JPH05338039A - Laminating device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a defective article from being produced by a method wherein when a heater temperature of a laminating device joining to a copying device is at a specified temperature, a laminating action is prohibited. CONSTITUTION:A sheet 13 to which images are formed by image forming devices A, B is conveyed to a laminating device C by a pair of resist rollers 30. The sheet 13 wrapped in a top and bottom laminated films 37a, 37b is pressurized and heated by pressurizing rollers 40a, 40b and conveyed by pull rollers 47a, 47b. When sensors T1, T2 detect that laminating heaters 44a, 44b heating pressurizing rollers 40a, 40b are at a specified temperature, a laminating mode of the laminating device C is prohibited by MCOM (control part). With this construction, production of an article of inferior quality by defective welding is prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to laminating an object to be laminated by sandwiching the object to be laminated between heat-reactive upper and lower laminating films and pressurizing and heating the object to be laminated with the laminating film. The present invention relates to a laminating apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the laminating apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a laminating apparatus which improves the appearance and storability of a sheet by wrapping the front and back sides of a sheet-shaped object to be laminated (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) with a laminating film and sealing and laminating. ing.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a conventional laminating apparatus.

In the figure, an upper laminate film roll 101a formed by winding a heat-reactive upper laminate film 102a and a lower laminate film roll 101b formed by winding a lower laminate film 102b are respectively provided in the apparatus main body 100. It is arranged. Laminated film roll Laminated film roll 10
Laminated film 10 separated from 1a and 101b
2a and 102b are wound around pressure and heating rollers 103a and 103b, which are in pressure contact with each other, and are superposed on each other, and tension is applied by pull rollers 105a and 105b. The pressure / heating roller 1
Heaters 106a and 106b for heating the rollers are housed inside 03a and 103b, respectively.

A sheet 110 is set from a paper feed table 109 provided on the upstream side of the pressure / heating roller pair 103 to the nip portion of the heaters 106a and 106b where the upper and lower laminating films 102a and 102b join. Is inserted. The sheet 110 is the upper and lower laminated film 10
The rollers 2a and 102b are pressed and heated by the pressure / heating roller pair 103 so as to be wrapped and sandwiched, and are conveyed outside the machine by the pull roller pair 105. The laminated films 102a and 102b and the rear end of the sheet 110 are
It is cut by a cutter unit 111 provided on the downstream side of the pull roller pair 105.

At the upper part of the apparatus main body 100, an operation section 113 is provided.
The operating section 113 is provided with switches 115 and 11 for manually setting the conveying speed of the laminating films 102a and 102b and the pull roller pair 105 and the outer peripheral temperature of the pressure / heating roller pair 103, respectively.
6 are provided.

[0007]

However, in the case where the conventional laminating apparatus is connected to a copying apparatus, a good-quality laminating is required unless the copying operation is started after the heater temperature of the laminating apparatus reaches a predetermined temperature. The irrationality that it cannot process occurred.

Further, if the start of the copying operation fails,
There was also a defect that the sheet was damaged and it became impossible to reproduce.

Further, there is also a drawback that the laminated film is wasted after each adjustment, which is very uneconomical.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a laminating apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of automatically carrying out a laminating process of good quality.

[0011]

According to the present invention, a sheet conveying means (30) for conveying a sheet (13) on which an image is formed.
A laminate film transport means (47a, 47b) for transporting the laminate film (37a, 37b), a heating means (44a, 44b) for heating the transported laminate film (37a, 37b), and each of the transport means ( Pressurizing means (40a, 40b) for superimposing and pressing the sheet (13) conveyed by 30, 47a, 47b) and the laminated film (37a, 37b),
Temperature detecting means (T1, T2) for detecting the temperature of the heating means (44a, 44b), and the temperature detecting means (T1,
When the detected temperature of T2) is equal to or lower than a predetermined set temperature, a control means (4) for prohibiting the laminating mode is provided.

As the prohibition of the laminating mode by the control means, the operation of the sheet conveying means (30) or the operation of the laminating film conveying means (47a, 47b) is prohibited.

Further, in the case where the laminating apparatus (C) and the image forming apparatus (B) are connected or integrated, the operation of the image forming means is prohibited in addition to the prohibition of the laminating mode. The image forming unit may be operated and the sheet on which the image is formed may be put on standby.

Further, the control means (4) has means for detecting the heat capacity of the sheet (13), and the control means (4) controls so that the set temperature becomes higher as the detected heat capacity of the sheet (13) increases. ..

As means for detecting the heat capacity of the sheet (13), there are sheet thickness detecting means (56) for detecting the thickness of the sheet, density detecting means (35) for detecting the image density of the sheet, and the like. ..

