JP2004330488A - Laminator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laminator constituted so as to prevent the deterioration of the image quality on the recording surface of a recording material by such a phenomenon that the dust in the laminator adheres to an unused laminated film to be transferred to the surface of the recording material as it is. <P>SOLUTION: When lamination processing is completed, the exposure quantity of the film portion 24 at the unused part of the laminated film 101 is calculated and the film 101 is backwound by the quantity. Further, when lamination processing is not performed, the rotation of an exhaust fan 120 is suppressed to prevent the dust in the laminator from being stirred up and adhering to the film. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a laminating apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, recording apparatuses such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, and a composite device thereof record information (for example, an image) formed of, for example, a dot pattern on various recording materials based on various information. ing. The recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a thermal type, a laser beam type, and the like according to a recording method.
[0003]
2. Description of the Related Art Ink-jet type ink jet recording apparatuses discharge small ink droplets from a discharge port of a recording head, deposit the ink droplets on a recording material, and record information on a recording material. For this reason, the ink jet recording apparatus has a lower operating sound than other recording apparatuses and has a simple basic configuration, so that the cost can be relatively suppressed and the ink jet recording apparatus is used in various fields.
[0004]
Recording materials used in this ink jet recording apparatus include plain paper and plastic sheets. When the surface of the recording material is coated with various fine inorganic materials, an ink absorption layer having a pore structure is formed on the surface of the recording material, so that the ink dots attached on the recording material do not bleed. . In particular, coated paper dedicated to ink is used in full-color printers and printers that require high-quality images. In recent years, since photographic printing is strongly desired, the ink ejection amount also tends to increase, and the recording material is often used at the maximum water supply rate.
Furthermore, on the recording material, in order to improve the quality of the recording material or the image quality, a transparent film that changes irreversibly is formed on the recorded information recording surface of the recording material to improve the image quality. Some of them are capable of continuously printing images with excellent weather resistance.
[0005]
Further, as a recording material having a layer that changes irreversibly on the printing surface side, for example, there is a recording material in which a porous polymer layer which is a member for forming a protective layer is formed on the printing surface. This porous polymer layer becomes a transparent polymer film by heat treatment to cover and protect the printing surface.
[0006]
Further, as another porous polymer layer, a recording material having a resin porous layer (a member for forming a protective layer) formed on the printing surface side is subjected to a heat treatment to form a transparent resin film covering the printing surface. To protect the surface. In any case, between the heating roller heated to a high temperature and the pressure roller to which high pressure is applied, by passing the recording material with the information recording surface of the recording material facing the heating roller, The recording material has a transparent protective layer formed on the surface.
[0007]
For this reason, the information recording surface comes into contact with the heating roller, and the surface of the roller is transferred to the surface of the transparent polymer film or the transparent resin film of the recording material. In this case, if there is a flaw on the surface of the roller, the flaw is transferred to the surface of the transparent polymer film or the transparent resin film, which causes deterioration in image quality.
[0008]
As another method for improving the image quality and weather resistance while solving these problems, a transparent polymer layer is not provided on the surface of the recording material in advance, and the transparent polymer layer is formed after printing on the recording material. Is formed on the surface.
[0009]
In the above conventional example, the recording material in which the ink absorbing layer and the porous polymer layer are integrated is a recording material here consisting of a base material and an ink absorbing layer, a plastic sheet (heat-resistant base material) and a porous material. It is divided into a transfer material composed of a polymer layer (a member for forming a protective layer).
[0010]
A method for fixing a porous polymer layer on a recording material will be described. First, both the recording material and the transfer material are passed through a pair of rollers maintained at high temperature and high pressure, with the porous polymer layer surface of the transfer material facing the surface of the recording material on which information is printed. Then, the recording material and the transfer material are integrated by heat and pressure. Thereafter, after the integrated transfer material and recording material have sufficiently cooled, only the plastic sheet of the transfer material is peeled off. As a result, a transparent porous polymer layer (hereinafter, referred to as a protective layer) is formed on the surface of the recording material.
