阅读说明：本技术 带编码膜料筒的层压系统 (Laminating system with code film cartridge ) 是由 A·梅拉迈德 于 2019-10-22 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种双卷式层压膜料筒,包括限定第一端的本体,该第一端支承第一卷和第二卷连续半透明层压膜的第一端。本体还限定了第二端,该第二端支承第一卷和第二卷的第二端,其中在前进方向上从第一卷和第二卷延伸的膜的面对的表面涂覆有热活化粘合剂。桥接部在本体的第一端和第二端之间、在第一卷和第二卷之间的位置处延伸,该桥接部限定了物品沟槽,该物品沟槽用于接纳将被第一卷和第二卷的膜层压的物品。料筒还包括指示第一卷和第二卷的膜的一个或多个特性的编码,该编码包括从本体向外突出的编码突片的预定标志样式。(A dual roll laminate film cartridge includes a body defining a first end supporting first ends of a first roll and a second roll of continuous translucent laminate film. The body also defines a second end that supports a second end of the first and second rolls, wherein facing surfaces of the film extending from the first and second rolls in the direction of advance are coated with a heat activated adhesive. A bridge extends between the first and second ends of the body at a location between the first and second rolls, the bridge defining an article channel for receiving an article to be laminated by the films of the first and second rolls. The cartridge further includes a code indicative of one or more characteristics of the films of the first and second rolls, the code including a predetermined logo pattern of coded tabs projecting outwardly from the body.)

1. A dual roll laminate film cartridge comprising:

a body defining a first end supporting a first end of a first roll of continuous translucent laminating film and a first end of a second roll of continuous translucent laminating film, the body further defining a second end supporting a second end of the first roll and a second end of the second roll, wherein facing surfaces of the film extending in a forward direction from the first roll and the second roll are coated with a heat activated adhesive;

a bridge extending between the first and second ends of the body at a location between the first and second rolls, the bridge defining an article channel for receiving an article to be laminated by the films of the first and second rolls; and

a code indicative of one or more characteristics of the film of the first roll and the second roll, the code comprising a predetermined pattern of coding tabs projecting outwardly from the body.

2. The dual roll laminate film cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a handle disposed at a top edge of the cartridge.

3. The dual roll laminate film cartridge of claim 1, wherein the predetermined logo pattern of the coded tabs is coded to identify a material thickness of the film of the first roll and the second roll.

4. The dual roll lamination film cartridge of claim 3, wherein the predetermined logo pattern of the coded tabs is further coded to identify a film dimension perpendicular to a roll length of film on the first roll and the second roll.

5. The dual roll laminate film cartridge of claim 1, wherein the predetermined logo pattern of coding tabs comprises at least one coding tab on the first end of the body and at least one coding tab on the second end of the body.

6. The dual roll laminate film cartridge of claim 5, wherein the at least one coding tab on the first end of the body and the at least one coding tab on the second end of the body extend outward in opposite directions, outside of the respective first and second ends of the first and second rolls.

7. The dual roll laminate film cartridge of claim 5, wherein the at least one coding tab on the first end of the body is positioned within a first recess formed by a first pair of spaced apart walls, and wherein the at least one coding tab on the second end of the body is positioned within a second recess formed by a second pair of spaced apart walls.

8. The dual roll laminate film cartridge of claim 1, wherein the predetermined indicia pattern of coding tabs comprises frangible coding tabs for coding the cartridge by selectively breaking or leaving intact the coding tabs.

9. The dual roll laminate film cartridge of claim 1, wherein the first roll is a top roll and the second roll is a bottom roll, the cartridge body defining a first leg at a bottom of the first end and a second leg at a bottom of the second end, wherein the predetermined logo pattern of the coding tab is located adjacent the first leg and the second leg.

10. The dual roll laminate film cartridge of claim 1, wherein the film of one of the first roll and the second roll includes an end of a roll indicator embedded therein or provided by a label thereon.

11. The dual roll laminate film cartridge of claim 10, wherein the end of the roll indicator is provided by a reflective sticker.

