WO2004002741A1

WO2004002741A1 - Device for applying ornaments on substantially plane surfaces of objects, particularly compact disks

Info

Publication number: WO2004002741A1
Application number: PCT/EP2003/006692
Authority: WO
Inventors: Claudio Maccaferri
Original assignee: G.M.C. S.N.C. Di Maccaferri G. & C.
Priority date: 2002-06-27
Filing date: 2003-06-25
Publication date: 2004-01-08
Also published as: ITMO20020181A1; AU2003246585A1; DE60335485D1; ITMO20020181A0; EP1556222B1; ATE492399T1; EP1556222A1

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of devices for printing ornaments on substantially plane surfaces. The devices consists in two stations, respectively a first (6) and a second (9) station. The ends of an adhesion-resistant film (1) having images (2) aimed to be transferred onto objects (3) are constrained onto two reels (5).

Description

DESCRIPTION

DEVICE FOR APPLYING ORNAMENTS ON SUBSTANTIALLY PLANE SURFACES OF OBJECTS/ PARTICULARLY COMPACT DISKS

The present invention relates to a device for applying ornaments on substantially plane surfaces of objects, particularly compact disks.

With particular reference to compact disks, one of the two faces thereof, in addition to having data pertaining to contained programs, is particularly useful for being decorated both for capturing, by using particular and appealing graphics, the user attention, and for being an efficient advertising means. It is for such reasons that the application of particularly appealing ornaments on compact disks has long been used; such application so far has been realised particularly either through silk-screen printing or through jet printing. The silk-screen method, in particular, is the most used one and consists in a process in which liquid ink is used and such ink is compelled, through a spatula or the like, to pass through the thickness of a member, called screen, on whose surface clogged portions and unclogged portions coexist; the suitable alternation of such portions makes ink pass through the screen thickness only through well defined and desired areas of the screen itself, resulting then in the desired ornament .

The ink jet printing method also provides using ink at liquid state.

Though allowing to obtain good general results, these printing methods have some inconveniences.

A first inconvenience of the silk-screen printing is the printing accuracy limitation as direct consequence of the minimum possible screen size, more precisely the minimum possible surface size of holes obtained on the screen surface.

Other inconvenience of the current silk-screen printing, also limiting the ornament accuracy, is due to the need of following colour depositions, particularly in the four-colour printing, and even more in six-colour printing, such following colour depositions generating a non-uniform thickness of ornamental printing.

Another inconvenience is the need of drying ink deposited on the object to be decorated; such inconvenience bringing about an increase of production times and an increase of decoration costs.

Other inconvenience is the difficult action of obtaining blurred colours; such difficulty deriving from the already mentioned minimum possible surface size of holes obtained on the screen surface.

Another problem is the toxicity of solvents used both when diluting inks and when cleaning the equipment.

As regards ink jet printing, it also has the inconveniences due to liquid ink drying: production times length, ornament costs increase, printing devices cleaning.

Another inconvenience is the lack of printing sharpness, particularly in writings.

In order to solve the mentioned inconveniences, arrangements have been studied using non-liquid inks that employ the most up-to-date types of digital printers.

Document MO2000A246 is known, whose teaching refers to a device and related process for transferring ornaments from an adhesion-resistant film to surfaces of objects to be decorated, using dry thermoplastic inks and digital electrostatic printers; in order to obtain the transfer of images from the mentioned film to objects to be decorated, the mentioned film is stricken by a jet of hot air next to a presser member. A first object of the device of the present invention is the chance of obtaining ornaments for substantially plane surfaces by using dry thermoplastic inks, through two operating stations only.

Another object is obtaining a quick printing method capable, at the same time, of providing a photographic printing quality due to the use of digital electrostatic printers.

A further object is decorating at least two objects simultaneously. Another object is the economical production with the consequent chance of making also quantitatively reduced batches .

In particular, the device for applying images on substantially plane surfaces of objects, of the type with image transfer from an adhesion-resistant film to the above objects, of the present invention, is characterised in that it comprises :

- two reels, at least one of which is motored, to each one of said reels an end of the adhesion-resistant film being constrained, this latter one being adapted to operate as support for images to be applied on objects;

- a first station placed between the at least two reels, said first station being adapted to transfer images from adhesion-resistant film to objects; - a second station in a following position to the first mentioned station, said second station being adapted to secure and polish the images deposited onto objects.

