GB2576888A

GB2576888A - Vehicle registration plates

Info

Publication number: GB2576888A
Application number: GB1814368.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nigel Daykin Adrian
Original assignee: Vps Group Ltd
Current assignee: VPS GROUP LIMITED
Priority date: 2018-09-04
Filing date: 2018-09-04
Publication date: 2020-03-11
Also published as: GB201814368D0

Abstract

A vehicle number plate comprises a transparent plastic panel 1 to the rear surface 2 of which characters 3 are applied, e.g. by printing, the characters being in reverse so that they are readable through the front surface. A coating of retroreflective paint is then applied, e.g. by spraying 4, over the rear surface of the panel. The characters 3 are visible against the retroreflective coating when viewed through the front of the license plate. The vehicle registration plate may be formed from an acrylic panel.

Description

(54) Title of the Invention: Vehicle registration plates

Abstract Title: Vehicle number plate with retroreflective coating (57) A vehicle number plate comprises a transparent plastic panel 1 to the rear surface 2 of which characters 3 are applied, e.g. by printing, the characters being in reverse so that they are readable through the front surface. A coating of retroreflective paint is then applied, e.g. by spraying 4, over the rear surface of the panel. The characters 3 are visible against the retroreflective coating when viewed through the front of the license plate. The vehicle registration plate may be formed from an acrylic panel.

1/1

- 1Vehicle registration plates

This invention relates to vehicle registration plates and in particular to a process for the manufacture of vehicle registration plates of the type in which characters, such as letters and numerals, are applied to a transparent plastics panel.

Motor vehicle registration plates, sometimes known as number plates, identification plates, or licence plates are a way of identifying vehicles. Most countries regulate the properties and format of the plates, including the material of the plate as well as the size, font and colour of the characters. One type of plate conventionally comprises a transparent plastics panel bonded to a flexible retro reflective sheet. In most manufacturing processes, the alphanumeric characters are either printed onto the back of a further film material which is then attached to the front of the plastics panel; or printed onto the face of the retro reflective sheet before it is bonded to the plastics panel, so the characters are visible through that transparent panel.

It is also known to apply the alphanumeric characters directly onto the plastics panel, preferably onto the face of the panel that will then be bonded onto the retro reflective sheet, so that the characters are positioned between the plastics panel and the retro reflective sheet in the final registration plate. Such an arrangement has the advantage of ensuring that the characters are protected from damage by the relatively thick plastics panel.

The disadvantage of known manufacturing methods is that the plates need to be further trimmed after the retro reflective sheet is bonded to the plastics panel, to ensure that both are identically shaped. That trimming adds a further step and so causes inefficiency and some wastage when part of a manufacturing process.

- 2We have now found that the efficiency of the manufacturing process can be greatly improved by applying a retroreflective coating, rather than a separate retroreflective sheet, to the printed plastics panel to form the registration plate.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a process for the manufacture of vehicle registration plates, which process comprises applying a retroreflective coating to one surface of a transparent plastics panel, wherein alphanumeric characters are affixed to the panel in a manner to be visible against the retroreflective coating.

The retroreflective coating may be applied to a first surface of the transparent plastics panel prior to affixing alphanumeric characters to the second surface of the plastics panel. The alphanumeric characters may then be printed directly onto second surface of the plastics panel, or the alphanumeric characters may be affixed to the panel by printing onto a further film material which is then attached to the second surface of the plastics panel.

However, it is preferred to affix the alphanumeric characters prior to application of the retroreflective coating, so that the characters can be sandwiched between the transparent plastic panel and the retroreflective coating. Thus, the characters will be protected by the transparent plastics panel. In this case, it is necessary to apply the characters in reverse onto the plastics panel, so that they can be viewed correctly through said panel.

Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process for the manufacture of vehicle registration plates, which process comprises affixing alphanumeric characters onto the surface of a

- 3transparent plastics panel and thereafter applying a retroreflective coating to the surface on which the characters are affixed.

The retroreflective coating is preferably in the form of a paint. Retroreflective paints are well known in the art. They contain retroreflective glass beads, micro-prisms, or encapsulated lenses that produce a coated surface that reflects light with a minimum of scattering. Retroreflection is the phenomenon of light rays striking a surface and being redirected back to the source of light, so that the coated surface appears bright when there is a small angle between the observer's eye and the light source, but appears nonreflective when viewed from other directions.

In addition to the retroreflective components, the coating may also contain the colour appropriate to the registration plate required. In some countries, including the UK, it is a requirement to present different coloured retroreflective backing on the front and rear of a vehicle, i.e. white on the front and yellow on the rear. For that reason, an alternative method of coating is to first apply a clear retroreflective coating, followed by applying a coloured coating, such as yellow or white.

The coating may be applied by any suitable method, for example using a brush, a roller, and airbrush or spray gun. A preferred method of application is by spraying.

Retroreflective paints have been used on metal registration plates, as well as their main applications in safety clothing and road signs. However, there has been no suggestion to employ such paints as a coating material for registration plates which comprise a transparent plastics panel.

The alphanumeric characters to be affixed to the plastics panel are in an arrangement of letters and/or numbers suitable for a single vehicle

- 4registration plate and conforming to the required format of the appropriate national regulations.