12. A laminating machine, comprising:

a cartridge receptacle configured to receive any one of a plurality of unique double-roll laminate film cartridges;

a cartridge identification sensor exposed to the cartridge receptacle and operable to identify a particular one of the plurality of unique double-roll laminate film cartridges by detecting a predetermined signature pattern of coded tabs at a plurality of predetermined locations relative to the cartridge receptacle;

an item tray in communication with an inlet slot of the laminator;

a set of heating rollers heated by the heater and positioned in a downstream direction of the cartridge accommodating section;

a set of pulling rollers driven by a main motor and positioned downstream of the set of heated rollers;

an automatic feeder positioned in an upstream direction of the cartridge housing portion, the automatic feeder including a set of feed rollers operable by a feed motor to engage and advance articles from the article tray toward the set of heated rollers;

a cutter assembly operable to cut a laminated article from the remaining film of the dual roll laminated film cartridge after passing through the lamination section; and

a controller in communication with a memory to receive signals from the cartridge identification sensor and programmed to set operating parameters of one or both of the heater and the main motor according to a profile stored in the memory and preselected for a laminate film type of a particular one of the plurality of two-roll laminate film cartridges, the profile being one of a plurality of profiles saved in the memory, each of the plurality of profiles corresponding to a laminate film type.

13. The lamination machine of claim 12, wherein the cartridge identification sensor includes a first sensing element positioned at a bottom of the cartridge receptacle.

14. The lamination machine of claim 13, wherein the cartridge identification sensor includes a second sensing element positioned at the bottom of the cartridge receptacle, wherein the first sensing element is positioned at a first end of the cartridge receptacle and the second sensing element is positioned at a second, opposite end of the cartridge receptacle.

15. The lamination machine of claim 14, wherein the signal to the controller is cumulatively composed of outputs from both the first sensing element and the second sensing element.

16. The lamination machine of claim 12, wherein the cartridge identification sensor comprises a photosensor.

17. The laminator of claim 12, wherein the cartridge receptacle is accessible through a door of the laminator, and wherein the heated roller and the pull roller are separated from each other by opening the door and are coupled together by closing the door.

18. The lamination machine of claim 12, further comprising at least one article sensor operable to detect a position of a leading edge of an article and/or a trailing edge of an article, wherein the operating parameters set by the controller further include a boundary setting defining an amount of a laminate film boundary adjacent the leading edge of the article and/or the trailing edge of the article, the controller programmed to operate the cutter assembly according to the boundary setting.

Background

The present disclosure relates to a laminating system for laminating paper, cards, photographs or the like within a pair of transparent films by applying pressure and heat. Such machines are provided with adjustable settings to ensure acceptable lamination results for a variety of different films having different specifications (such as thickness), which may require different settings. This not only provides opportunities for setup errors and poor results to occur, but can be cumbersome in situations where one or more users may need to switch between membrane types for various tasks.

Disclosure of Invention

In one aspect, the present invention provides a dual roll laminate film cartridge comprising a body defining a first end supporting a first end of a first roll of continuous translucent laminate film and a first end of a second roll of continuous translucent laminate film. The body also defines a second end supporting a second end of the first roll and a second end of the second roll, wherein facing surfaces of the film extending from the first and second rolls in the forward direction are coated with a heat activated adhesive. A bridge extends between the first and second ends of the body at a location between the first and second rolls, the bridge defining an article channel for receiving an article to be laminated by the films of the first and second rolls. The cartridge further includes a code indicative of one or more characteristics of the first roll of film and the second roll of film, the code including a predetermined pattern of indicia of a coded tab projecting outwardly from the body.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a laminating machine including a cartridge accommodating portion, a cartridge recognition sensor, an article tray, a set of heating rollers, a set of pulling rollers, an automatic feeder, a cutter assembly, and a controller. The cartridge receptacle is configured to receive any one of a plurality of unique double-roll laminated film cartridges. A cartridge identification sensor is exposed to the cartridge receptacle and is operable to identify a particular one of the plurality of unique double-roll laminate film cartridges by detecting a predetermined logo pattern of the coded tabs at a plurality of predetermined positions relative to the cartridge receptacle. The article tray is in communication with the inlet slot of the laminator. The group of heating rollers is heated by a heater and is positioned in a downstream direction of the cartridge accommodating section. The set of pulling rollers is driven by a main motor and is positioned downstream of the set of heated rollers. An automatic feeder is positioned in an upstream direction of the cartridge receiving portion, the automatic feeder including a set of feed rollers operable by a feed motor to engage and advance articles from the article tray toward the set of heated rollers. The cutter assembly is operable to cut the laminated article from the remaining film of the dual roll laminated film cartridge after passing through the lamination section. The controller is disposed in communication with the memory to receive the signal from the cartridge identification sensor and is programmed to: setting operating parameters of one or both of the heater and the main motor according to a profile stored in the memory and pre-selected for a laminate film type of a particular one of the plurality of dual roll laminate film cartridges, the profile being one of a plurality of profiles stored in the memory, each of the plurality of profiles corresponding to a laminate film type.