These and other characteristics will be better pointed out by the following description of a preferred embodiment shown, purely as a non-limiting example, in the enclosed table of drawing, in which: figure 1 shows a schematic overall view of the device.

With reference to figure 1, reference 1 shows an adhesion-resistant unstretchable film adapted to be reeled, composed of a known material, for example paper material coated with silicone on both surfaces. Images 2, aimed to be reproduced on objects 3 are deposited, regularly spaced one from the other, onto said film. Reference 4 shows the advancement direction of the adhesion-resistant film.

Said film is included between two reels 5, of which at least one is motored. Between these reels a first station 6 is placed, composed of two mutually overlapped rollers: a first upper roller 7, able to be heated, and a first lower roller 8.

A second station 9 is placed after the first mentioned station and such second station too is equipped with two mutually overlapped rollers: a second upper roller 10, also able to be heated, and a second lower roller 11. All rollers 7, 8, 10, 11 are made of siliconed rubber. Rollers 7 and 8 are spaced by an adjustable gap 12, while the two rollers 10 and 11 are spaced by a gap 13, that is also adjustable.

Through the gaps 12 and 13 there is an advancement axis 14 for the objects 3; reference 15 points out an advancement direction of said objects.

It must be noted that rollers 7, 8, 10, 11 can be of a suitable length to allow decorating at least two objects 3 simultaneously. The operation of the present invention will now be described, using the references shown in figure 1.

After having started one of the two reels 5, the adhesion-resistant film 1 starts moving according to an advancement direction 4 and simultaneously the objects 3 move, according to axis 14, following the advancement direction 15. Movements of the adhesion-resistant film 1 and the objects 3 are mutually synchronous: in such a way, when an image 2 passes through the first station 6, there is a position correspondence in the gap 12 between it and one of the mentioned objects.

Next to the gap 12 the adhesion- resistant film 1 and the surface of the object 3 to be decorated are heated in this order; the temperature of the first upper roller 7, heated at a temperature of about 190 °C, makes the thermoplastic ink, with which images 2 are realised that are present on one side of the adhesion-resistant film 1 facing the first lower roller 8, pass from powdery state to semiliquid state and, due to the pressure exerted by the mutual contrast of the first two rollers 7 and 8, each one of said images is transferred to the object 3 that synchronously is in position with the image itself. It must be noted that the heating temperature of roller 7 is such as to prevent peeling of the adhesion-resistant film 1, the term peeling meaning the detachment of portions of the adhesion-resistant layer, for example silicone, that can be found on the mentioned film; in such a way, the adhesion- resistant film 1 can be used again for following uses.

Only the objects 3 pass through the second following station 9, since the adhesion-resistant film 1, after having passed through the first station 6, is wound onto one of the reels 5; in the second mentioned station, next to the gap

13, only the surface of object 3 is heated, on which, in the first previous station 6, the image 2 had been transferred.

Heating performed by the second upper roller 10 is approximately 170 °C and is used to secure and polish the images 2 previously transferred onto the object 3. At the same time, in order to prevent the possible sticking of the second upper roller 10 to ink composing the images 2 deposited onto the object 3, such roller is continuously moistened with silicone oil.

By using rollers 7, 8, 10, 11 equipped with a suitable length, it is possible to decorate two or more objects 3 simultaneously, at least doubling the production capability of the device of the present invention. The device of the present invention is adapted to decorate also slightly convex surfaces.

The device so far described is adapted to perform a process that has, in succession, the following two operating steps: - transferring images 2 from adhesion-resistant film 1 to substantially plane surfaces of each one of the objects 3 to be decorated; said transferring occurring under the action both of heat generated by the first upper roller and of pressure exerted by the combined action of the first rollers 7, 8 simultaneously on adhesion-resistant film 1 and obj ect 3 ;

- securing and polishing the image 2 on the surface of the object 3 to be decorated; said securing and polishing occurring under the action both of heat generated by the second upper roller and pressure exerted by the combined action of second rollers 10, 11 on the object 3.

A first advantage offered by the device of the present invention is the chance of decorating substantially plane surfaces, using thermoplastic dry inks, through two operating stations only.

A second advantage is that the low temperature at which, in the first station 6, the transfer of images from support film to surface of objects to be decorated is carried out, avoids peeling the adhesion-resistant layer of the film itself; in other words, during the mentioned transfer, only images detach and not the corresponding adhesion-resistant layer, for example silicone, on which they are temporarily secured.

