Abstract:
A frame assembly supports a pair of rolls of clear plastic laminating tape. The two rolls of laminating tape are rotatably disposed facing the other, top and bottom, and dispense toward the center towards a stationary bar to the fore of the device. The frame is open to the rear and a rear feed guide is used to insert a web of cardstock or paper so that the inserted material is directed in between the convergent tape rolls so as to be adhesively secured on top and bottom to the laminating tape. The cardstock is advanced through the tape rolls by pulling the forward distal ends of the laminating rolls. A cutting bar that moves downward to meet the stationary bar. The web of stock and laminating tape form a laminated sheet that is cut off by applying downward pressure against the cutting bar on the stationary bar. A resistive heating element may be provided to cut the laminating tape thermally.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/682,156 entitled “Adhesive Roll Laminating Device” filed May 18, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to devices for laminating substrates with laminating film. More particularly, the present invention relates to a home or office use, cold seal, manual, pull though, thermal trimmed continuous adhesive web laminating device.  
         [0004]     2. Background Information  
         [0005]     Laminating devices are commonly used for encapsulating media such as cardstock, paper or the like between thin laminating coating, namely clear or transparent plastic film sheets. The plastic encapsulation provides a more durable article that is less disposed to damage from water, is smear-proof, and which maintains its original shape and appearance for a much longer period of time. Items such as driver&#39;s licenses, photo ID cards, business cards, display articles and photographs, are a few examples of items that may be protected using laminating techniques.  
         [0006]     Originally, laminating devices employed thermal setting adhesives in order to activate the encapsulation coating. These methods normally required an electrical power source for the laminating coating and were designed for larger commercial office operations. Later, cold lamination methods were developed, using adhesives. These cold laminating devices are also typically designed for large scale operations, and not economical for an individual or small business operation. Within the meaning of this application, such non-thermal setting laminating coatings will be referred to as cold sealing or cold seal coatings or laminations.  
         [0007]     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,580,417, 5,735,998, 5788,806 and 5,961,779 all disclose a complex multi-purpose laminating and adhesive transfer apparatus which has a frame or housing with mounting means for receiving a cartridge which is insertable to supply material to perform the necessary laminating or adhesive transfer operation. The cartridge has a box-like housing in which upper and lower supply rolls containing webs of laminating or adhesive transfer material are rotatively secured. The rolls have tensioning caps which can be adjusted to prevent the supply rolls from overrunning as they pay-out material. The caps are pre-set in accordance with the operation being performed and the characteristics of the material. The tensioning caps may be pre-set by the material supplier at the time they are inserted into the cartridge. The user selects the cartridge appropriate to the operation to be performed for either adhesive transfer (e.g. label making) or laminating.  
         [0008]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,431244 describes a complex laminating apparatus having a pair of upper and lower pinch rollers that are disposed at the paper feed-out side of the sheet cassette. Both pinch rollers are structured so as to rotate in synchronization with a turn of an external handle. Paper put on a paper supply tray is fed to the gap between the upper and lower sheet rollers, and the paper is sandwiched there between and laminated while drawing the upper and lower sheets. A laminate thus formed is cut in a direction perpendicular to a feed direction of the paper) using a lateral cutter blade. Accordingly, the paper laminated by sheets of a PET film (laminate) can be obtained. However, in the previous laminating apparatus of this type, the paper, which is a laminate target, is manually inserted into a sheet laminating unit for laminating an upper and lower sheet in the sheet cassette after putting the paper on the paper feed tray. Therefore, this patent suggests that there is a problem that it is burdensome to manually perform the inserting operation. In response, this patent proposed a motor-driven laminating apparatus. The paper feed rollers, the pinch rollers, and a pair of paper feed-out rollers are synchronized with each other and driven via an electric motor and a power transmission mechanism, thereby automatically supplying paper on the paper supply tray to the sheet laminating unit.  
         [0009]     These prior art devices, however, include are costly and inefficient to operate and maintain, and thus unacceptable for convenient home and office use.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The various embodiments and examples of the present invention as presented herein are understood to be illustrative of the present invention and not restrictive thereof and are non-limiting with respect to the scope of the invention.  