[0011]
With this method, the protective layer does not come into direct contact with the roller but comes into contact with the plastic sheet. Therefore, the scratches on the roller surface are not transferred to the protective layer, and a printed matter having good image quality can be obtained. In the present invention, this method is hereinafter referred to as "laminate method".
[0012]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-347144 A
[0013]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the laminating method, the image quality and weather resistance of the recording material are improved by integrating the recording material and the laminate film by applying heat and pressure and forming a transparent protective layer on the surface of the recording material.
[0014]
However, one of the problems at that time is that foreign substances such as dust and dust are mixed between the surface of the recording material and the protective layer.
[0015]
If the laminate film and the recording material are heated and pressurized in the presence of foreign matter, a transparent protective layer will be formed on the foreign matter while the foreign matter remains attached to the recording material surface. , The quality of the recording material is significantly reduced.
[0016]
FIG. 6 shows a cross section at this time. Reference numeral 601 denotes a recording material, 602 denotes a transparent protective layer formed on the surface of the recording material by a lamination process, and 603 denotes a foreign substance adhered therebetween.
[0017]
As 603, there are mainly dust in the air, paper dust generated from the surface of the recording material, and rubber dust on the roller surface.
[0018]
These foreign substances may be peeled off from the surface of the recording material during operation of the device, the surface of the roller may be scraped off by friction with the recording material, or the outside of the device may contain dust and the like from the gap of the device due to the action of a fan for exhausting heat. It is conceivable that it adheres by inhaling the air.
[0019]
In order to prevent this, it is conceivable to use a recording material or roller made of a material that does not easily generate such dust.However, frictional force is reduced, recording quality is affected, and costs are increased. There are problems such as connection.
[0020]
Therefore, in general, a method of providing a brush for removing the generated dust, or providing an exhaust fan on the outer edge of the apparatus and generating a negative pressure to suck the dust in the apparatus is used.
[0021]
However, it is not possible to completely remove foreign substances with a brush alone, or to improve the effectiveness of the exhaust fan, it is necessary to improve the hermeticity of the device, and as a result, the exhaust heat capacity of the device is reduced. is there.
[0022]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a laminating apparatus capable of reducing the possibility of foreign matter adhering to the surface of a laminated film by a simple method, and consequently obtaining a laminated recording material of good quality. The purpose is to do.
[0023]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the present invention, in order to solve the above foreign matter adhesion problem, it is mainly intended to reduce the probability that foreign matter will adhere to the laminate film surface by minimizing the time during which an unused portion of the laminate film is exposed inside the apparatus.
[0024]
As the configuration of the device,
Laminate film having a heat-resistant base material and a member for forming a protective layer in a separable layer form,
A member that holds it in a rolled state, a laminate film traveling unit 1 that sends out a laminate film from the member, and transports the laminate film to the next step;
A recording material coating in which the recording material and the laminate film are adhered by heating and pressing in a state where the information recording surface of the recording material on which information is recorded on at least one surface and the protective layer forming member face each other. Means,
A film guide member arranged on the downstream side in the running direction of the laminated film in which the recording material adheres, and guiding the laminated film,
A pair of transport rollers that are arranged further downstream of the film guide member and transport the laminated recording material, and a driving unit thereof,
Similarly, a film running means 2 arranged on the downstream side of the film guide member and winding the heat-resistant substrate portion remaining after use of the laminate into a roll,
Detecting means for detecting the feed amount of the laminate film sent by the laminate film traveling means,
The control unit includes a control unit that controls the detection unit and the driving unit described above, a storage unit that stores the state of the apparatus until the next startup, and a power management unit that can be controlled by software.
[0025]
In the present invention, with the above configuration, after the lamination process is completed, the laminate film is rewound by an amount determined using information from the detection unit. First, the unused portion of the laminated film exposed in the device is quickly rewound to reduce the time for which the unused portion is exposed to the device and to prevent foreign matter from adhering to the film. Means.
