printing plates in an imaging system. The apparatus includes a vacuum system for picking up an edge of a top printing plate from a stack of printing plates, and a peeling system including a pair of rotatable belts, a plurality of plate feed beams attached to, and extending between, the pair of rotatable belts, and a drive system for rotating the pair of rotatable belts to displace the plurality of plate feed beams between the top printing plate and an underlying printing plate in the stack of printing plates, thereby peeling the top printing plate from the stack of printing plates.

US Patent:

20030188985, Oct 9, 2003

Filed:

Apr 5, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/117749

Inventors:

Steven DaSilva - Reading MA, US
Thomas Marincic - Tyngsboro MA, US
Donald Richardson - Atkinson NH, US
Robert Olenio - North Andover MA, US
Joseph Lyons - Wilmington MA, US

Assignee:

Agfa Corporation

International Classification:

B65D085/48

US Classification:

206/456000, 206/216000

Abstract:

A plate cassette for a platesetter comprises a tray that receives and stores stacks of plates. Side frame members are located on opposed sides of the tray. These side frame members have tracks that engage with wheels of another plate cassette and wheels that engage with tracks of still another plate cassette. In this way, cassettes may be stacked and stored, one on top of each other. The wheel engagement strategy, between cassettes, however, allows individual cassettes to be rolled out, enabling access to the plate stack in the selected cassette's tray. A suction leak groove is formed in a surface of the tray. This provides for a suction leakage path for a picker, when the picker must grab typically the last plate in the stack and the plate is not full-sized. The suction grabbers that do not directly grab the plate do not adhere to the tray, allowing the picker to separate the plate from the tray. A slip sheet removal groove is also provided.

US Patent:

20030190225, Oct 9, 2003

Filed:

Apr 5, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/117482

Inventors:

Thomas Marincic - Tyngsboro MA, US
Aron Mirmelshteyn - Marblehead MA, US
Joseph Lyons - Wilmington MA, US
Matthew Kowalczyk - Somerville MA, US

Assignee:

Agfa Corporation

International Classification:

B25J005/02

US Classification:

414/758000, 414/765000, 414/766000, 414/782000, 414/773000, 414/795800

Abstract:

A plate cassette loader for a platesetter comprises a cassette holder for receiving a cassette, containing a stack of plates. A cassette inverter then rotates this cassette to a feed position in which the plates can be fed into the imaging engine of the platesetter. In this way, the somewhat unwieldy process of loading plates into the imaging engine is handled by the cassette inverter, in combination with the fact that the stack of plates, contained in the cassette, can be loaded in one step, rather than requiring the feeding of individual plates by a dedicated operator.

US Patent:

20050046105, Mar 3, 2005

Filed:

Aug 26, 2003

Appl. No.:

10/649560

Inventors:

Donald Richardson - Atkinson NH, US
Joseph Lyons - Wilmington MA, US
Steven DaSilva - Reading MA, US

Assignee:

Agfa Corporation - Wilmington MA

International Classification:

B65H005/02

US Classification:

271272000

Abstract:

A substrate manager for a substrate exposure machine is used, in one example, as a platesetter. As such, it comprises a substrate storage system, containing one or more stacks of substrates, such as plates in one implementation. A substrate picker is provided for picking substrates from the stack of substrates. The substrates are then handed to a transfer system that conveys the substrates to an imaging engine. According to the invention, a substrate inverter system is also provided. This system inverts the substrates from being imaging or emulsion side down to emulsion side up in the present implementation. This allows plates, for example, which are stored emulsion side down in cassettes to be flipped to an emulsion side up orientation, and then transferred, using the substrate transfer system to the imaging engine. This flipping process has two advantages. First, the plates can be emulsion side up during the transfer. This prevents any damage to the sensitive plate emulsions. Moreover, the plates, now in an emulsion side up configuration are in the right orientation for being installed on the outside of a drum on an external drum imaging system, as is common in many platesetters. Also, the plates are picked from the non emulsion side. Thus the system is less sensitive to emulsion formulation changes. A slip sheet capture mechanism is also provided to pass slip sheets separating the plates to a storage location.