Another advantage is obtaining a quick printing method capable, at the same time, to give a photographic printing quality due to the use of digital electrostatic printers.

A further advantage is obtaining the decoration of at least two objects simultaneously.

A further advantage is the economical production with following chance of making also quantitatively reduced batches .

Claims

1. Device for applying images (2) on substantially plane surfaces of objects (3) , of the type with image transfer from an adhesion-resistant film (1) onto said objects, of the present invention, characterised in that it comprises:

- two reels (5) , at least one of which is motored, to each one of said reels an end of the adhesion-resistant film (1) being constrained, this latter one being adapted to operate as support for images (2) to be applied onto objects (3) ;

- a first station (6) placed between the at least two reels (5) , said first station being adapted to transfer images (2) from adhesion-resistant film (1) to objects (3) ; - a second station (9) in a following position to said first station, said second station being adapted to secure and polish the images (2) deposited onto objects (3) .

2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the first station (6) is composed of a first upper roller (7) and a first lower roller (8) having mutually parallel rotation axes and spaced so that the mutually faced portions of external surface of the rollers themselves are spaced only by a gap (12) substantially corresponding to the sum of thicknesses of adhesion-resistant film (1) and objects (3) to be decorated, the gap (12) being adjustable.

3. Device according to claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the first upper roller (7) is heated at a temperature of about 190 °C.

4. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the second station (9) is composed of a second upper roller

(10) and a second lower roller (11) having mutually parallel rotation axes and spaced so that the mutually faced portions of external surface of the rollers themselves are spaced only by a gap (13) substantially corresponding to the thickness of the object (3) to be decorated, the gap (13) being adjustable.

5. Device according to claims 1 and 4, characterised in that the second upper roller (10) is heated at a temperature of about 170 °C.

6. Device according to claims 1, 2 and 4, characterised in that the rollers (7, 8, 10, 11) are all made of a high temperature resisting material, for example siliconed rubber .

7. Device according to the previous claims, characterised in that the rollers (7, 8, 10, 11) has an enough length to allow applying images (2) on at least two objects (3) simultaneously.

8. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the adhesion-resistant film (1) is composed of unstretchable material, for example paper material, said material being coated with silicone or other adhesion-resistant material on both surfaces.

9. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that it allows applying images (2) on surfaces being slightly conve .

10. Process for applying images (2) on substantially plane surfaces of objects (3) , according to the device of claim 1, of the type using dry thermoplastic inks and adhesion-resistant film (1) of the non-stretchable type coated on both sides with adhesion-resistant material, for example paper material coated with silicone, adapted to operate as support for said images, characterised in that it is composed of the two following steps:

- transferring images (2) from the adhesion-resistant film (1) to the surface of the objects (3) ;

- securing and polishing the transferred images (2) .

11. Process according to claim 10, characterised in that the adhesion-resistant film (1) has images (2) on its surface facing the first lower roller (8) .

12. Process according to claim 10, characterised in that the first upper roller (7) is heated at a temperature of about 190 °C.

13. Process according to claims 10 and 12, characterised in that the transfer of images (2) occurs by passing the thermoplastic inks from powdery dry state to semiliquid plastic state, under the action both of heat generated by the first upper roller (7) and of pressure exerted by the combined action of the first two rollers (7, 8) simultaneously on adhesion-resistant film (1) and object (3) .

14. Process according to claims 10, 12 and 13, characterised in that the heating temperature of the roller (7) is such as to keep substantially intact, during the transfer of images (2) from adhesion-resistant film (1) to surface of objects (3) to be decorated, the layer of adhesion-resistant material, for example silicone, that coats said film, thereby avoiding to peel said adhesion- resistant film, thereby the adhesion-resistant film (1) remaining substantially healthy, being then able to be used again for following uses.

15. Process according to claim 10, characterised in that the second upper roller (10) is heated at a temperature of about 170 °C.

16. Process according to claims 10 and 15, characterised in that securing and polishing of images (2) on the surface of the object (3) to be decorated occur under the combined action of heat generated by the second upper roller (10) and pressure exerted by the combined action of the second rollers (10, 11) .

17. Process according to claims 10 and 16, characterised in that the second upper roller (10) is moistened with silicone oil, said moistening being adapted to prevent sticking onto said second upper roller of ink with which images (2) deposited on the object (3) are composed.

18. Process according to claim 10, characterised in that it can also be applied to surfaces that are slightly convex.