         [0011]     According to one embodiment of the present invention addressing at least some of the above stated objects a laminating device includes a housing having an open end configured to receive a substrate to be laminated there in, a pair of rolls of adhesive backed laminating film rotatably coupled to the housing and adapted to have the laminating film feed there from, and a thermal trimming unit provided with an electrical resistance-heating element designed to melt and sever the laminating film to trim the final laminated substrate.  
         [0012]     In one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention the invention includes that the thermal trimming unit is moveably mounted on the housing. The thermal trimming unit may include a switch that is configured to be closed as the thermal trimming unit is moved to a trimming position. The electrical resistance heating element of the thermal trimming unit may be a wire that is battery powered. The housing may include a base with a groove therein, wherein the wire of the thermal trimming unit is configured to at least be partially received within the groove when in the trimming position. The rolls may be configured to manually advance the laminating film through a manual pulling of the laminating film from a forward end of the housing.  
         [0013]     In one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention the invention includes that the rolls are formed as part of a replaceable cartridge. The compact, cold seal, thermal trimmed laminating device according to one non-limiting embodiment may further comprise a pair of curved guides disposed between the tape rolls which are formed integral with the replaceable cartridge.  
         [0014]     In one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention the invention includes that the housing has brackets configured to receive the rolls in a replaceable position, and that the housing is of a molded construction.  
         [0015]     The compact, cold seal, thermal trimmed laminating device according to one non-limiting embodiment may further comprise a side trimming unit that can trim the width of the laminating film. The side trimming unit may be adjustable to selectively trim the laminating film to a desired lamination width.  
         [0016]     The compact, cold seal, thermal trimmed laminating device according to one non-limiting embodiment may further comprise pressure roller or rollers disposed transversely between side walls of the housing and configured to engage against the laminating film and the substrate.  
         [0017]     The present invention further provides, in one non-limiting aspect of the invention, a method of laminating a substrate. The method comprising the step of providing a compact, cold seal, thermal trimmed laminating device including a housing having an open end configured to receive a substrate to be laminated there in, a pair of rolls of adhesive backed laminating film rotatably coupled to the housing and adapted to have the laminating film feed there from, and a thermal trimming unit provided with an electrical resistance-heating element designed to melt and sever the laminating film to trim the final laminated substrate. The method further includes the steps of manually inserting the substrate to be laminated in the open end of the housing engaging the opposed film from the rolls, whereby the adhesive backed film will engage both surfaces of the substrate securing the substrate to the laminating films; manually grasping the leading ends of the film from the rolls at another end of the housing; pulling the film to rotate the rolls and manually advance the film and the associated substrate until the substrate is entirely passed the trimming location of the trimming unit; and actuating the thermal trimming unit to engage the laminating film and sever the laminating film to form the laminated substrate.  
         [0018]     These and other advantages of the present invention will be clarified in the description of the preferred embodiments taken together with the attached figures. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a home or office based, cold seal, manual, pull though, thermal trimmed continuous adhesive web laminating device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the laminating device according to  FIG. 1  with the device trimming the laminated article;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a home or office based, cold seal, manual, pull though, thermal trimmed continuous adhesive web laminating device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of an a home or office based, cold seal, manual, pull though, thermal trimmed continuous adhesive web laminating device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a schematic electrical diagram of the thermal trimming unit for the laminating device in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is a schematic front elevation view of the thermal trimming unit for the laminating device together with an optional side trimming unit in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 7  is a schematic side elevation view of the thermal trimming unit and side trimming unit of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]      FIGS. 1-2  illustrate a laminating device  10  in accordance with the present invention. As described below the device  10  is a home or office based, cold seal, manual, pull though, thermal trimmed continuous adhesive web laminating device  10 . The reference to home or office use references that the device  10  is a compact unit that is easy to use. The simple construction of the device  10  also makes it applicable for home or office use. As discussed above the cold seal references that the device uses non-thermosetting adhesive backed film or laminating film or tape. The cold seal aspect also makes the device  10  applicable for home or small office use. The manual reference indicates that the device  10  does not feed the laminating film nor the substrate with electrically powered motors, rather it is manual action that provides for the substrate and laminating film or tape advancement. The reference to pull through indicates that the manual laminating film advancement is by pulling of the film. Finally the phrase that the device  10  is a thermally trimmed continuous adhesive web is indicative of using a roll of laminating film or adhesive web that is trimmed with a thermal trimming unit. The continuous term references that the roll of laminating film, the web, is significantly longer than most substrates  40  to be laminated. These aspects of the present invention will be further clarified in the following description.  