Other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lamination system including a laminator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the lamination system taken along line 2-2 of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a first set of internal components of the laminator relative to a removable laminate film cartridge, wherein the housing of the laminator is drawn in phantom.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of an automatic feeder of the laminator.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a second set of internal components of the laminator with respect to the removable laminate film cartridge, wherein the housing of the laminator is drawn in phantom.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the laminate film cartridge.

Fig. 7 is an exploded assembly view of the laminate film cartridge.

Fig. 8 is a detailed perspective view of the coding portion of the laminate film cartridge.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an encoded portion of a laminate film cartridge during detection by a pair of photosensors of a laminator.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the film end condition of two film rolls of a cartridge and a sensor of a laminator reading a reflective film end label.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a membrane end sensor integrated with an arm of a contact type continuous membrane level sensor according to another configuration.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a laminate film cartridge according to another configuration provided with an integral heat shield.

Detailed Description

Before any embodiments of the disclosure are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.

Fig. 1 and 2 show a lamination system that includes a laminator 100 and a removable and replaceable laminate film cartridge or cartridge 104, the laminate film cartridge or cartridge 104 fitting into a receptacle 104R of the machine 100. The cartridge 104 can be keyed to the receptacle 104R of the machine 100 to allow fitting in only one prescribed orientation. The cartridge 104, described in further detail below, contains two parallel, spaced apart, rotatable rollers 106 of continuous laminating film. The film web comprises an adhesive on the sides facing each other, and the adhesive may be heat sensitive. Thus, the machine 100 includes a set of heated rollers 110 at a location downstream of the cartridge receptacle for activating the adhesive. The heated roller 110 may be variably supplied with electrical energy by a controller to apply an appropriate amount of heat to the film web and its adhesive as the machine 100 guides and advances the film web and any articles therein through the machine 100. The article may be any suitable laminated article including, but not limited to, paper, card, or photograph. The advancement of the articles through the machine 100 is handled by an automatic feeder 114, which automatic feeder 114 feeds the articles from an inlet feed tray 118 to the film web, and pulls the film laminated articles toward a cutter assembly 126 and an exit chute 130 by a set of pulling rollers 122 downstream of the heated roller 110. In this context, reference to the terms "upstream direction" and "downstream direction" refers to the direction of movement of an article through the machine 100 from side to side along the x-axis. The y-axis is defined as another planar article direction that extends back and forth along the machine 100 perpendicular to the x-axis.

A housing 134 of the machine 100 (drawn in phantom in fig. 3 and 5 to show internal components) encloses the cartridge 104 and the functional elements of the machine 100, including the automatic feeder 114, the heating and pulling rollers 110, 122, and the cutter assembly 126. The housing 134 also encloses electronics, such as a controller (e.g., a processor and memory for storing data and executable instructions). As shown in fig. 1, a control panel 136 providing a user interface may be provided on an outer surface of the housing 134. The user interface may include physical inputs (e.g., switches, buttons, etc.) and an optional electronic display. In some configurations, the user interface may be provided in whole or in part by a touch screen interface. The housing 134 may also include a door 138 for accessing the cartridge 104, e.g., for removal/replacement thereof. The door 138 is pivotally mounted, although additional linkages and mechanisms are optional. The door 138 is shown supported at a pivot 140, which is a fixed pivot on the housing 134. The gate 138 also supports the upper ones of the heated and pull rollers 110, 122 such that upward movement of the gate 138 separates these upper rollers from their mating lower rollers to easily and automatically load the leading end tail of the film web therebetween. As the door 138 closes, the heated roller 110 and the pull roller 122 reclose to engage or pinch the leading end tail of the film web.