[0016]

According to the above construction, when the heating means (44a, 44b) has not reached the predetermined temperature, for example, the temperature required for the laminating process, the laminating mode is prohibited so that the laminating process cannot be performed. In addition, it is possible to prevent defective products due to defective welding.

Further, when the image forming means forms an image on the sheet (13) and makes it stand by when the laminating mode is prohibited, the laminating process can be performed as soon as the heating means (44a, 44b) reaches a predetermined temperature. The time can be shortened.

Further, by detecting the heat capacity of the sheet (13) and changing the predetermined temperature accordingly, the amount of heat supplied to the sheet (13) can be optimized.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing a state in which the laminating apparatus according to the present invention is connected to a copying apparatus.

In the reader A shown by reference numeral A in FIG. 1, the original on the platen glass 1 is illuminated by the illumination lamp 2, and the reflected light is reflected by the mirrors 3 and 5 and the CCD 7 by the imaging lens 6. The original is imaged and the original is read. The image information read by the reader A is transmitted to the printer B, and the scanner 10 forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum 11.

The sheets 13 in the sheet feeding cassette 12 in the printer B are fed one by one to the photosensitive drum 1 by the sheet feeding roller 15.
The image on the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred at the transfer unit 16. This sheet 13 has a conveyor belt 17
Also, the paper is discharged outside the machine by the paper discharge roller 19.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral C is a laminating apparatus according to the present invention, and the laminating apparatus C is detachably attached to the copying apparatus main body by a latch mechanism 20. The laminating apparatus C is provided with a flapper 21. The flapper 21 is driven by a solenoid (not shown), and responds to a changeover switch (not shown) in the operation section 22 provided on the exterior of the laminating apparatus C. , And whether or not to laminate the sheet 13. A display unit 23 is provided near the operation unit 22.

Specifically, when an instruction to not laminate the sheet 13 is input from the operation unit 22, the flapper 21 is in a broken line state in the drawing, and the sheet 1 is placed on the non-laminating path 25.
3 is deflected and the sheet 13 is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 27 by the sheet discharge roller 26. When the instruction for laminating the sheet 13 is input through the operation unit 22, the flapper 21 is in the solid line state in the figure, and the sheet 13 is deflected to the laminating path 29 and transferred to the laminating processing unit.

In FIG. 1, a registration roller pair 30 is arranged on the downstream side of the laminating path 29. The registration roller pair 30 synchronizes the conveyance of the sheet 13 and corrects skew. A pre-registration sensor 31 for detecting the presence / absence of the sheet 13 is arranged on the upstream side of the registration roller pair 30. A transfer path 32 is arranged downstream of the registration roller pair 30, and a heater 33 may be arranged above the transfer path 32. When the heater 33 is provided, when the heater 33 is turned on, the transfer path 32 is heated and the conveyed sheet 13 can be dried. The heater 33 is turned on / off by a changeover switch of the operation section 22 to select whether or not to heat the seat 13.

A density detection sensor 35 consisting of an optical sensor is arranged between the registration roller pair 30 and the heater 33, and the density detection sensor 35 detects the density of the image on the sheet 13. It is also possible to turn ON / OFF the heater 33 based on this image density information.

Sheet rolls 36a and 36b formed by winding laminating films 37a and 37b in a roll shape are disposed above and below in the laminating apparatus C, respectively. The preheaters 39a and 39b preheat the laminate films 37a and 37b. This 3
9a and 39b have a curved shape so that the laminated films 37a and 37b can be heated in a wide range on the surface, and the heating temperature is detected by providing sensors T3 and T4 on these surfaces. To be done.

The pressure rollers 40a and 40b are for laminating the sheet 13 by sandwiching the laminate films 37a and 37b preheated by the preheaters 39a and 39b and heating and pressing them.
The pressure rollers 40a and 40b are heated by laminating heaters 44a and 44b provided on the shaft portion, and the heating temperature is detected by providing sensors T1 and T2 on the surface. Reference numerals 41a and 41b are separation claws, which are used when the laminating films 37a and 37b are attached to the pressure rollers 40a and 40b by constantly rubbing the tips thereof on the outer peripheral surfaces of the pressure rollers 40a and 40b. Pressure roller 4
0a, 40b surface to laminated film 40a, 40
Strip b. Reference numeral 42 is a cutter unit, which is composed of a cutter 43, a die 45, and a cutter motor, and cuts the leading end and the trailing end of the laminated sheet 13, respectively.

Reference numeral 46 is a laminating sensor consisting of a reflection type optical sensor, which detects the front end and the rear end of the laminated sheet 13, respectively. Reference numerals 47a and 47b denote pull rollers, the peripheral speeds of which are set to be higher than those of the pressure rollers 40a and 40b, and the laminated sheet 13 is disposed between the pull rollers 47a and 47b and the pressure rollers 40a and 40b. It is designed to get a certain amount of tension.