[0026]
As a second means, in the case where the laminating process is continuously performed, the rewinding operation is performed until a certain time elapses after the laminating process is completed, so that the responsiveness of the device is not deteriorated. I do.
[0027]
As a third means, in a power-off sequence in a normal state, when the power-supply management means detects that a power-off operation has been performed, the running direction of the laminate film is switched to the return side. Then, the amount of the unused portion of the laminated film exposed is calculated from the above detection means, and the power is cut off after winding the laminated film in the returning direction by an appropriate length, thereby turning off the unused laminated film. Prevents the film from being exposed in the equipment.
[0028]
As a fourth means, when the apparatus is abnormally terminated, the storage means for holding the information until the next start-up is exposed to the inside of the device when it is detected that the previous time was abnormally terminated at the next start-up, A certain amount of the laminate film to which foreign matter may be attached is fed out, and the lamination process is performed from a new portion that has not been exposed.
[0029]
As a fifth means, when an exhaust fan is provided in the apparatus, the number of rotations of the fan can be controlled. At the time of actual equipment installation, there are few situations where the lamination process is performed continuously, and the standby time occupies most of the time. When a certain period of time has elapsed in the standby state, the rotation of the fan is reduced or stopped to suppress the circulation of air in the device when the unused portion is exposed to the device. This prevents foreign matter from adhering to unused parts.
[0030]
By configuring as described above, it is possible to prevent the unused portion of the laminate film from being unnecessarily exposed to the inside of the apparatus, and to suppress the flow of air inside the apparatus at the time of exposure, so that foreign matter adheres to the film. This reduces the chances of performing lamination, and enables good lamination.
[0031]
As described above, the present invention can be summarized into the following configuration by organizing and summarizing the present invention.
[0032]
(1) A member for holding a laminate film having a heat-resistant base material and a member for forming a protective layer in a layer so as to be separable, and a laminate film sent out from the member and transported to the next step. Laminating film running means 1;
A recording material coating in which the recording material and the laminate film are adhered by heating and pressing in a state where the information recording surface of the recording material on which information is recorded on at least one surface and the protective layer forming member face each other. Means,
A film guide member arranged on the downstream side in the running direction of the laminated film in which the recording material adheres, and guiding the laminated film,
A pair of transport rollers that are arranged further downstream of the film guide member and transport the laminated recording material, and a driving unit thereof,
Similarly, it has a laminated film running means 2 which is arranged on the downstream side of the film guide member, and winds the film after use of the laminate into a roll.
The traveling direction of the laminated film by the laminated film traveling means 1 and 2 is configured to be switchable to an arbitrary direction,
Having a detecting means for detecting the feed amount of the laminate film sent by the laminate film traveling means,
A laminating apparatus, wherein after the recording material is coated by the recording material coating means, the laminate film is rewound upstream by a predetermined amount calculated by the detection means.
[0033]
(2) The laminating apparatus according to (1), wherein the rewinding operation is started after a predetermined waiting time has elapsed after completion of the laminating process.
[0034]
(3) The laminating apparatus according to (1), wherein the apparatus has a power management unit, and rewinds the laminate film upstream by a predetermined amount during a power-off and termination sequence of the apparatus. .
[0035]
(4) The apparatus has a power management means, and in a power-on sequence of the apparatus, if the previous time is abnormally terminated, sends the laminate film by a predetermined amount to the downstream side. The laminating apparatus according to (1).
[0036]
(5) A blower fan capable of controlling the number of revolutions, wherein the fan changes the number of revolutions after completion of the laminating process until the rewinding operation is started. The laminating apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4).
[0037]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, details of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0038]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a laminating apparatus according to the present invention.
[0039]
Reference numeral 101 denotes an entire laminate film mainly including a heat-resistant base material and a member for forming a protective layer.