The alphanumeric characters may be affixed to the plastics panel by any known method. Preferably, the characters are printed onto the panel, for example by thermal transfer printing, silk screen printing, by inkjet printing, or by laser printing. Most preferably, the characters are applied by inkjet printing. It is further preferred that the printer is a UV printer,

i.e. a printer in which the ink is ultra-violet curable.

Alternatively, the characters may be cut out of an opaque, usually black, film material and applied to the plastics panel by means of adhesive.

Within each set of alphanumeric characters, it is also possible to apply further indicia, as allowed by, or required by, relevant government regulations. For example, the UK regulations require that each vehicle registration plate is marked with; the British Standard number; the name of the manufacturer or supplier; and the name of the supplying outlet. In addition, the indicia applied may include a country designation, useful when the vehicle is taken abroad.

The transparent plastics panel may be formed of acrylic or similar plastics material. Suitable materials include thermoplastic polymers such as polycarbonates, poly(meth)acrylates such as polymethyl methacrylate, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyesters such as polyethylenenaphthalates, cellulose acetate, polyvinyl chloride and copolymers such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Preferably, the plastics panel is formed of acrylic material.

The transparent plastics panel suitably has a thickness from 2 mm to 6 mm, for example, from 2 mm to 4 mm. Typically, the transparent plastics

- 5panels are available having a thickness of from 2.8 mm to 3.3 mm. A preferred thickness is about 3 mm.

Preferably, the process of this invention is applied to manufacture single registration plates. In that case, the length and width of the transparent plastics panel are those of a standard registration plate. The length of standard plates is at least 402mm. The width of a plate may be up to 203mm. Suitably the dimensions of the panel are from 460 - 520 mm by 104 - 111 mm.

Alternatively, the present process may be applied to larger transparent plastics panels with a plurality of sets of alphanumeric characters affixed thereto, and subsequently cutting the panel into the dimensions of individual registration plates. Suitably, cutting may be achieved by laser cutting, sawing or routing. Preferably, the cutting is carried out using a router.

In this case, the plastics panel is chosen to provide sufficient surface area to accommodate the number of sets of alphanumeric characters to be affixed. Suitable plastics panels are known in the art and typically available in several sizes, for example about 3 metres by 2 metres, or 2 metres by 1 metre. Commercially available panels typically are supplied with a protective layer of thin plastics film, on both surfaces, one of which may be removed from the panel prior to the characters being applied thereto. A larger panel could also be cut to smaller panels, such as 2 metres by 1 metre.

In a further aspect of this invention, the coated panel may comprise a further strengthening material, bonded to the rear of retro reflective coating. The strengthening material may suitably be aluminium or a plastics material and will provide strength to the panel. In such a case,

- 6the transparent plastics panel carrying the alphanumeric characters may be thinner, for example 1 to 2 mm in thickness.

As well as making a trimming step unnecessary, a further advantage of this invention is that it requires fewer components than conventional processes for manufacturing vehicle registration plates.

The registration plate produced by the process of this invention may be fitted into a holding frame to attach it to a vehicle. Alternatively, the registration plate may be attached directly to a vehicle by adhesive pads or by means of screws fitted through fixing holes in the plate.

In a further aspect of this invention, there is provided a vehicle registration plate comprising a transparent plastics panel, one surface of which has a retro reflective coating applied thereto, the panel having alphanumeric characters affixed thereto such that the characters are visible against the retro reflective coating.

Preferably, the registration plate has the coating on the surface of the plastics panel which surface is printed with alphanumeric characters.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig 1 is a schematic representation of a transparent plastics panel, having a set of alphanumeric characters printed thereon;

Fig 2 is a schematic representation of the final vehicle registration plate.

Referring to Fig 1, a transparent acrylic plate 1 has a rear surface 2 which is printed with a set of alphanumeric characters 3, in this case ABC 123, using a UV printer. The characters are printed in reverse, so that they will be readable from the opposite, front, surface. A coating of retro reflective paint is applied to the surface 2 by means of a spray device 4, in the

- 7direction depicted by the arrow 5. The coating is applied to the entire surface 2, covering the characters 3. The coating is dried, and the spray process is then repeated using a yellow paint.

In Fig 2, the resulting finished registration plate is viewed from the front face of the acrylic plate 1. The characters 3 can be see in their correct orientation through the plate 1 and against the coloured retroreflective coating, depicted by the dotted lines 6. The registration plate is ready to be affixed to a vehicle.

Claims

1. A process for the manufacture of vehicle registration plates, which process comprises applying a retroreflective coating to one surface of a transparent plastics panel, wherein alphanumeric characters are affixed to the panel in a manner to be visible against the retroreflective coating.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1 which process comprises affixing alphanumeric characters onto the surface of a transparent plastics panel and thereafter applying a retroreflective coating to the surface on which surface the characters are affixed.

3. A process as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the coating is applied by spraying.

4. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the characters are affixed to the surface of the transparent plastics panel by printing.

5. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the transparent plastics panel is an acrylic panel with a thickness of about 3 mm.

6. A vehicle registration plate produced by the process as claimed in claim 1.

7. A vehicle registration plate comprising a transparent plastics panel, one surface of which has a retroreflective coating applied thereto, the panel having alphanumeric characters affixed thereto such that the characters are visible against the retroreflective coating.

8. A registration plate as claimed in claim 7 wherein the registration plate has the coating on the surface of the plastics panel which surface is printed with alphanumeric characters.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1814368.5

Examiner:

Dr Matthew Jefferson