A predetermined load is applied to the sheet rolls 36a and 36b in the film drawing direction, and the pressure roller 40 is applied to the laminated films 37a and 37b pulled by the pull rollers 47a and 47b.
Pull rollers 47a, 47b and sheet rolls 36a, 3 via a, 40b and laminate heaters 39a, 39b.
Tension is applied between 6b.

The waste storage case 49 includes a laminated film 37a cut by the cutter unit 42,
The cut piece of 37b (the laminating portion in the area without the sheet 13) is accommodated. The waste storage case 49 can be pulled out to the front of the device. Code 5
Reference numerals 0a and 50b denote laminated paper discharge rollers, which discharge the laminated sheet 13 from the laminating apparatus C onto the laminating tray 51 and stack it.

Next, details of the configuration of each part of the laminating apparatus C will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the details of the structure of the registration roller pair 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the paper pressure detection mechanism of the registration roller pair 30. As shown in the figure, one end of a paper thickness detection lever 52 is engaged with the shaft 30a of the registration roller pair 30, and the paper thickness detection lever 52 is placed in the nip of the registration roller pair 30 to detect the sheet
When enters, it swings around the lever rotation shaft 53. The paper thickness detection lever 52 is provided with a lever flag 55, and the lengths (lever lengths) L1 and L2 shown in the drawing are shown.
Is set to L1> L2, and the moving amount of the registration roller 30 is converted into the amplified moving amount of the lever flag 55. A paper thickness detection sensor 56 including an optical sensor is provided at a position facing the lever flag 55. The paper thickness detection sensor 56 causes the lever flag 5 to move.
The amount of movement of the sheet 5 is linearly detected, and thus the thickness of the sheet 13 passing through the nip of the registration rollers 30 can be detected.

Next, details of the structure of the sheet roll 36 will be described with reference to FIGS.

3 and 4 show sheet rolls 36a, 36
It is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG.
It is wrapped around a. The core metal 57a is rotatable on the circumference of the roll shaft 59, and
Is supported by the side plate 60 of the laminating apparatus C via a tension adjusting nut 61. Tension adjustment nut 6
A tension spring 62 is provided between the core 1 and the core metal 57a, and the load of the sheet roll 36 in the film pull-out direction can be adjusted by tightening the tension adjusting nut 61.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet roll 36a is wrapped with the laminate film 37 having the first thickness, and the sheet roll 36a is wrapped around the first cored bar 57a. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet roll 3
A laminated film 37b having a second thickness is wound around 6b, and the sheet roll 36b is wound around a second core metal 57b. The end surface of the first core metal 57a is formed straight, while the flange portion 57c is formed on the end surface of the second core metal 57b.

Micro switch 6 fixed to side plate 60
3 is a core metal identification switch, which is the first core metal 57.
When a is attached, it is in the OFF state, but the second
When the core metal 57b is attached, it is pushed by the flange portion 62 to be in the ON state. Thereby, the cores 57a and 57b can be identified, and the difference in the thickness of the laminate films 37a and 37b can be identified. In the present embodiment, two types of laminated films 37a and 37b having different thicknesses are identified, but the outer diameter of the flange portion 62 is changed and three or more microswitches 63 are provided so that the thicknesses are different. Three
It is also possible to identify the thickness of the laminated film of more than one type.

Next, details of the structure of the drive system will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a drive system development view showing a drive system of the laminating apparatus C according to the present invention. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 65 is a main motor, and a motor gear 66 is attached to the output shaft of the main motor 65. Has been done. And the main motor 6
The rotation of 5 is performed by the motor gear 62 and the idler gears 67, 69.
And the pull roller gear 7 via the pull roller clutch 70.
1, the pulling rollers 47a and 47b, which are transmitted to the laminated sheet discharging roller gear 72, and the laminated sheet discharging rollers 50a and 5
0b is driven to rotate. The pull roller clutch 70 is turned on / off to pull the pull rollers 47a and 47b.
The rotations of the sheet ejection rollers 50a and 50b are controlled.

The rotation of the main motor 65 is changed from the motor gear 66 to the idler gears 73, 75, 76, 77 and 7.
It is transmitted to the discharge roller gear 81 via 9, 80, whereby the discharge roller 19 is rotationally driven.

Further, a pressure roller clutch 82 is provided on the shaft of the idler gear 75. The pressure roller clutch 82 is connected to the pressure roller gear 83, and the pressure roller clutch 82 is turned on / off. The rotation of the pressure rollers 40a and 40b is controlled by. Similarly, a registration roller clutch 85 is provided on the shaft of the idler gear 77, and the registration roller clutch 85 is connected to the registration roller gear 86. The registration roller clutch 85 is turned on / off to turn the registration roller 30 on. The rotation is controlled.

