Image Forming and Lamination Speed Control to Reduce Film Waste
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional laminating apparatuses face issues with waste of expensive laminate film due to variations in the distance between sheets, leading to either excessive film usage or inadequate product formation.
Innovation Solution
The image forming system includes an image former and a laminator, with a hardware processor that adjusts either the lamination speed or the image forming speed to optimize the distance between sheets, thereby minimizing film waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the distance between sheets is increased to allow adequate image formation time, then image quality is improved, but laminate film waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the lamination speed adjustable rather than fixed. The control unit dynamically changes the lamination speed based on the distance between sheets, allowing the system to adapt to varying sheet intervals. When sheet distance is large, the lamination speed is reduced to maintain adequate contact time for proper lamination, thereby preventing film waste while ensuring image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameter of lamination speed based on the distance between sheets. The control unit monitors sheet distance and adjusts the lamination speed parameter accordingly. This parameter change allows the system to optimize both image quality and film utilization by matching the lamination process speed to the actual sheet conveyance conditions.
2Loss of substance
If the distance between sheets is decreased to reduce film waste, then laminate film usage is optimized, but adequate product formation cannot be obtained
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts lamination speed in response to decreased sheet distance. When sheets are conveyed at small intervals, the control unit reduces lamination speed to ensure that each sheet receives adequate lamination processing time, thereby maintaining product quality while still reducing overall film waste through closer sheet spacing.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit implements feedback by monitoring the distance between sheets and using this information to adjust lamination speed. This closed-loop control ensures that the lamination process adapts to actual sheet spacing conditions, optimizing both film utilization and product quality by preventing both film waste and inadequate product formation.
3Productivity
If lamination speed is increased to improve productivity, then output increases, but sheet distance control becomes inadequate leading to film waste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes lamination speed dynamic rather than fixed at a high constant value. The control unit continuously adjusts lamination speed based on actual sheet distance, allowing the system to maintain high productivity when sheet intervals are appropriate while reducing speed when sheet distance increases, thereby preventing film waste while preserving overall output.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from sheet distance measurement to control lamination speed. The control unit receives information about sheet spacing and adjusts lamination speed accordingly, creating a self-regulating system that maintains productivity while preventing film waste by adapting speed to actual processing conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming system includes, an image former configured to form an image on a recording medium that is a flat cut sheet; a laminator that is disposed on a downstream side of the image former in a conveyance direction of the recording medium and that laminates the recording medium on which the image is formed by the image former; and a hardware processor configured to adjust at least one of a lamination speed in the laminator and/or an image forming speed in the image former.