Turning briefly to FIG. 3, a number of drive elements of the machine 100 are shown. Here, the housing 134 and other portions of the machine 100 are drawn in phantom to better illustrate the drive elements. First, the automatic feeder 114 includes a first or feeder motor 142, the first or feeder motor 142 being operable to drive a plurality of sets of rollers 144, 146 (fig. 4). The first set of rollers 144 is closest to the feed tray 118, while the second set of rollers 146 is positioned downstream of the first set of rollers 144. With continued reference to fig. 4, a solenoid 150 is provided to selectively disengage the first set of rollers 144 from each other, such as when the machine 100 is placed in a manual feed mode, thereby introducing a space or gap therebetween. For automatic feeding, automatic feeder 114 also includes a pick roller 152 (i.e., a single roller rather than a pair of rollers) upstream of first set of rollers 144. Pickup roller 152 is the initial point of contact for engaging items on feed tray 118. As shown, an article support surface for supporting the stack of articles may be provided in part by each feed tray 118 and the inlet section of the automatic feeder 114. Returning to fig. 3, the machine 100 also includes a clutch 156, the clutch 156 being operable to selectively disable delivery of drive force from the feeder motor 142 to the second set of automatic feed rollers 146. The clutch 156, which may be an electronic clutch controlled by a controller, may temporarily delay operation compared to the first set of automatic feed rollers 144 (e.g., a pre-programmed time delay or a delay based on article detection). Thus, articles to be delivered by automatic feeder 114 to the film web may be delivered by the first set of automatic feed rollers 144 such that leading edges thereof abut into the stationary second set of automatic feed rollers 146, such that any skew (e.g., particularly, but not limited to, rectangular sheets) present in the articles relative to the x-axis and y-axis prior to introduction of the articles to the film web is effectively minimized or eliminated. Further downstream of the cartridge receiving portion of the machine 100, a second or laminating motor 160 is provided that is operable to drive the heating roller 110 and the pulling roller 122. Further downstream, a third or cutting motor 162 is provided for driving a cutting element (e.g., a knife, not shown) along the y-axis after the trailing end of the laminate article passes.

Fig. 5 shows an array of sensors provided throughout the machine 100, particularly for sensing such things as the presence of film, the presence and type of cartridges, the presence of articles and the remaining film web. The tray sensor 166 is operable to detect the presence of items in the feed tray 118. Although other configurations are optional, the tray sensor 166 includes a contact element 166A that pivots when contacted by an item and serves as a flag for the photo interrupter sensing element 166B. Similar sensors 168, 170 operable to detect items at multiple locations along the automatic feeder 114 are provided adjacent the first and second sets of rollers 144, 146, respectively. Further, similar sensors 172, 176 are disposed adjacent to the heating roller 110 and the pulling roller 122, respectively. However, when the film web is properly directed through the rollers 110, 122, the sensors 172, 176 are contacted by the film web. These therefore serve to confirm that the film is correctly configured before any articles are allowed to advance. At or near the location of each film presence sensor 172, 176, the machine also includes an optical sensor 172', 176' (e.g., a photosensor) operable to detect the presence of an item. Thus, these article sensors 172', 176' are operable to detect when the leading edge of an article is reached and when the trailing edge of the article is passed, which can be used, for example, to perform boundary control or for automatic feeder adjustment of sheet spacing. The sensor 176' provides a final indication of the position of one or more articles just prior to cutting. All article sensors 168, 170, 172', 176' are operable to provide positive confirmation of the leading and trailing edges of an article. While the controller of the machine controls the speed of the motors 142, 160 that transport articles through the machine 100, and can operate according to open loop control, the sensors 168, 170, 172', 176' enable article position and/or speed feedback data to be provided to the controller for closed loop control. This can help account for minor slippage of the articles and/or films during transport in the machine 100, etc., for different surface finishes on various articles.