On the other hand, on the shaft of the main motor 65, a clock disk 87, which is formed on the opposite side of the motor gear 66 and has a plurality of slits arranged at equal intervals on the circumference, is bonded. A clock sensor 89, which is a transmissive optical sensor that detects a slit, is provided in the vicinity of.

Next, the operation of laminating the sheet 13 discharged from the image forming apparatus main body by the laminating apparatus C according to the present invention will be described.

First, when the laminating ON switch is pushed by the operation section 22 arranged on the upper surface of the laminating apparatus C, the solenoid (not shown) is turned on and the flapper 21 is brought into the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 and is discharged from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The tension 10 is conveyed to the laminating path 29. At the same time, the main motor 65 starts rotating, which causes the paper discharge roller 26 to rotate. The registration rollers 30, the pressure rollers 40a and 40b, the pull rollers 47a and 47b, and the laminated paper discharge rollers 50a and 50b are clutches 85 and 8.
Since both 2 and 70 are off, they are stopped.

When the front end of the sheet 13 is detected by the pre-registration sensor 31, the clock sensor 90 (see FIG.
The number of clocks starts to be counted according to the procedure shown in FIG. When the leading edge of the sheet 13 hits the nip position of the registration roller 30 and a clock corresponding to ensuring a predetermined loop amount is counted by the clock sensor 90,
The registration roller clutch 85 is turned on, and the sheet 13 starts to be transferred to the transfer path 32 by the registration roller 30. At this time, the loop of the sheet 13 formed in the laminating path 29 is held until the trailing edge of the sheet 13 comes out of the paper discharge roller 19 of the printer B. From the nip position of the pressure rollers 40a, 40b to the preheaters 39a, 3
If the distance to the position closest to the pressure rollers 40a, 40b of 9b is L, the leading edge of the sheet 13 in the transfer path 32 is L plus α in the transfer path 32 from the nip position of the pressure rollers 40a, 40b. When it is detected that the clock sensor 90 has reached the position, the pressure roller clutch 82 is turned on, and the pressure rollers 40a, 40
b starts to rotate. It should be noted that the sheet 13 is moved from the nip position of the pressure rollers 40a and 40b to a position L plus α in front.
Since the distance from the nip position of the pressure rollers 40a and 40b to the nip position of the registration roller 30 has been determined in advance, the distance obtained by subtracting L plus α from that distance of the registration roller 30 It is detected by calculating the clock count by the clock sensor 90 from the time when the rotation starts. As a result, the leading edge of the sheet 13 is located at a position rearwardly shifted from the leading edge of the heated portion of the laminating heater 39a, 39b by α, and the leading edge of the sheet 13 is surely laminated.

Then, the sheet 13 is sandwiched between the heated upper and lower laminating films 37a and 37b, and the sheet 13 is fed into the nip of the pressure rollers 40a and 40b as a three-body unit, and the pressure rollers 40a and 40b. Is pressed and laminated. When the leading edge of the sheet 13 thus laminated is detected by the laminating sensor 46, the registration roller clutch 85 and the pressure roller clutch 82 are simultaneously turned off, the transfer of the sheet 13 is stopped, and at the same time, the inside of the cutter unit 42 is stopped. The cutter motor (not shown) is turned on, and the cutter blade 43 is pushed downward to cut the leading end of the laminated sheet 13. After the cutter blade 43 finishes cutting and retracts completely upward, the registration roller clutch 85, the pressure roller clutch 82, and the pull roller clutch 70 are turned on, and the registration roller 30, the pressure roller 40
a, 40b and pull rollers 47a, 47b start to rotate, respectively.

When the rear edge of the sheet 13 is detected by the pre-registration sensor 31, the registration roller clutch 85 is turned off at the time when the rear edge of the transfer paper 10 passes through the nip of the registration roller 30 to rotate the registration roller 30. Is stopped. The clock sensor 90 also measures the amount of movement from the detection of the rear end of the sheet 13 by the pre-registration sensor 31 to the removal of the rear end of the sheet 13 from the nip position of the registration roller 30. When the rear end of the sheet 13 after the laminating process is detected by the laminating sensor 46, the clock sensor 90 causes the laminating sensor 46 to move to the cutter 42.
After the distance up to is measured, the pressure roller clutch 82 and the pull roller clutch 70 are turned off, and the transport of the sheet 13 after the laminating process is stopped. At the same time, the cutter motor 91 is turned on, and the cutter blade 43 cuts the rear end of the laminated sheet 13. After cutting, the pull roller clutch 70 is turned on, and the pull rollers 47a and 47b and the laminated paper discharge rollers 50a and 50
b starts to rotate, and the sheet 13 after the laminating process is discharged and stacked on the laminating tray 51.

