Printing apparatus and method

• US 6,942,331 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2003
• Issued: 09/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Guerra, Joan Matias, Van Heeswijk, Frederic Simon, Guillen, Robert, Pozuelo, Francisco Javier
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirshfeld, Andrew H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Culler, Jill E.
• Application Number:
  US10/437,977
• Publication Number:
  US 20040036755A1
• Time in Patent Office: 852 Days
• Field of Search: 156/250, 156/353, 156/358, 156/361, 156/384, 156/387, 156/510, 400/120.18, 347/104, 347/212
• US Class Current: 347/104
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/14 Printing or colouring
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/18 Handling of layers or the laminate
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0005 Curl smoothing, i.e. smoothing down corrugated printing material, e.g. by pressing means acting on wrinkled printing material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/001 Handling wide copy materials
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0045 Guides for printing material curl smoothing B41J11/0005; platens B41J11/02, B41J11/06; guiding webs B41J15/046
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/006 Means for preventing paper jams or for facilitating their removal
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/44 Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms having dual functions or combined with, or coupled to, apparatus performing other functions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1052 with cutting, punching, tearing or severing

Abstract

A printing apparatus comprises a printer, a laminator device and feeding means for feeding to said laminator device, in an integrated operation, media that is outputted from said printer, said laminator device comprising lamination means which cause at least one lamination film to be applied on the media, wherein the apparatus comprises means for causing the advance of a portion of media through the laminator device while maintaining inactive said lamination means, in order to perform lamination only on selected portions of the print media.

The apparatus is versatile and may work most of the time in unattended operation.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus comprising a printer, a laminator device and feeding means for feeding to said laminator device, in an integrated operation, media that is outputted from said printer, said laminator device comprising lamination means which cause at least one lamination film to be applied on the media,

wherein the apparatus comprises means for causing the advance of a portion of media through the laminator device while maintaining inactive said lamination means, in order to perform lamination only on selected portions of the print media;

wherein said means for causing the advance of a portion of media through the laminator device while maintaining inactive said lamination means, comprise cutting means for cutting said lamination film; and

which further comprises means for outputting unprinted media from the printer, and means for drawing back media from the laminator device towards the printer after cutting the lamination film.

2. A method for printing and laminating media, comprising printing on a media in a printer, feeding at least part of said print media to a laminator device in an integrated operation, said laminator device comprising lamination means, and performing lamination only on selected portions of said print media by causing the advance of a portion of media through the laminator device while maintaining inactive said lamination means of said laminator device.

3. A method for printing and laminating media, comprising printing on a media in a printer, feeding in an integrated operation said print media to a laminator device provided with lamination means which cause at least one lamination film to be applied on the media, and selectively cutting said lamination film in order to selectively maintain inactive said lamination means of said laminator device and perform lamination only on selected portions of said print media.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising outputting unprinted media from the printer to allow lamination of a selected portion of media to be completed, cutting the lamination film once lamination of said selected portion is completed, and then drawing back media from the laminator device towards the printer.