[0040]
The left side in the figure is the upstream side (unused), and the right side is the downstream side (used).
[0041]
The unused portion 101 is supplied in a state of being wound around a cylindrical supply holder 102, and after use, is taken up by a take-up holder 103 which also exists on the downstream side.
[0042]
Each of the motors 102 (103) has a driving motor 104 (105), an electromagnetic clutch 106 (107) for controlling the transmission of the driving force, and a mechanism for applying a predetermined tension to the film while absorbing the speed difference between the two. The torque limiters 108 (109) are connected, and the 102 (103) can be independently driven via a speed reduction mechanism (not shown). Reference numeral 104 (105) drives the respective holders to rotate to the rewinding side and the winding side. The purpose of configuring the apparatus in this way is to allow winding and rewinding to be performed in an arbitrary direction while applying a predetermined tension to the laminate film. (For example, one motor is used and the rotation direction is switched to cope with the problem).
[0043]
Either the supply holder or the take-up holder has, directly or indirectly, a rotation amount detection device 110 including a rotary encoder and a photosensor for detecting the rotation amount thereof, and a laminate film wound around the supply holder. A remaining amount sensor 111 composed of a mechanical actuator and a displacement sensor for reading the remaining amount of the battery by a change in the winding diameter is provided.
[0044]
Note that these sensors are all connected to a control device (not shown), including those described below. From the information taken into this control device, the amount of the laminated film pulled out or rewound from a certain point is calculated from the winding diameter of the laminated film obtained from 111 and the rotation angle data obtained at 110. Ask by.
[0045]
Of course, this is only an example, and for example, a method may be used in which marks are provided at regular intervals on the side edges of the laminate film and the number is read. The effects of the present invention can be obtained using any method that can detect the feed amount of the laminate film.
[0046]
Reference numeral 112 denotes a guide roller pair, and 113 denotes an entrance sensor. When the recording member passes through the entrance sensor unit, the operation of the recording member 113 is performed so as to draw the recording member into the laminating apparatus.
[0047]
In this example, only the laminating device will be described for the sake of simplicity. However, in actual equipment, there is a printing portion before the laminating unit, and these operations are performed continuously after printing.
[0048]
The recording member drawn into the laminating apparatus by 112 is heated and pressed with the laminated film by the laminating roller 114 to form a transparent protective layer on the surface.
[0049]
Here, reference numeral 114 denotes a roller pair having at least one built-in heater for heating and a thermistor element for temperature detection, and heats and regulates the roller surface to a constant temperature by a control circuit (not shown). . The rollers are pressed by a pressing device (not shown), and the laminating process is performed by heating the laminated film and the recording medium that have passed through the roller pair while pressing.
[0050]
By the laminating process, the recording material integrated with the laminated film is cooled by passing below a cooling device 115 mainly composed of a heat sink or the like. This is because the characteristics of the laminated film used in the present example are assumed to be such that the lowering of the temperature facilitates the separation process described later. Needless to say, in the case of a laminated film having a characteristic of being easily separated in a high temperature state, it goes without saying that this step is unnecessary.
[0051]
The recording member + laminate film which is easily separated by the cooling process is passed through the separation roller 116. Reference numeral 116 denotes a small-diameter roller, and using this roller as a fulcrum, the path of the laminated film is bent at a sharp angle as shown in the figure.
[0052]
When the integrated recording member and the laminated film are passed through this portion, the recording member and the laminated film which are easily separated from each other tend to go straight due to the bending rigidity of the recording member itself (+ the transparent protective layer). Therefore, the laminate film is separated from the heat-resistant base portion of the laminate film along the tangential direction.
[0053]
The separated recording member that has been subjected to the lamination process is discharged out of the apparatus by a pair of discharge rollers 117. At this time, a paper discharge sensor 118 is provided downstream of 117, and notifies the control unit that the paper discharge processing is completed.