By repeating the above series of operations,
The sheets 13 that are successively discharged from the apparatus body are laminated.

When the sheet 13 is laminated, the higher the image density of the sheet 13, the larger the amount of heat absorbed, and in order to perform a good laminating process, the sheet 13 is absorbed by the pressure rollers 40a and 40b. Preheater 3 in consideration of heat of laminated films 37a and 37b
It is necessary to increase the amount of heat absorbed by the sheet 13 and dry it by controlling the way of applying heat in the portions 9a and 39b and controlling the way of applying heat by the laminate heaters 44a and 44b.

Further, as the thickness of the sheet 13 increases, the amount of heat absorbed by the sheet 13 increases as in the above case. Therefore, it is necessary to control the laminating heaters 39a, 39b and the laminating heaters 44a, 44b in the same manner as above. is there.

Further, the laminated films 37a, 37b
As the thickness of the laminated film 37 increases, the amount of heat absorbed by the laminated films 37a and 37b increases.
It is necessary to control the preheaters 39a and 39b that heat the a and 37b.

Therefore, in the laminating apparatus C according to the present invention, the sheet 1 is changed depending on the image density and thickness of the sheet 13 and the thickness of the laminating films 37a and 37b.
3 and the laminated films 37a and 37b are heated.
The data from the density detection sensor 35, the paper thickness detection sensor 56, and the core bar identification switch 63 can be fed back to the copying apparatus main body.

Next, the temperature control when the heater 33 is provided will be described.

The sheet 1 output from the main body of the image forming apparatus after the image is formed with ink in the image forming apparatus
Ink adheres to the surface of the sheet 3, and the sheet 13 is discharged in a wet state. For this reason, if the sheet 13 is laminated in the wet state, moisture is sealed between the upper and lower laminating films 37a and 37b, and air bubbles are generated, resulting in poor laminating process. ..

Therefore, the sheet 1 is previously prepared before the laminating process.
3 must be heated to evaporate the moisture in the sheet 13.

However, if the sheet 13 is heated more than necessary, the sheet 13 is curled, and this curl causes troubles such as wrinkles and curls during the laminating process. The wetness of the sheet 13 changes depending on the image density, and the higher the image density, the worse the condition for the laminating process.

Therefore, in the laminating apparatus C according to the present invention, the image density can be detected by the density detecting sensor 35 in advance, and the heating temperature of the heater 33 can be automatically controlled based on the result. There is. That is, if the image density is high, the heater temperature is high,
If the image density is low, the heater temperature is set low. Note that some copying machines do not use ink but form images with toner or the like. However, in such copying machines, the transfer paper is discharged in a dry state, so that the heating before the laminating process is performed. Becomes unnecessary. Therefore, the user operates the operation unit 2
The heater heating switch provided in No. 2 can be turned off. In this way, when the heater 33 is provided, the sheet 13 is dried before being laminated, so that the preheaters 39a and 39b corresponding to the image density are obtained.
Also, the temperature control of the laminate heaters 44a and 44b is not necessary.

Next, the above control and operation will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control circuit for performing the above-described operation. The control circuit is an RO.
It is mainly composed of a well-known one-chip microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as MCOM) 4 having built-in M, RAM and the like, and the input ports P0 to P9 in the MCOM4 are respectively laminated / non-laminated changeover switches described above. 22, the amount of rotation of the main motor 65, the conveying rollers 26, 30, 40a, 40b, 47a, 47b, 5
Clock sensor 9 for counting the movement amount of 0a and 50b
0, a pre-registration sensor 31 immediately before the registration roller 40 for detecting the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet 13, the pressure roller 4
0a, 40b and the cutter unit 42, a laminate sensor 46 for detecting the front and rear edges of the sheet 13 after the laminating process, an image density sensor 35 for detecting the image density of the sheet 13 output from the image forming apparatus main body, and a sheet roll. A core bar identification switch 63 for identifying the types of core bars of 36a and 36b to identify the thickness of the laminated films 37a and 37b, and a displacement amount of the registration roller 30 to detect the thickness of the sheet 13 passing through the registration roller 30. Paper thickness detection sensor 56, preheaters 39a, 30b
Sensors T3, T4 for detecting the temperature of the pressure sensors and temperature sensors T1, T for detecting the temperature of the pressure rollers 40a, 40b.
2. Each signal from the ON / OFF switch 22 of the heater 33 is input.

