US2350564A - Printed article - Google Patents

Description

June 6, 1944. H. MENIHAN PRINTED ARTICLE Original Filed June 29, 1938 INYENTOR. Hqgfi Mam/law W, k/V'u ATTORNEYS Patented June 6, 1944 PRINTED ARTICLE Hugh Menihan, New York, N. Y., assignor .to American Bank Note Company, New. York, .N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application June 29, .1938, Serial No.

.IMLSerial Np. :40.4,017

2 Claims.

This invention :relates generally to the production of solid articles carrying printed matter and has particular reference .to articles having novel characteristics made by what may be termed a combination of printing and molding which also is novel.

Thepresent application is a division of application-Serial'No.216,527 filed June 29, 1938.

One object -of the invention is to provide a method of producing such articles whereby in effecting the printing a printing ink'or similar medium is at least in part "incorporated in the material at the surface of the article as distinguished from applying such ink or medium as a deposit upon and adhering to the surface of the article.

Another object of the invention is to provide away in which-articles of the character indicated can be produced at low cost for material and manufacturing equipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of printing upon or decorating metallic surfaces whereby the "printing may be done by steel engravings or the like, with exact reproother advantages, will be more lasting than one on which the reproduction is a superficial deposit of ink or enamel attached to the :surface of the article.

Still another object is to provide novel articles composed of substances to which inks and similar mediums do notreadilyadhere and which carry in permanent form reproductions applied from engraved printing elements. This is efiected by a combination-oi printing and molding whereby the ink or similar medium used to apply the.

printed or decorative matter is at least in part incorporated with the material as an incident to forming the articles.

Other important objects and advantages will become apparent from the explanation hereinafter made of one method whereby the novel articles are made. said explanation being illustrated by drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification.

In said drawing:

Fig. l is a conventional and diagrammatic view, partly in cross-section, illustrating the cooperating parts of a moid, printing element and parts of a press operated suitable for carrying out the method and shows the material which durable article.

Divided and this application July 25;

is to be shaped and printed upon, deposited in and leveled offin the cavity'of the :mold.

Fig, 2 is'a view similar to Fig. 1 except that the parts are on a larger scale to give an opportunity better to represent conventionally the engraving on the face of the printing-element.

Fig. 3 is the same as ,Fig. 2 except that the molding and printingdie is shown closed to mold and ;print the article.

Fig. 4 shows an article produced by the operation illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is aconventional showing of a mold, die and ram arranged to ;print .upon both sides of the article as illustrated in Fig. 4.

The method or process may be carried out with any material which can be prepared in a powdered or comminuted form and then solidified by compression. There are a number of such materials which may be employed, but metallic powders of aluminum, copper, nickel, iron, zinc, tin, or a mixture of two or .more of thesesubstances are peculiarly suitable.

Such metallic powders are commonly found in the open market or can readily be produced.

Carrying out the method involves the use of a mold in which thepowder can be confined and a cooperating ipressure head or ram forming part of'a press capable-of applying pressure sufficient to compress the powder into a solid and One or more of the interior faces of the mold when closed byithe ram consists of an inked printingelement against which the powder is compressed. .One use to which "theprocess hasbeen put is to .produce articles bearing a resemblance to a coin, so far as dimensions are concerned, and having a design or decoration giving the articles a particularsignificance.

When :only .one side of "the article is to :be decorated the apparatus employed and the result are as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. The powdered or comminuted substance ID, Fig. l, is placed in the cavity l I of a mold [2, the quantity depending upon the thickness desired, and the substance then leveled ofi to substantially uniform thickness or depth. This leveling is, however, not a critical matter, as the articles will have uniformity because of the great pressures employed even though the leveling is not carefully done. A die 13 carried by the head IQ of a ram is then inked and wiped. The ram I4 forms a part of a hydraulic press or a mechanical press of the eccentric or toggle movement type. Any press which is capable of applying heavy pressures to the ram may be employed.

ink in the engraved recesses of the dieis incor-' porated with the powdered metal lyingpbeneath the surface which is in contact with the die, thereby reproducing on and in the metal of the finished article the matter represented by the engraving. The ink embedded in the metal serves to some extent as a bond for holding inposi tion ink on the surface of the article.

If it is desired to print or decorate both of the flat surfaces of an article such as shown in Fig. 4, an engraved die l5 (Fig. 5) may be inked and wiped and-then put faceup in the bottom of the recess of a mold, and a cooperating die l3 carried by the ram is likewise inked and wiped..- The press is then operated to compress the material I as previously described and the ink will thereuponbe applied and at least some of it incorporated with the material in the same manner as previously described in connection with Figs. 2 and 3.

In Figs. 1,2 and 3 the bottom of the mold cavity H is formed by a section I6 which is removable to facilitateremoval of the finished article.

' which can be applied to an engraved surface and wiped, with the necessary residue left in the lines of the engraving, may be used. It is apparent, therefore, that the printing 'or decorating may be done in black or in other colors. It is preferred to use plate printing inks because they are particularly adapted to wiping where the printing is from steel or other {metal dies on which the matter to be printed' -or reproduced is rep- In Fig. 5 a removable section l6 also is shown, 7

but the inked die I5 might serve the purpose, making a separate section unnecessary.

However, when the two faces of an article such as shown in Fig. -4 are to be printed, it is preferred to mount both the die l3 and the die l5 on the rams of a double rampress whichisconstructed to move the rams in such a manner as to compress and solidify metal powder deposited on the lower die. In some instances the lower die l5 may not actually be attached to the lower ram, the die being used to support the metal powder until the mold is' positioned with the lower die over the lower ram of the press.

.The ink carrying recesses or lines on print-' 'ing die faces maybe'prepared in any suitable manner, including handengraving, photo-engraving, mechanical engraving oretching. Even very'fine. lines'in the die are reproduced with surprising accuracy and completeness of detail on and in the finished article so that the most complicated designs or illustrations may be engraved on the die and reproduced by the pressure and printing;

'Any ink or colored paste suitable forthe pura pose'may be employed; that is, any ink :or paste just as satisfactory as though the articles'had been produced from blanks cut from solid metal. The results have been particularly satisfactory when aluminum and copper powders have been employed. It is a matter of common knowledge that it is difficult to decoratewithink or. enamel articles composed of these metals by any of the usual printing or decorating processes. This is because the prior practice has always involved attaching the ink or enamel to the surface and the metals referred to are of such a naturethat it is diflicult to make such decorative materials permanently adhere. This difficulty has, been met to some extent by a preliminary mechanical or chemical treatment of the surfaces to. be, printed or decorated, but the present invention makes such' treatments unnecessary. .With this invention metal must beworn away or removed to affect or obliterate the reproduction.

While the invention is illustrated as being used to produce articles resembling a coin or medallion it obviously is not limited to the production of such articles. By using sectional molds an endless variety of shapes may be produced with a plurality of printedor decorated surfaces. Further, the invention iscapable of other. modifications and changes and it is therefore not the desire to be, limited by the foregoing description and the illustrations containedin the drawing except as indicated by theclaims which follow.

What is claimed is: j T

1. A metal object-composed of metal powder compressed into a solid and having at least one face carrying an ink ornamental design or the like with some of the ink incorporated .inthe metal powder before the powder is fully compressed.

p 2. A metal object composed-of. metal powder HUGH MENIHAN. 7

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