[0054]
The entire apparatus is covered by an exterior unit 119, and an exhaust fan 120 and an air filter 121 are mounted inside the exhaust fan 120.
[0055]
The sequence of the lamination process has been described above.
[0056]
FIG. 2 shows a state in which the laminating process is completed and the rear end of the recording member is separated from the laminated film.
[0057]
Assuming that the laminated recording member is 21 and the rear separation point is 22, the downstream 23 is used, and the upstream 24 (24a + 24b) is an unused laminate film.
[0058]
If the apparatus is left in this state until the next laminating process is started, the unused laminated film 24 is exposed to the inside of the apparatus, and dust and dirt rolled up by the internal air circulation. Foreign matter easily adheres.
[0059]
Therefore, in the present invention, the above-mentioned 24 parts are rewound to the supply holder 102 side after the completion of the lamination processing, and the unused parts are not exposed in the apparatus, thereby preventing the adhesion of foreign substances and performing a good lamination processing. I do.
[0060]
In this case, the amount of rewinding in this case is that the separation point at the rear end portion is almost constant, so it may be determined uniquely from the length of the film passing path in the apparatus, or the film and heating conditions For example, it may be changed. For example, in the case of completely rewinding an unused portion, it is sufficient to rewind the entire length of 24 passing paths or more, and the portion that has once passed through the heating roller cannot be reused because the film is deteriorated by heating. In the case of film, the amount is set short according to the path configuration.
[0061]
At this time, the rewind amount is detected by using the rotation angle に よ る by the rotation amount detecting device 110 and the film diameter r by the remaining amount sensor 111, and calculating the rewind amount as rΘ.
[0062]
The rewinding operation is performed according to the sequence of FIG.
[0063]
Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to the drawings.
[0064]
When the discharge sensor 118 is turned ON (discharge completion), an interrupt signal is issued to the control unit (S301).
[0065]
Upon receiving the interrupt signal, the control unit starts a rewind sequence (S302).
[0066]
The winding side motor 105 is stopped, and the winding side electromagnetic clutch 107 is released (S303).
[0067]
The rewind-side clutch 106 is connected (S304).
[0068]
The rewind counter value is reset to 0 (S305).
[0069]
The drive of the rewind motor 104 is started (S306-S307).
[0070]
The rewind amount is measured from the sensors 110 and 111 and added to the rewind counter (S308).
[0071]
When the value of the rewind counter reaches the set value, the rewind motor 104 is stopped (S309-S310).
[0072]
The rewind sequence ends (S311 to S312).
[0073]
Note that this is for the configuration of the device shown in FIG. 1 and will naturally be different if the configuration of the drive system or the sensor changes, but this does not impair the essence of the present invention.
[0074]
Also, if the next recording medium is inserted during the rewinding operation, the above operation is stopped halfway, and by using the film that has been rewound to that point, it is possible to prevent the operation interval from becoming empty. prevent.
[0075]
Of course, if it is not desired that a waste portion is generated in the film, the operation of the guide roller 112 is stopped or delayed, and the recording medium is inserted into the laminating unit after the rewinding operation is completed. If such a technique is used, film waste can be suppressed. These may be determined by taking either the response of the equipment or the economics of the film, and are not relevant to the essence of the present invention.
[0076]
The second technique of the present invention relates to the operation timing of the rewind operation.
[0077]
According to the first method, after the laminating process, a rewinding operation is automatically performed to prevent an unused portion of the laminated film from being exposed in the apparatus as much as possible. Considering the use of the device, there is a case where the laminating process is continuously performed. At that time, if the rewinding operation is performed each time the laminating process is completed, the waiting time becomes long, and the usability of the device is deteriorated.
[0078]
Of course, as described in the first method, it may be determined that the next recording medium has been inserted during the rewinding, and the rewinding operation may be stopped halfway. , It is inevitable that some time lag occurs.
