KR850000393B1 - Method for decorating any substrate particularly a spectacle frame - Google Patents

Abstract

This is a method of decalcomania by thermic transfer. The pattern to be printed upon the substrate (10) to be decorated is produced by means of sublimable inks upon a flexible support skin (15), the latter being applied to the said substrate (10) in a vaccum chest (20) with which heating means (38) are associated. According to the invention, closure of the vacuum chest (20) is effected by the flexible support skin (15). This application is particularly for the decoration of a spectacle frame front.

Description

How to decorate a substrate, such as eyeglass frames

1 is a perspective view of the front portion of the spectacle frame to which the present invention is applied.

2 is an enlarged sectional view of the line of FIG. 1;

3 is a partial perspective view of a support plate made in accordance with the present invention for the decoration of the front frame of FIG. 1;

4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the line of FIG.

5 is a block diagram of a device suitable for practicing the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view showing the manner in which the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged cross sectional view showing a portion of the circle in FIG. 6; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing after eyeglass frame decoration. FIG.

The present invention relates to a decoration method capable of imparting a three-dimensional decoration to any substrate whose geometric shape is not specified, and more particularly, to a three-dimensional decoration method of a substrate having no planar outer surface. The present invention may be particularly suitably applied to decorating eyeglass frames manufactured by molding from a predetermined plastic material by injection or injection molding, but is not limited thereto.

Until recently, spectacle frames were already produced by cutting or rotating plastic sheets of decorated plastics, but recently, technology has been developed to produce spectacle frames by injecting or injecting materials into molds. However, this production technology has a problem in providing a decorative effect to the spectacle frame, thereby lowering the commercial value. Whatever the technique of production of plastic spectacle frames, it is desirable to be able to meet the demands of fashion and to provide one or more decorative patterns thereon as required.

However, providing decorative frames on the frames is difficult because the frames have complex geometric shapes in three dimensions rather than simple surfaces, such as flat surfaces, and where the decorative patterns must be provided not only on the front of the frame but also on its sides. This is especially difficult. Simple geometric surfaces, such as planar or cylindrical or conical surfaces, are relatively easy to decorate and can be embodied by silkscreen or offset printing. However, this can be used for more complex surfaces such as eyeglass frames.

The method according to the invention, in a broad sense, relates to a decalkermenia by heat transfer of a sublimable printing ink, and as is well known, the decoration of a substrate by decalcumens first has one or more decorative patterns to impart to the substrate. It is formed on the flexible support plate by further printing ink, and then contacting the flexible support plate with the substrate to be decorated to transfer the decorative pattern from the support plate to the substrate.

Typically in conventional decalcumenia, the previous contact is achieved by wetting the support shell for the support plate so that the decorative pattern can be removed from the support plate or by simply applying pressure to the support shell under dry conditions. However, this decalcumenia method can be applied only to decoration on flat or geometrically simple surfaces, and cannot be satisfactorily applied to complex shaped surfaces such as spectacle frames. In addition, even if the above method is used, precautions to protect it with varnishing

As another decal cuminian method, decoration by heat transfer of a sublimable printing ink is described in French Patent Nos. 2,364,130 and 2,114,925, in which a substrate to be decorated and a decoration formed of one or more sublimable inks. The ink was sublimed by heating the support plate in a state where the flexible support plate with a pattern was in contact with each other. This method provides the advantage that the ink penetrates into the substrate by sublimation, so that the decorative pattern is firmly adhered to the substrate, which greatly increases the resistance to mechanical factors such as scratching, abrasion or peeling. Was. Thus, especially if the substrate to be decorated is an unprocessed casting, it is also possible to carry out a calendering process if necessary without causing any deterioration. In addition, there is an advantage that the transfer of the decorative pattern to each substrate can be achieved in one step.

The aforementioned French patent proposes to decorate a vacuum box in order to accelerate the transfer of heat.

However, the above-described method can be used only on plate-like substrates, and in French Republic Patent No. 2,364,130, the substrate to be decorated and the decorative plate having the decorative pattern are wound on the drum under the thrust of the compression belt and the assistance of the compression cylinder. The substrate and the support plate are mechanically pressed against each other to decorate, while in French Republic Patent 2,114,925, the vacuum box is independently closed by a heating plate which performs heating required for necessary heat transfer, and air permeability. Place the fabric substrate on the grid

Thus, this method is not suitable for decorating an air impermeable substrate having a relatively distorted shape, such as spectacle frames.