Further, from the output ports F0 to F9, the solenoid 24 of the flapper 21 for switching between the laminating path and the non-laminating path via the drivers D0 to D7 is turned on / off, and the main motor 65 is turned on.
/ OFF operation, the image density detected by the density detection sensor 35, the laminated film thickness detected by the core metal identification switch 63, and the sheet speed detected by the paper thickness detection sensor 56. Control, rotation of registration roller 30 ON / OFF
ON / OFF of the registration roller clutch 85 to be operated
ON / OFF operation, rotation of pressure rollers 40a, 40b
ON / OFF operation of the pressure roller clutch 82 to be operated, ON / OFF operation of the pull roller clutch 70 to turn on / off the rotations of the pull rollers 47a and 47b and the laminate discharge rollers 50a and 50b, and the sheet 13 before laminating processing. ON / OFF of the heater 33 for heating
Sheet 1 detected by movement and density detection sensor 35
Control of the heater temperature set in advance by changing the image density of No. 3 and ON / OFF of preheaters 39a and 39b for preheating the laminate films 37a and 37b
The preheaters 39a, 3 set in advance by changes in the image density detected by the operation and density detection sensor 35, the laminate film thickness identified by the core metal identification switch 63, and the sheet thickness detected by the paper thickness detection sensor 56.
ON / O of a cutter motor 91 for controlling the temperature of the surface of 9b and cutting the sheet 13 after the laminating process.
FF operation, operation for displaying the lamination processing state on the display means 81, ON / OFF operation of the laminate heaters 44a, 44b for heating the pressure rollers 40a, 40b, and image density detected by the density detection sensor 35, core metal Each output signal is output so that the identification switch 63 controls the temperature of the laminate heater set in advance by the change of the laminate film thickness and the sheet thickness detected by the paper thickness detection sensor 56.

Reading of the input signal or load O
N / OFF and control to each set value are MC
It is executed according to the program stored in the ROM in the OM4.

FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of control of the laminating operation of this embodiment. Note that here, the control when the heater 33 is not provided will be described.

When the user turns on the start switch of the copying machine, the temperature sensors T1, T2, T3, T4 of the heaters in the laminating apparatus C are detected and compared with a preset target temperature (S701). If it is compared and the temperature is higher than the target temperature, a lamination permission signal is generated and transmitted to the copying apparatus main bodies A and B (S711). Then, copying is started (S712), and the sheet 13 is ejected from the copying apparatus and at the same time, the laminating operation is started (S71).
3, S714).

It is judged by the temperature sensors T1, T2, T3, T4 whether the heating temperature of each preheater is lower than the target value (S701), and if it is lower, a laminating prohibition signal is generated (S702). And first, the preheaters 39a, 30
It is determined whether the preheating temperature of b is lower than the target value (S70).
3). If the preheat is low here, the preheater 39
a and 39b are turned on (S704), the temperature is raised to the target value, and then turned off (S705, S706). Next, the laminate heaters 44a and 44b are turned on (S70
8) Raise the heating temperature to the target value and then turn it off (S
709, 710). And the lamination prohibition release signal (S
707) to the copy body. Thereafter, a laminating permission signal (S711) is generated and transmitted to the copying apparatus, and then copying is started (S712, S713) and a laminating operation is started (S714).

The target temperature is set in advance according to the thickness of the sheet, the density of the image density, the thickness of the laminate film, etc., and is set from the density detection sensor 35, the paper thickness detection sensor 56, and the core bar identification switch 63. The optimum temperature is selected on the basis of the data, and each heater 39a, 39b, 44a, 44b is controlled based on the selected temperature.

In the above embodiment, when the plural sheets are copied and laminated, the image density and the sheet thickness of the first sheet are not detected. Therefore, only the thickness of the laminated film is measured. It is preferable that the target temperature is set on the basis of, and the target temperature is set on the basis of the thickness of the laminated film, the thickness of the sheet sent before that, and the image density after the second sheet.

Next, another embodiment of the control will be described based on the temperature control flowchart of the laminating operation shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, when the start switch of the copying machine is turned on, copying is started, and when the heating temperature by the heaters 39a, 39b, 44a, 44b does not reach the target temperature at that time, copying is performed. The sheet is made to stand by in the middle, and if the target temperature is reached, the laminating process is started.
As a result, the time from copying to the end of the laminating process can be shortened as compared with the above embodiment.

More specifically, when the start switch is turned on, copying is started (S801). The heating temperature of each heater 39a, 39b, 44a, 44b is detected by the temperature sensors T1, T2, T3, T4 and compared with a preset target temperature (S802). It is generated and transmitted to the copying apparatus main bodies A and B (S811). If the copied sheet 13 is in the standby state, the standby is released (S
812), the sheet 13 is discharged from the copying apparatus, and at the same time, the laminating operation is started (S813).