[0079]
In view of this, the second method is to set a predetermined idle time after one lamination process is completed in addition to the first method, and do not start the rewinding operation until the time has elapsed. To If the next recording medium is inserted within that time, the laminating process is immediately performed without performing the rewinding operation.
[0080]
This flow is shown in FIG.
[0081]
Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the drawings.
[0082]
The paper discharge sensor 118 is turned on (paper discharge is completed), and an interrupt signal is issued to the control unit (S301).
[0083]
The control unit (not shown) is provided with a timer circuit. The timer circuit resets the timer value to zero by receiving a signal from the paper discharge sensor 118 (S401), and then starts counting up the timer (S402).
[0084]
The counting up is repeated until the timer value reaches a preset value (set time) or an interrupt operation described later is performed (S403-S404).
[0085]
When the timer value reaches the set time, the rewind sequence shown in FIG. 3 is started (S302-).
[0086]
When the next recording medium is inserted during the count-up (= entrance sensor 113 is ON), the signal of 113 issues an interrupt signal to the control unit (S406).
[0087]
Upon receiving the interrupt signal from the control unit 113, the control unit stops the count-up operation on the way (S407) and starts a normal lamination start sequence (that is, after the entrance sensor 113 is turned on, the paper discharge sensor 118). Until is turned on, the above-described counting operation is stopped.)
[0088]
As described above, by arranging the apparatus such that a certain period of time is left after the completion of the laminating process until the operation of rewinding the film is started, the responsiveness of the device is improved with respect to the first invention, and the usability is improved. .
[0089]
The third method is related to the above-mentioned method, and relates to an operation when the power of the apparatus is cut off.
[0090]
In the first and second methods, considering the case where the power supply of the apparatus is cut off in a normal procedure, the case where the cutoff operation is performed during the rewinding operation or during the idle time in the second method In this case, if the film is cut off as it is, an unused portion of the film remains exposed in the device.
[0091]
If left as it is, there may be a problem that dust in the device easily adheres, and some films may be deteriorated by being exposed to air for a long time.
[0092]
Therefore, in the present invention, the power supply of the apparatus is configured to be turned on / off by software means. When the power supply is turned off, the above-described rewind processing is always performed, and then the actual power supply is turned off. To do.
[0093]
The specific flow will be described with reference to FIG.
[0094]
In the case of the first and second methods, the film rewinding operation is performed immediately after the ejection of the recording medium (after a predetermined time in the case of the second method). That is, in a normal state, the unused portion of the film is not exposed in the device except during the laminating process.
[0095]
Based on this, the state of the device in the normal use state can be roughly divided into the following four in chronological order.
[0096]
During standby (no exposure of unused portion of film) ... 501
During lamination processing ... 502
During rewinding of unused part of film ・ ・ ・ 503
Standby (exposure of unused portion of film: standby state of second invention) 504
[0097]
At each timing, the process in the case where the user performs the power shutdown operation (505) is as follows.
[0098]
In the case of 501, since the film is not exposed, the power supply is immediately cut off (506).
[0099]
In the case of 502, after the laminating process, the power is cut off after the rewinding operation is completed (507).
[0100]
In the case of 503, after finishing the rewinding operation, the power supply is cut off (508).
[0101]
In the case of 504, the counting process is stopped, the rewinding operation is started immediately, and the power is cut off after the rewinding is completed (509).
[0102]
According to the flow described above, when the power supply is shut off by a normal means, the unused part of the film is automatically rewound and then the actual power supply is cut off. As a result, the power is cut off while the unused portion of the film is exposed in the device, thereby preventing dust from adhering to the film and deterioration of the film.
[0103]
The fourth method is complementary to the third method, and relates to the next recovery method when the power supply is shut down (abnormal termination) by an unusual method.
[0104]
If the power is cut off without going through the power cut-off sequence according to the third method (power failure, device abnormality, etc.), an unused laminate film portion is exposed in the device until the next start.