The method of the present invention solves this problem and, in the present invention, vacuums the decoration of the substrate by heat transfer in a decalcumenian manner from a flexible support plate having a decorative pattern made of one or more sublimable printing inks. It is to be carried out in a box, and then the support plate is used as a sealing wall of the vacuum box. Therefore, when the vacuum box is connected to the vacuum source, the support plate is in intimate contact with the substrate to be decorated to accurately accept both the surface properties and the irregular properties, so that the required previous contact is made very accurately.

As a result, it is possible to decorate, if necessary, even in the case of a substrate having a distorted form or in the case of a crude casting, in which a complete polishing operation has not been performed in advance.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The figure shows an embodiment of the invention adapted to decorate the spectacle frame front part 10.

The front face is made by injection or injection molding a plastic material, such as acetate, acetopropionate, polyurethane or polyester, but may also be made by rotating or cutting a plate of such material or other plastic material.

The front part 10 forms a substrate to be decorated, and the eyepiece 11 and the bridge 12 are relatively thin, and in particular, since the eyepiece 11 is bent to form a half moon shape, the front part 10 is relatively thin. It has a curved and complicated shape. Decoration may be performed on the entire surface of the eyepiece 11 and the bridge 12, i.e. both the front side as well as on the side or at least the outer side, of course, only on the eyepiece and part of the bridge.

In order to simplify the description of the present invention, in the main text, the entire front part 10 and all the books 13 necessary for installing a hinge for bonding the glasses legs will be decorated.

The surface 14 of the tenon 13 to be decorated is curved as shown in detail in FIG. 2.

By the decalcumenia method according to the present invention, the substrate to be decorated, that is, the decorative pattern 16 to be decorated on the front portion 10 is first applied to the flexible support ring 15. In the embodiment of the present invention, the support plate 15 is composed of a ribbon or a film, and the scale 17 is formed at a predetermined distance from the decorative pattern 16 for the reason described later.

The material constituting the support plate 15 is selected to be moldable and printable and to be able to withstand relatively high temperatures (ie in the range of 140 ° C.-200 ° C.). It is possible to suitably use a support plate composed of fluorocarbon material, polypropylene, polyester, silicone, and of course, other suitable materials may be used.

As used herein, the term " breakdown temperature " may cause the support shell 15 to be opened so that the mechanical role as a support for supporting the decorative pattern 16 cannot be precisely performed or can not be operated by a driving or supporting device. It means the temperature to damage.

The decorative pattern 16 may have more than one color, and the number of printing inks according to the number of colors may be changed by the conventional printing method such as silk screen printing, process printing, offset printing, and non-engraving printing. It is formed by printing on. It may also be formed by using a brush or by transferring to a support plate 15 from a paper support that has been sub-printed by decalcumenia. In either case, the printing ink will form a flat layer on the surface 15 of the support plate 15, which in turn will be three dimensional to the substrate to be decorated, ie the front part 10.

According to the present invention, as the printing ink for forming the decorative pattern 16, one that can sublimate at a temperature lower than the temperature at which the support plate 15 is broken is selected.

In addition, such an ink should be selected that is compatible with the composition of the substrate to be decorated. It is also preferable to use a water-soluble printing ink so that excess ink can be washed with water after printing.

The printing ink may, for example, be one of the following compositions.

Solvent:

Butanol 1 43.5% by weight

Propanol 2 42.1 wt%

9.1% by weight of preoxyethylene / polypropylene

Polyvinyl-pyrrolidone: 5.4 weight%

100.1% by weight

Dye:

Sublimable dyes: 9.1% by weight in the solvent

In addition, various sublimable pigments can be usefully used, for example, when decorating an acetate substrate, the following composition can be satisfactorily used.

Yellow 11855 Disperex Yellow 3

Red 60755 Disperex Red 4

Blue 61555 〃 Blue 3

The sublimation temperature of these pigments is 120 ° C-140 ° C. For these pigments, it would be suitable to use a support plate of carbon material having a breakdown temperature of about 200 ° C.

