IP Library Granted Patent US 12679081
Granted Patent B2
US 12679081 · App. 18/330,618 · Granted Jul 14, 2026

Laminating system, recording medium, and laminating device

Inventor: Kenichi Yamada (Higashiyamato, JP)
Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
B32B37/0053B32B38/0004B32B38/145B32B41/00G03G15/6585B32B2037/0061
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12679081
App. No.
18/330,618
Granted
Jul 14, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A laminating system includes: a sheet feeder that feeds a plurality of cut sheets; a continuous conveyor that conveys the cut sheets fed by the sheet feeder without any interval between the cut sheets; a laminator that executes laminating processing and attaches a laminate film to a target sheet among the cut sheets conveyed by the continuous conveyor; and a hardware processor that causes the sheet feeder to feed one or more insertion sheets at least before or after the target sheet of the laminating processing.

Claims (38)

1 . A laminating system comprising:

a sheet feeder that feeds a plurality of cut sheets;

an image forming device that forms an image on each of the cut sheets fed by the sheet feeder in a job;

a continuous conveyor that conveys the cut sheets fed by the sheet feeder without any interval between the cut sheets after the image forming device forms the image in the job;

a laminator that executes laminating processing in the job and attaches a laminate film to a target sheet among the cut sheets conveyed by the continuous conveyor; and

a hardware processor that:

causes the sheet feeder to feed, as one or more insertion sheets, one or more waste sheets that are not used for a correct product of the job, at least before or after the target sheet of the laminating processing,

causes the laminator to execute the laminating processing to the insertion sheets as well as the target sheet, and

causes the image forming device to refrain from forming the image on each of the insertion sheets but to form the image on the target sheet.

2 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , wherein

the sheet feeder comprises a plurality of housings each of which is configured to store the cut sheets, and

the hardware processor causes the sheet feeder to feed the insertion sheets from, among the housings, a housing different from any of the remaining housings from which the target sheet is fed.

3 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , wherein a width of each of the insertion sheets is equal to or more than a width of the laminate film.

4 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , wherein a type of the insertion sheets is same as a type of the target sheet.

5 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , wherein a type of the insertion sheets is different from a type of the target sheet.

6 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , wherein

the hardware processor further:

calculates the number of the insertion sheets based on a stable distance of the laminating processing, a sheet length of each of the insertion sheets in a conveying direction, and an overlapped amount of the cut sheets continuously conveyed, and

causes the sheet feeder to feed the calculated number of the insertion sheets.

7 . The laminating system according to claim 6 , wherein the hardware processor calculates the stable distance based on a type of the laminate film and a type of the cut sheets.

8 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , wherein

the hardware processor:

receives a user input to specify the number of the insertion sheets, and causes the sheet feeder to feed the specified number of insertion sheets.

9 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , wherein the continuous conveyor conveys the cut sheets in a state where a rear end portion of a preceding cut sheet is overlapped by a predetermined amount on an upper portion of a front end portion of a following cut sheet.

10 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a fixing device that thermally presses the target sheet to which the laminate film is attached.

11 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , wherein the laminate film includes a base material layer and an adhesive layer layered on one surface of the base material layer.

12 . The laminating system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a cutting device that cuts the laminate film along an edge of a rear end of a preceding cut sheet or an edge of a front end of a following cut sheet, among the cut sheets each being the target sheet subjected to the laminating processing by the laminator.

13 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing instructions executed by a hardware processor in a computer of a laminating system that comprises:

a sheet feeder that feeds a plurality of cut sheets;

an image forming device that forms an image on each of the cut sheets fed by the sheet feeder in a job;

a continuous conveyor that conveys the cut sheets fed by the sheet feeder without any interval between the cut sheets after the image forming device forms the image in the job; and

a laminator that executes laminating processing in the job and attaches a laminate film to a target sheet among the cut sheets conveyed by the continuous conveyor,

the instructions causing the hardware processor to execute:

causing the sheet feeder to feed, as one or more insertion sheets, one or more waste sheets that are not used for a correct product of the job, at least before or after the target sheet of the laminating processing, and

causing the laminator to execute the laminating processing to the insertion sheets as well as the target sheet, and

causing the image forming device to refrain from forming the image on each of the insertion sheets but to form the image on the target sheet.