         [0027]     The device  10  includes a pair of generally clear plastic adhesive backed tape rolls  12 ,  14  that form the laminating film. The rolls  12  and  14  may have different grades of film and adhesive coating thereon as known in the art. For example a transparent tinted film could be used for a color lamination. A relatively thick film could be used for a relatively heavy duty lamination. The adhesive must have a low enough shear strength to allow the laminating film to be peeled from the roll, which is of general skill in the art. It is preferable that the rolls  12  and  14  do not use a release layer construction which would increase the scrap generated with machine use. The rolls  12  and  14  may be referenced as tape rolls, adhesive rolls, laminating film rolls, adhesive webs, or other terms generally known in the art to reference the roll of adhesive backed laminating film. The rolls  12  and  14  obviously form a finite length of laminating film, however such rolls  12  and  14  are far longer than typical substrates  40  to be laminated, such that, relative to the substrate  40 , the rolls  12  and  14  are “continuous adhesive webs”. The continuous references that the same web or roll  12  and  14  is used for multiple substrates  40 , whereas certain prior art lamination systems have discrete lamination sheets (i.e. non-continuous) that conform to a single substrate  40 . As described below the device  10  is designed as a “pull through” system to advance the substrate and the film from the rolls  12  and  14 . Hand crank gear coupled drive rollers could also be used for manual advancement (as known from prior art systems), but the pull through system of the present invention, as shown, is considered to be less complex, easier for replacement of the rolls  12  and  14 , and more economical. Consequently the pull through current system is preferred.  
         [0028]     The rolls  12  and  14  are mountable on spools  16  and  18 , respectively, which traverse the laminating device  10 , through the tape rolls  12  and  14 , between sidewalls of the housing  20 . The spools  16  and  18  may have any conventional construction that allows for easy rotational mounting of the rolls  12  and  14  on the housing  20 . The housing  20 , or frame assembly, of the laminating device  10  will generally be a molded plastic unit for ease of manufacture and to easily provide an atheistically pleasing overall configuration.  
         [0029]     As shown in the embodiments of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the rolls  12  and  14  may be connected through a sub-frame  28  to form a replaceable unit, as shown. The replaceable unit, or cartridge, allows the device  10  to be re-filled when the rolls  12  and  14  run out of laminating film. The housing  20  may include brackets  26  for receiving the rolls  12  and  14  easily and securely. A pair of curved guides  22  and  24  may be disposed between the tape rolls  12 ,  14 , and part of the integral unit or cartridge as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The guides  22  and  24  serve to guide the substrate  40  to be laminated, such as a piece of card stock or paper, into the center point where the two tape rolls  12  and  14  meet. As the substrate  40  is inserted, the adhesive side of the tape from rolls  12  and  14  contacts the substrate  40  and adheres thereto as it moves through the laminating device  10 .  