In addition to the dye having the composition as described above, of course, those of other compositions may be suitably used. Generally, the printing inks to be used include one or more alcohol solvents such as butanol or propanol, one or more thickening and emulsifiers (in the form of polymers), and sublimable, soluble in alcohols such as polyoxyethyl, polypropylene, polyvinyl-pyrrolidone, It contains a pigment, and depending on the relative proportions of the constituents, it is possible to adjust the drying speed and ink color of the printing ink on the support plate.

In case of the following (II) (III) composition, a single thickening and emulsifying agent may be used.

(II): Butanol 1 43.3%

Propanol 2 41.9%

Polyvinyl-pyrrolidone 6.4%

Sublimable Pigment 8.3%

(III): Butanol 1 39.9%

Propanol 2 38.7%

Polyvinyl-pyrrolidone 5.9%

Sublimation Pigment 15.4%

In any case, the thickening and emulsifiers used are chosen to be able to coat the pigments used and to keep them in suspension. After applying the decorative pattern 16 on the support plate 15, the decorative pattern 16 is brought into contact with the front part 10 to be decorated according to the present invention, so that the front part 10 from the support plate 15 is removed. It is necessary to transfer the decorative pattern by means of heat transfer in the form of heating the decorative pattern 16 to cause partial sublimation of the ink when the decorative pattern 16 is brought into contact with the front portion 10. It can be done.

An apparatus used for this purpose of the present invention includes a vacuum box 20, in which the vacuum box 20 is connected to the vacuum source 23 by a tube 21 and the valve 22 The degree of vacuum is controlled by).

An opening 24 is formed in the side wall of the vacuum box 20, which is capable of maintaining a fluid seal by the door 25. The upper part of the vacuum box 20 is completely open, and supporting means for supporting the supporting plate 15 to act as a fluid sealing wall is provided, which is integrally formed on the upper part of the vacuum box 20. It may be composed of a frame 26 and a frame 27 movably installed with respect to the vacuum box 20 as indicated by the double arrow F ₁ .

In the retracted position as shown in FIG. 5, the frame 27, together with the frame 26, forms a gap 28 suitable for passing the flexible support plate 15 across the vacuum box 20. do.

On the other hand, the support plate 15 of the frame 27 as shown in FIG. 6 is pinched between the frame 27 and the frame 26, thereby sealing the vacuum box 20 fluidly. In addition, the vacuum box 20 is provided with a bracket 30 facing the first surface of the support plate 15 and supporting the substrate to be decorated, that is, the front portion 10, which bracket 5 is provided with a fifth portion. As shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, the retracted position for keeping the front portion 10 apart from the support plate 15, and the front portion 10 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 5 and the solid line in FIG. It is to move between the contact positions to make contact. In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket 30 is porous or nonporous, so that the plate 31 having the rod 32 fixed therethrough through the bottom of the vacuum box 20 in a state of maintaining fluid tightness is integrally formed. Formed. At the lower end of the rod 32, the piston 33 of the dual acting jack 34 is integrally formed.

By adjustment of the valve 35, the pressure source 36 is connected to selected ends of the jacks 34.

On the second surface side of the support plate 15 outside the vacuum box 20, heating means for applying heat to the support plate 15 is provided. In the illustrated embodiment, this heating means is for example a heating resistance ( 59 and consists of a heating plate 38 which is mounted on the frame 27 so as to be movable relative to the vacuum box 20 as indicated by the double arrows. Moreover, in order to monitor the heating degree of the support plate 15, the temperature sensor 37 is provided in the frame 27. As shown in FIG.

As described so far, the flexible support plate 15 is composed of a ribbon, which is formed along the return roller 42 from the supply spool 39, the conveying means 42 geared, and one side portion of the support plate. It goes through a window, and goes through the cutting device 43 as needed. In addition, the support plate 15 passes through the photovoltaic cell 44.

The conveying means 42 together with the supply spool 39 raises the flexible support plate 15 to the height when the frame 27 is lowered to the contact position, that is, when the bracket 30 and the front portion 10 are raised. The passage means for allowing movement across the vacuum box at a height of.