Turning to cartridge sensing, the machine 100 includes a low film sensor 180, which may be in the form of a photoelectric sensor adapted to detect the diameter of the film roll 106 falling below a threshold value. For example, when the roll of film 106 drops below a threshold, the receiver portion of the sensor 180 can detect the optical path blocked by the sensor 180 when the roll of film 106 is at or above the threshold. An alternative type of low film sensor 180' is shown in FIG. 11 as an offset contact type sensor that moves along the outer diameter of the film roll 106. The sensor 180' may be configured as a threshold sensor similar to that described above, or as a continuous film level sensor that reports the current value of the film remaining on the roll 106 to the controller. Finally, the array of cartridge sensors 184 detects the cartridge 104 when the cartridge 104 is positioned in an operable position within the cartridge receptacle 104R of the machine 100. In the illustrated construction, each sensor 184 is provided as a photo interrupter and the sensors 184 are provided at opposite ends of the bottom of the cartridge receptacle 104R, although other configurations are optional. The cartridge sensor 184 is operable to detect the presence of the cartridge 104 and, as various cartridges that may be used with the machine 100 are encoded according to their unique characteristics, may also detect more information about the film roll 106, as described in further detail below. In the illustrated construction, each end of the cartridge 104 (e.g., the lower end or foot thereof) is detected by two sensors 184, although only two sensors 184 at one end are shown. The two sensors 184 at each end are vertically stacked.

The cartridge 104 is shown in greater detail in fig. 6 and 7, with fig. 7 providing an exploded assembly view thereof. As shown, the cartridge 104 may be provided with a handle 188 at its top edge. The illustrated handle 188 extends across the entire y-axis width of the cartridge 104 between its two opposing ends. A label 190 with identifying indicia may be provided on the cartridge 104 (e.g., human readable alpha-numeric characters), such as on the handle 188, among other locations. The handle 188 may be provided as an integral part (e.g., an integrally molded component) of the cartridge body 194. The body 194 may include two opposing end plates 196. The body 194 may be provided with a lower cross member 198 spanning between the lower ends of the end plates 196 such that the end plates 196 connect above and below the membrane 106. Each end plate 196 includes a film roll receptacle 200 vertically stacked in the z-axis, and during operation of the machine 100, each film roll receptacle 200 is configured to rotatably receive a film roll end cap 202 for in-situ rotation with the film roll 106. The body 194 also includes a key passage 206 in each end plate 196 for receiving a bridge 210 of the cartridge 104. The bridge 210 is formed separately from the body 194 and can engage it at an intermediate location between the two film rolls 106. The bridge 210 stiffens the structure of the cartridge 104 and forms an article channel 212 through which the article is fed into the space between the two film webs. Thus, the location and integrity of the bridge 210 is critical to accurately feeding the articles for lamination. In conjunction with the key passage 206, the bridge 210 engages the body 194 in a single predetermined position by a positive snap connection therebetween, the body 194 and bridge 210 having respective complementary elements 214, 216 of the snap connection. Preventing the bridge 210 from assembling in a rearward orientation relative to the body 194. The separate formation of the bridge 210 relative to the body 194 enables the use of different materials, although in some embodiments both may be constructed of thermoplastic polymers. In some configurations, bridge 210 is formed from a first material having a bending strength greater than a bending strength of a second material forming body 194. In one non-limiting example, the bridge 210 is constructed of polycarbonate and the body 194 is formed of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS). Bridge 210 may be molded to have ribs to make it stronger, which cannot be formed in the same tool as body 194. Separating the structure of the bridge 210 from the body 194 gives the ability to use one or more stronger materials than the body 194, but also is excellent in terms of heat distortion temperature (i.e., a measure of the polymer's ability to withstand a given load at elevated temperatures, such as where the operating laminator temperature is above ambient temperature). For us, it is suitable for both heat distortion temperature and stronger ribs in forming. Although not required in all configurations, FIG. 12 shows that the improved cartridge 104' may include an integral heat shield 220 that blocks the film (and adhesive) on the roller 106 from the heat of the heated roller 110.