When the temperature detected by the temperature sensors T1, T2, T3, T4 is lower than the target temperature, the copied sheet is put on standby (S803). This waiting position is
Sheet 1 on registration roller 30 in laminating path 29
It is preferable that the tip of 3 contacts. Or copy machine body B
You may wait inside. Further, the copied sheets may be stacked on the way and waited.

At the same time as the operation of making a copy on this sheet and making it stand by, a laminate prohibition signal is generated. Then, first, it is determined whether the preheating temperature by the preheaters 39a and 39b is lower than the target value (S804). If the temperature is low, the preheaters 39a and 39b are turned on (S805), the temperature is raised to the target value, and then turned off (S806, S80).
7). Next, the laminate heaters 44a and 44b are turned on (S808) to raise the heating temperature to the target value, and then the OF
F (S809, S810). Then, the laminate prohibition cancellation signal (S814) is transmitted to the copying machine main body. After that, a laminating permission signal (S811) is generated, the standby of the sheet 13 is released (S812), and the laminating operation is started (S813).

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the target value is set based on the thickness of the laminate film, the thickness of the sheet previously sent, and the image density. In this embodiment, other than this setting method, Alternatively, each detecting means may be provided in the copying apparatus main body B, and the setting may be made based on the data from the detecting means.

Here, an ink jet recording system is preferably used as the recording means of the image forming apparatus to which the laminating apparatus is connected.

The ink jet recording system is provided with a liquid ejection port for ejecting and ejecting a recording ink liquid as flying droplets, a liquid channel communicating with the ejection port, and a part of this liquid channel. Ejection energy generation means for giving ejection energy for causing the ink liquid in the path to fly. Then, the ejection energy generating means is driven according to the image signal to eject ink droplets to record an image.

As the ejection energy generating means, for example, a method of using pressure energy generating means such as an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element is used, and electromagnetic waves such as a laser are radiated and absorbed by the ink liquid to generate heat, and the generated heat produces the effect. There are a method of using an electromagnetic energy generating means for ejecting ink, a method of using a thermal energy generating means for heating ink liquid by an electrothermal converter to eject ink, and the like. Among them, the method of ejecting ink by using a heat energy generating means such as an electrothermal converter is capable of high-resolution recording because the liquid ejection ports can be arranged at high density, and the recording head It is preferable because it can be made compact.

In this embodiment, a serial type ink jet recording system, which is one of the ink jet recording systems, is used as the recording means.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the recording head constituting the recording means, and FIGS. 10 to 16 are explanatory views of the ink jet recording principle. Regarding the typical configuration and principle, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,12
No. 9 and No. 4,740,796.

In FIG. 9, a is a heater board, which is an electrothermal converter (discharge heater) on a silicon substrate.
b, and an electrode c made of aluminum or the like for supplying electric power thereto are formed and arranged. A ceiling plate e having a partition wall for partitioning the liquid path (nozzle) d of the recording liquid is bonded to the heater board a. An ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head is replaceably attached to a predetermined position of the apparatus.

The ink supplied from the ink cartridge through the conduit is supplied to the top plate e through a supply port f.
The liquid is filled in the common liquid chamber g in the recording head, and is introduced into each nozzle d from the common liquid chamber g. Ink ejection openings h are formed in these nozzles d, and the ejection openings h are formed at a predetermined pitch in the sheet conveying direction so as to face the recording sheet of the recording head.

In this embodiment, the recording head having the above construction is mounted on a carriage which can reciprocate, and ink is ejected and ejected from the recording head in synchronization with the movement of the carriage to perform recording.

Here, the principle of ink flight in the ink jet recording system will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the steady state, as shown in FIG. 10, in the ink filled in the nozzle d, the surface tension and the external pressure are balanced at the ejection port surface. When flying the ink in this state, the electrothermal converter b in the nozzle d is energized to cause the ink in the nozzle d to rapidly rise in temperature over nucleate boiling. Then, as shown in FIG.
The ink adjacent to the electrothermal converter b is heated to generate minute bubbles (bubbles), the ink in the heated portion is vaporized to cause film boiling, and the bubbles rapidly grow as shown in FIG.

When the bubbles grow to the maximum as shown in FIG. 13, ink droplets are pushed out from the ejection port in the nozzle d. Then, when the electricity supply to the electrothermal converter b is finished, the grown bubbles are removed from the nozzle d as shown in FIG.
The ink inside cools and contracts, and the growth and contraction of the bubbles cause ink droplets to fly from the ejection ports. Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the ink comes into contact with the surface of the electrothermal converter b and is rapidly cooled, and the bubbles disappear or shrink to a substantially negligible volume. When the bubbles contract, as shown in FIG. 16, ink is supplied from the common liquid chamber g into the nozzle d by a capillary phenomenon to prepare for the next energization.