         [0030]     The device  10  includes a thermal trimming unit  30 , also called a cutting bar, moveably mounted on the housing  20 . The unit  30  may be spring biased to the non-trimming position shown in  FIG. 1 . The thermal trimming unit  30  is provided with an electrical resistance-heating element  32  designed to melt the laminating film to trim the final laminated substrate  50 .  FIG. 5  is a schematic electrical diagram of the thermal trimming unit  30  for the laminating device  10 , and it includes an electrical resistance heating element  32  heated by a battery supply  34  when an electrical switch  36  is closed. The battery supply  34  may be in the housing  20  in any convenient location. It is anticipated that the battery supply  34  may be replaced with an electrical plug for receiving power from a conventional electrical outlet. The heating element  32  is generally in the form of a straight wire that will heat the laminating film sufficiently to easily, quickly trim the finished laminated substrate  50 . The wire forming the element  32  must be formed such that it heats quickly and is rugged enough for repeated operation. The trimming unit  30  preferably includes a protective molded plastic unit housing as shown in  FIGS. 1-4  for aesthetic appeal and to minimize contact with the thermal cutting wire.  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  the switch  36  may be formed of contacts that engage to close the switch  36  as the unit  30  is slid down toward the trimming position shown in  FIG. 2 . The housing  20  includes a base  42 , or stationary bar, which the trimming unit  30  engages against. The base  42  may have a groove  38  for receiving the wire of the trimming unit  30  as shown schematically in  FIGS. 6-7 .  
         [0032]     Further, the device  10  may have a side trimming unit  48  that can trim the width of the laminating film to a desired lamination width. This alternative may be preferable to a series of different width machines or devices  10  such as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The cutting mechanism for the side trimming unit may be a blade, a rotary trimming wheel or pair of wheels, a thermal cutting wire, thermal assisted cutting blade, thermal assisted trimming wheel or wheels, or other cutting device as desired. Alternatively the trimming of the width of the final laminated substrate  50  may be left to the user to accomplish with a separate device such a scissors.  
         [0033]     One or more guide or pressure rollers  46  may be provided disposed transversely between side walls of the housing  20 . The guide roller  46  (or rollers) will provide a pressure roller to engage against the laminating film and the substrate  40  to form a tight connection between the opposed laminating film to form a final laminated substrate  50  with minimal imperfections (e.g. air bubbles). The roller(s)  46  may be mounted directly between the side walls of the housing  20  with a resilient construction (i.e. rubber or the like) sufficient to maintain pressure on the substrate  40  and associated film while accommodating substrates of some variable thickness. A spring biased mounting of the roller(s)  46  may also be used to maintain pressure on the laminating film and substrate  40 .  
         [0034]     In operation the user will merely manually insert the substrate to be laminated in the open rear side of the housing  20  between the guides  22  and  24  and engaging the opposed film from the rolls  12  and  14 . The adhesive backed film will engage both surfaces of the substrate  40  securing the substrate  40  to the laminating films. The user can then grasp the leading ends of the film from the rolls  12  and  14  at the forward end of the housing  20 , which will typically be on the base  42  immediately adjacent the groove  38  (due to the previous trimming operation). The user will pull the film, which will rotate the rolls  12  and  14  and advance the film and the associated substrate  40 . If the substrate  40  is a relatively long member then the user can pull the film at the forward end of the device  40  with one hand while supporting and pushing the substrate  40  with the other, however in most application the initial coupling between the film and the substrate  40  at the initial insertion of the substrate  40  will be sufficient coupling to have the film pull the substrate through without further assistance. The substrate  40  and laminating film from rolls  12  and  14  will be advanced through the device until the substrate  40  is entirely passed the trimming location of the trimming unit  30  (i.e. beyond the groove  38 ). At this point the trimming unit  30  is slid downward, closing the switch  36 , activating the heating element  32  of the cutting wire to heat and sever the laminating film to form the laminated substrate  50 . The leading ends of the laminating film from rolls  12  and  14  will be adjacent the groove  38 , ready for the next lamination of a subsequent substrate  40 .  
         [0035]     The laminated substrate  50  may have the width of the laminating films trimmed with separate tools as desired, or, in an alternative embodiment, the side trimming unit  48  can be slid into a desired trimming position on the base  42  prior to the lamination procedure to provide for a width adjustment.  
         [0036]     Whereas particular embodiments of this invention have been described above for purposes of illustration and in the attached summary sheet, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of the present invention may be made without departing from the invention.