As described above, the cartridge 104 is encoded as a means to convey the film gauge to the machine 100 via the sensor 184. The film gauge refers to the physical properties of the film on the roll 106 (e.g., film thickness and y-axis film width). The cartridges 104 are part of a population of similar cartridges 104 that vary according to film gauge. The population of cartridges 104 may vary only in accordance with the film gauge and the code associated with the film gauge. Each cartridge 104 is encoded by a selectively present protruding tab 224, the protruding tab 224, when present, interrupting the respective light beam of the sensor 184. The cartridge 104 includes a set of coding tabs 224 at each end, including a first set of coding tabs 224 outside a first end of the film roll 106 and a second set of coding tabs 224 outside a second end of the film roll 106. Each set of coded tabs 224 may include one, two, or more coded tabs. Each set of coding tabs 224 is positioned at the bottom end or footer provided by the cartridge end plate 196. More specifically, the tab 224 is positioned at the bottom end of the vertical rib 228 of the endplate 196 that extends downward from the end of the handle 188. Each tab 224 projects outwardly from the outside of the end plate 196, e.g., parallel to the y-axis, such that the two sets of tabs 224 extend away from each other. The tabs 224 may be positioned in recesses or pockets 230 formed in the cartridge body 194, for example between two walls 232 spaced apart in the x-axis direction.

All of the tabs 224 may be manufactured as an integral part of the body 194 (e.g., integrally molded with the body 194). Indeed, regardless of the film gauge, each cartridge 104 of the family may be initially manufactured with a complete set of tabs 224 or intact, including a plurality of tabs 224 at both ends. Each cartridge 104 may then be encoded by selectively removing a plurality of tabs 224 (e.g., 0, 1, 2) from one or both sets. In some constructions, it may be desirable to use only a code that leaves the at least one tab 224 intact at each end of the cartridge 104, so that the at least one sensor 184 at each end can reliably detect the cartridge 104, regardless of the type of cartridge, distinguishing the generated signal from the signal of the absence of a cartridge. As shown, the coding tabs 224 in a given set are manufactured as frangible tab portions of a single integral projecting tab 236 on the cartridge body 194. For example, each coded tab 224 is integrally connected to the integrally projecting tab 236 by at least one frangible section 240 having a weakened configuration that facilitates separation from the integrally projecting tab 236. In other embodiments, the coding tabs 224 may be independently coupled to the cartridge body 194 with frangible sections having a weakened configuration. Manufacturing the cartridge may also include encoding the cartridge 104 by selectively breaking one or more encoding tabs 224 at frangible sections 240, depending on the film gauge of the film roll 106 loaded into the cartridge body 194 at the time of manufacture. Fig. 9 shows an example in which the cartridge 104 is coded by leaving only the lower tab 224 intact while the upper tab has been removed. Thus, the two sensors 184 on that side generate different signals for output to the controller, with the upper sensor 184 detecting its beam and the lower sensor 184 interrupting its beam. On the other side, the cartridge 104 may have a single coding tab 224 (upper or lower), or may leave both tabs 224 intact. Thus, the coding of the cartridge 104 is determined cumulatively by the sets of coding tabs 224 on both ends of the cartridge 104. In other constructions, the entire encoding is present on both ends of the cartridge 104 in an arrangement for redundant detection. As shown, the cartridge sensor 184 is at least partially received into the pocket 230 of the cartridge body 194 when the cartridge 104 is inserted into the machine 100 in an operable position. The sensor 184 senses via light transmission parallel to the x-axis or blocking of light transmission parallel to the x-axis.

Once the cartridge 104 is inserted and its code read by the sensor 184, the controller determines from the code how to build the machine 100 based on the data in memory. For example, the controller may set the power output to the heating roller 110 and/or the set point temperature of the heating roller 110 to different values based on the film properties (film thickness and/or adhesive type) transmitted via the encoding. In particular, the value set by the controller for heating may be higher than 3 mil for a4 mil (thousandths of an inch) film and higher for a 5 mil film. When the film cartridge 104 is replaced with a film cartridge 104 having a different film property code, the controller will automatically alter the heating settings accordingly to match the film properties, thereby eliminating the need for the user to enter the correct film type. This can be accomplished by a variety of unique profiles stored in memory and pre-selected for unique laminate film types. In addition, the controller may use the saved configuration file corresponding to the cartridge code in its control of the automatic feeder 114 and cutter assembly 126. In particular, the margin control is automated, for example, by manipulation of the automatic feeder 114, pull roller 122, and cutter assembly 126 by the controller for various standardized sheet sizes. Thus, the machine 100 can be made universal to accommodate different types of standardized sheet sizes used in different regions (e.g., north american law or letter versus ISO A3, a4, etc.). For example, the standard size of A3 and a4 papers is 297mm compared to north american letter papers having a 11 inch (279.4mm) size. Accordingly, cartridges 104 intended for use with A3 and a4 papers have larger film rolls 106 in the y-axis direction (i.e., the "width" of the film web between the ends of the cartridge perpendicular to the total roll length) than cartridges 104 intended for use with 8.5x 11 inches of paper. Thus, the controller will operate the automatic feeder 114 and the pull rollers 122 to set and maintain the spacing of the sequential sheets according to the film gauge so as to provide an x-axis spacing that further allows operation of the cutter mechanism 126 to automatically cut the film without waste to produce a predetermined, uniform boundary from the leading and trailing edges of the article to the edge of the film that is specific to the standardized sheet size corresponding to the cartridge 104.