[0105]
This portion may not be reusable due to foreign substances such as dust adhering to it or the film being deteriorated due to being left.
[0106]
The present invention is intended to perform a good lamination process that does not degrade the quality of a recording medium by winding up a portion of the film exposed to the inside of the device at the next start-up, and not using it for lamination, when the process is abnormally terminated. Aim.
[0107]
In this example, as a means for detecting an abnormal end, a storage means which can operate independently of the power supply and control means of the apparatus main body is provided in a power supply section which can be controlled by software.
[0108]
The reason for providing such a storage means is that power supply and operation from the main unit cannot be expected at the time of abnormal termination. Therefore, a nonvolatile storage memory or the like is desirable as the storage means.
[0109]
Assuming that this storage memory is a 1-bit flag, this storage memory is linked with the power supply unit of the main body, so that the flag is set to “1” during normal operation, and when the power is cut off by normal means. Sets the flag to “0” when the power is turned off.
[0110]
That is, when the flag is "1" at the time of startup, it indicates that the previous time has abnormally ended.
[0111]
In the present invention, this flag is referred to when the apparatus is started, and if the flag is “1”, the laminate film is wound downstream by a predetermined amount.
[0112]
In this case, the feed amount in the case of the configuration shown in FIG.
[0113]
This is because, at the time of abnormal termination, there is no means to detect the position of the tip of the unused portion of the laminate film.For example, if the recording medium jams inside the device, even if the unused portion is wrinkled, This is because there are portions that cannot be used, and it is difficult to specify a safe use range. By setting the feed amount to be at least the length of 24 passes, the film portion previously exposed in the device can be completely wound up and used safely.
[0114]
Of course, the above example is limited to the configuration of FIG. 1. For example, the number of sensors in the device is increased, and the positions of the unused portions of the recording medium and the film at the time of abnormal termination are stored more accurately. If the control is performed more finely by dividing the case by increasing the number of digits in the storage memory, the film feed amount can be reduced and the film can be used more efficiently.
[0115]
By configuring the apparatus as described above, during normal use, the time during which an unused portion of the laminate film is exposed to the inside of the apparatus is reduced as much as possible, and as a result, the possibility of foreign matter adhering to the film is reduced. At this time, the responsiveness of the device is not significantly impaired. In addition, even in the event of an abnormality, the possibility of foreign matter attachment is further reduced by not using a film portion that may cause a deterioration in image quality.
[0116]
Further, an example in which at least one blower fan whose number of rotations can be controlled is provided in the laminating apparatus according to the above invention to enhance the above invention will be described below.
[0117]
In this laminating apparatus, since a recording medium and a laminating film are laminated by heating and pressing, an exhaust fan is required to exhaust heat from the apparatus. Due to the flow of air in the apparatus generated by the fan, foreign matter inside and outside the apparatus was rolled up in the apparatus and easily adhered to unused portions of the film.
[0118]
In the above invention, this is improved by reducing the time during which the unused portion of the film is exposed in the apparatus, but in the present invention, as a supplement to these inventions, the rotation of the fan is changed to a situation. In accordance with the control, the foreign matter is prevented from winding up in the apparatus and the film is prevented from adhering to an unused portion.
[0119]
In the example of FIG. 1, the exhaust fan 120 is connected to a control unit (not shown), and the number of revolutions can be controlled by software. The control unit has electrical or software means for detecting that the rewind sequence described in the above invention is operating.
[0120]
Assuming that the normal rotation speed is N (rpm), the exhaust fan 120 receives a rewind sequence start signal, and the control unit reduces the current to the fan 120 to reduce the rotation speed to N. Slow down or stop.
[0121]
When the rewind sequence end signal is input, the control unit returns the current to the fan 120 to the original state.
[0122]
This reduces the flow of air in the device when the unused portion of the film is exposed.