Therefore, the ink image is recorded on the recording sheet by reciprocating the carriage and energizing the electrothermal converter b in synchronization with this movement in accordance with the image signal.

In the ink jet recording system, it is preferable to provide recovery means at the end of the carriage movement range.

The recovery means has a function of covering the ink ejection surface of the recording head at the time of non-recording or the like so as to prevent the ink near the ejection port of the recording head from drying and the singulation associated therewith. .. Further, it is preferable that a pump is connected to the recovery means, the pump is driven for defective ejection or removal of ink, or the prevention thereof, and the suction force sucks ink from the ejection port to perform recovery processing.

[0087]

As described in detail above, the present invention is
When the heating means does not reach the predetermined temperature, by prohibiting the laminating mode so that the laminating process cannot be performed, it is possible to prevent defective products due to defective welding, damage the sheet, and waste the laminating film. There is nothing to do.

Further, if the image forming means forms an image on the sheet and waits when the laminating mode is prohibited, the laminating process can be performed as soon as the heating means reaches a predetermined temperature, so that the time can be shortened.

Furthermore, by detecting the heat capacity of the sheet and changing the predetermined temperature accordingly to optimize the amount of heat supplied to the sheet, it is possible to surely perform the laminating process and obtain a high-quality laminated product.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing a state in which a laminating apparatus of the present invention is connected to an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a paper thickness detection mechanism of a registration roller unit provided in the laminating apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an upper sheet roll of the laminating apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lower sheet roll of the laminating apparatus shown in FIG.

5 is a drive development view showing a drive system of the laminating apparatus shown in FIG.

6 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the laminating apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the laminating apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of control of the laminating apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an example of a recording head of an inkjet recording type image forming apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the principle of an inkjet recording method.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the principle of an inkjet recording method.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the principle of an inkjet recording method.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the principle of an inkjet recording method.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the principle of an inkjet recording method.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the principle of an inkjet recording method.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the principle of an inkjet recording method.

FIG. 17 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional laminating apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

B printer C laminating apparatus 4 MCOM (control means) 13 sheet 30 registration roller pair (sheet conveying means) 35 density detecting means 37a, 37b laminating film 40a, 40b pressure roller (pressure hand θ) 44a, 44b laminating heater (heating) Means) 47a, 47b Pull rollers (laminate film conveying means) 56 Sheet thickness detecting means T1, T2 sensors (temperature detecting means)

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location B41J 29/00 // B32B 31/10 J 7141-4F 35/00 C 7141-4F B65H 37/04 Z 9037- 3F G03G 15/00 114 7369-2H B29L 9:00 4F

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A sheet conveying means for conveying a sheet having an image formed thereon, a laminating film conveying means for conveying a laminated film, a heating means for heating the conveyed laminated film, and a conveying means for conveying the laminated film. Pressurizing means for overlapping and pressing the sheet and the laminated film, temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heating means, and prohibiting the laminating mode when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is below a predetermined set temperature. A laminating apparatus comprising: 2. The laminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means prohibits the operation of the sheet conveying means when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is equal to or lower than a predetermined set temperature. 3. The laminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means prohibits the operation of the laminating film conveying means when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is equal to or lower than a predetermined set temperature. 4. The laminating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for detecting the heat capacity of the sheet, wherein the control means changes the set temperature to be higher as the detected heat capacity of the sheet is increased. 5. The laminating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sheet heat capacity detecting means is a sheet thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying means. 6. The laminating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sheet heat capacity detecting means is a density detecting means for detecting an image density of a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying means. 7. An image forming means for forming an image on a sheet, a sheet conveying means for conveying the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming means, a laminate film conveying means, and heating for heating a laminated film to be conveyed. Means, a pressing means for superposing and pressing the sheet and the laminated film conveyed by each of the conveying means, a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heating means, and a temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is a predetermined value. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that prohibits a laminating mode when the temperature is equal to or lower than a preset temperature. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the control unit prohibits the operation of the image forming unit when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit is equal to or lower than a predetermined set temperature. 9. The control unit causes the image forming unit to operate when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit is equal to or lower than a predetermined set temperature, and causes the sheet on which the image is formed to wait. Image forming device. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a unit for detecting the heat capacity of the sheet, wherein the control unit changes the set temperature to be higher as the detected heat capacity of the sheet is larger. 11. The laminating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the sheet heat capacity detecting means is a sheet thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying means. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the sheet heat capacity detecting unit is a density detecting unit that detects an image density of a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying unit. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming unit is an inkjet system that forms an image by ejecting ink. 14. An ink jet system, wherein the image forming means energizes an electrothermal converter and grows bubbles caused by heating beyond film boiling by the electrothermal converter to eject ink from an ejection port to form an image. It is a system.
The image forming apparatus described.