As described above, the encoding of the cartridge 104 may be effective to set a number of machine setting parameters (i.e., temperature setting and boundary setting). In other configurations, the machine 100 may be configured for only one or for the other. However, it should also be noted that additional setup parameters of the machine 100 can be established via the encoding cartridge 104. These may include, but are not limited to, feed speed (i.e., the speed of one or both of the motors 142, 160) and lamination pressure when equipped with a variable pressure mechanism. One or more of these alternative set parameters may be used instead of or in addition to temperature and boundary settings, such that any and all possible combinations are possible depending on the intended use of the machine 100 and the compatible film types. Thus, with any of these disclosed embodiments, the machine 100 is operable to set (and subsequently change or reset) one or more variable setting parameters for the lamination process by automatically distinguishing between different cartridges 104 containing different film types. As disclosed in the illustrated embodiment, the detection mechanism of the machine 100 includes effectively detecting the number of coding tabs 224 missing relative to the number of current coding tabs 224, and also detecting their discrete positions (e.g., as a pattern of markings, where each intact coding tab 224 represents a marking). While the machine setting parameters controlled by the identification of the encoding cartridge 104 may refer to various automatic feeding and/or automatic cutting parameters for automatically laminating one or more articles from the feed tray 118, the machine 100 may be configured for manual lamination with the same system operation, e.g., via a separate pocket that can be manually loaded with one or more articles before a user feeds the articles to the machine 100. This is in contrast to continuous roll lamination and does not require cutting to sever the film web from the web roll. In fact, the cartridge 104 encoded to enable the machine 100 to perform manual lamination can be a virtual cartridge 104 that is completely film free. Thus, when a user desires to laminate using a pocket, the cartridge 104 is simply a placeholder that is inserted into the machine 100. Once the virtual cartridge 104 is in place, the user does not need to set any other parameters in some configurations since the machine 100 is fully configured for proper pocket lamination operations.

Another interactive feature of the laminating system provided by the machine 100 in combination with the cartridge 104 is the detection of the film end on the roll 106. This is separate from the normal low film test and may be in addition to the normal low film test or a warning triggered by monitoring the diameter of at least one of the rollers 106. In this way, the end of the roll indicator 248 is embedded in the film or provided by a label thereon. In the illustrated configuration of fig. 10, the end of the web indicator 248 is provided by a reflective label or sticker having a discernable pattern of high and low reflectivity portions (e.g., stripes) that can be optically detected by the end of the roller sensor 250 sending a signal to the controller. The user can easily remove the reflective label while exiting the machine 100. The end of the web indicator 248 is placed at a predetermined distance (x-direction) from the actual end of the film on the web 106 (e.g., the attachment point of the film to the core of the web 106). The predetermined distance may be uniform across all cartridges 104 suitable for use with the machine 100, or the predetermined distance may vary depending on the width (y-direction) of the film roll 106 mounted on a given cartridge 104. In either case, the position of the end of the web indicator 248 is configured to allow for a full sheet of standardized paper to complete lamination. When a corresponding signal is received from the end of the roll sensor 250, the controller deactivates the automatic feeder 114 so that no more sheets are fed. An indication may be provided to the user to replace the cartridge 104, but the lamination process of any sheet material that has been fed is unaffected and may proceed normally to completion. In some configurations, the end of the roll sensor 250' is provided as an optical sensor that directly observes the transition between the film and the film roll core (e.g., cardboard or plastic tube) and detects changes in reflectivity and/or color in order to accurately detect the end of the film. As shown in fig. 11, the end of such a roll sensor 250 'can be combined with a film sensor 180'.

Various features and advantages of the disclosure are set forth in the following claims.