[0123]
In addition, if the rotation speed is reduced, the temperature inside the device may temporarily increase.If the rotation speed has been reduced for a long time, the rotation speed after returning to the normal condition may be increased. It is desirable to carry out additional methods such as increasing the amount of heat exhausted from the apparatus.
[0124]
Further, there may be a plurality of fans, and when the temperature rises locally by suppressing the rotation of the fan as described above, an auxiliary fan is provided in the vicinity thereof, and when the rotation returns, the auxiliary fan is driven. For example, a method of preventing uneven temperature rise in the apparatus may be used.
[0125]
Regardless of which method is used, the effects of the present invention can be obtained if the flow of air near the film can be suppressed when the film is rewound.
[0126]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in a laminating apparatus in which a film and a recording material are integrated by heating and pressing, it is possible to reduce the time during which an unused portion of the film is exposed to the apparatus after the laminating process and to prevent dust from scattering in the apparatus. Thus, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from adhering to an unused film, and prevent the quality of the recording material after lamination from being deteriorated.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a laminating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a passing path of a laminate film.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of film rewind control according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of film rewind control according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a power cutoff sequence according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating foreign matter mixing on the surface of a recording material during lamination processing.
[Explanation of symbols]
21 Laminated recording material
22 Separation point
23 Used Laminate Film Section
24a, 24b Unused laminate film part
101 Laminated film
102 Supply holder
103 Rewind holder
104 Rewind motor
105 Winding motor
106 Electromagnetic clutch (rewind)
107 Electromagnetic clutch (winding)
108 Torque limiter (rewind)
109 Torque limiter (winding)
110 Rotation amount detector
111 Remaining amount detection device (remaining amount sensor)
112 Guide roller pair
113 Inlet sensor
114 Laminating roller
115 Cooling device
116 separation roller
117 Paper ejection roller
118 paper ejection sensor
119 Equipment exterior
120 exhaust fan
121 air filter
S301 to S312 Unused film part rewind sequence during normal operation
S401 to S407 Additional part of FIG. 3 of the unused film part rewind sequence in the second embodiment.
S501 to S509 Separation in case of power-off operation and flow of each processing
601 Recording material
602 Transparent protective layer
603 Foreign matter such as dust and paper dust

Claims (5)

A member for holding a laminate film having a heat-resistant base material and a member for forming a protective layer in a layer so as to be separable, and a member for holding the laminate film in a roll state, and a laminate film running for sending the laminate film from the member and transporting the laminate film to the next step Means 1;
A recording material coating in which the recording material and the laminate film are adhered by heating and pressing in a state where the information recording surface of the recording material on which information is recorded on at least one surface and the protective layer forming member face each other. Means,
A film guide member arranged on the downstream side in the running direction of the laminated film in which the recording material adheres, and guiding the laminated film,
A pair of transport rollers that are arranged further downstream of the film guide member and transport the laminated recording material, and a driving unit thereof,
Similarly, it has a laminated film running means 2 which is arranged on the downstream side of the film guide member, and winds the film after use of the laminate into a roll.
The traveling direction of the laminated film by the laminated film traveling means 1 and 2 is configured to be switchable to an arbitrary direction,
Having a detecting means for detecting the feed amount of the laminate film sent by the laminate film traveling means,
A laminating apparatus, wherein after the recording material is coated by the recording material coating means, the laminate film is rewound upstream by a predetermined amount calculated by the detection means. The laminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rewinding operation is started after a predetermined waiting time has elapsed after completion of the laminating process. 2. The laminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus has a power management unit, and rewinds the laminate film by a predetermined amount to an upstream side during a power-off and termination sequence of the apparatus. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus has a power management unit, and in a power-on sequence of the apparatus, when a previous time is abnormally terminated, the laminate film is sent to the downstream side by a predetermined amount. Laminating equipment. A blower fan having a controllable number of revolutions, the fan changing the number of revolutions after completion of the laminating process until the rewinding operation is started. 5. The laminating apparatus according to any one of 1 to 4.

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