When the photovoltaic cell 44 detects the scale 17 formed on the flexible support plate 15, the movement of the support plate is stopped, and the position of the scale 17 at this time is the decorative pattern formed on the flexible support plate 15. 16) is positioned so that it can be accurately placed above the front portion 10 vertically. The frame 27 is then lowered to the contact position of FIG. 6 and the heating plate 38 is moved to the desired position on the frame 27.

When the heating to the support plate 15 made on the side of the surface 15B opposite the surface 15A on which the decorative pattern 16 is formed becomes sufficient, the bracket 30 is controlled by the control of the temperature sensor 37. It is lifted from the retracted position to the contact position of FIG. 6, in which the front portion 10 comes into contact with the face 15A of the support plate 15 so as to exactly match the decorative pattern 16 carried by the support plate.

As such, the heating to the support plate 15 is strong enough to cause the sublimation of the printing ink constituting the decorative pattern 16, so that the support plate 15 is not in contact with the front portion 10, that is, the front portion ( 10) in a spaced apart state, and in such a heated state, the support plate 15 comes into contact with the front portion 10.

Simultaneously with this contact, that is, as soon as the upward stroke of the bracket 31 ends, the valve 22 causes the vacuum box 20 to communicate with the vacuum source 23, whereby the vacuum box 20 is generated. By the vacuum suction input, the support plate 15 comes into close contact with the entire outer surface of the front portion 10 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

In this close contact, the support plate 15 is still maintained at a temperature at least equal to the sublimation temperature of the ink constituting the decorative pattern 16, so that the ink evaporates to the front portion 10 and at least by molecular migration. Superficially penetrates into the front part 10 and is copied to the front part 10 in the same pattern as the decorative pattern 16 printed on the support plate 15.

The front portion 10 is brought into contact with the support plate 15 for a time sufficient to complete the sublimation and molecular transfer process, which is generally between 10 and 30 seconds. The heating time at such a level, of course, does not cause deformation of the front part 10.

When the required sublimation is finished, the bracket 30 returns to its retracted position, so that the front part 10 supported on the bracket 30 is also automatically separated from the support plate 15.

When the front part 10 is discharged from the vacuum box 20, a new front part 10 is again entered into the vacuum box 20 to start a new work cycle, correspondingly supply of the support plate 15 In this case, if necessary, the cutting of the support plate by the device 43 is made.

The above operations may be performed manually one by one in order. However, it may be possible to achieve partial automation under the control of the logic controller 45 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 5, in which case the device is carried by the temperature probe 37 and the photovoltaic cell 44. It receives the information and controls the valves 22 and 35, and at the same time promotes a suitable device for the movement of the frame 27, the heating plate 38, the feeder 42 and the cutting device 43. . After this decoration, the treated front part 10 is cleaned to remove excess amount of printing ink.

After this, only the decorative pattern 46 penetrated into the front part 10 and firmly fixed on the front part 10 remains, which can be clearly seen with reference to FIG.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited thereto and can be modified. In addition, the present invention is applied to the decoration of the spectacle frame, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, but is also applied to the surface decoration of a somewhat complicated substrate such as spectacle lens or for uniform color tone of a lens such as a corrective lens or a simple solar lens. Could be.

In any case, according to the present invention, it is possible to make the above-mentioned decoration in multiple colors and the whole surface in one process.

Claims (1)

After applying one or more printing inks forming the decorative pattern 16 to be applied to the substrate to the flexible support plate 15, the vacuum box having a tube having an opening formed in the wall and connecting the opening to a vacuum source (20). In the decoration method of the Decelkermanian method, the printing ink is selected by sublimation at a temperature lower than the breaking temperature of the support plate 15. ) Is placed on the inside of the vacuum box 20 and the support plate 15 is arranged to seal the opening of the vacuum box, the substrate 10 is placed close to the opening in the box 20, and provides an effective suction force. Connecting the vacuum source 23 to the vacuum box 20 so as to achieve at least local close contact between the substrate 10 and the support plate 15, the sublimation temperature of the ink being higher or higher but lower than the breaking temperature of the support plate 15. Heat the flexible support plate 15 to a temperature and keep the substrate 10 in contact with the support plate 15 for a sufficient time such that the decorative pattern 16 is transferred to the substrate 10 by sublimation of the ink. How to decorate a substrate, such as eyeglass frames.

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