US3749006A - Able material method of and apparatus for ultrasonically embossing a sheet of malle - Google Patents

Abstract

A sheet of malleable material such as photographic film or paper is placed over a projecting mark on an anvil, such as a number, and an ultrasonically vibrating horn is placed against the opposite side of the sheet. The sheet can be a continuously moving web, and the anvil can be a cylinder which rotates as the web passes in contact therewith, with the mark being periodically brought into register with the horn. Indexing mechanism can be provided to change the mark with each revolution of the anvil.

Description

United States Patent 1 Loose METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ULTRASONICALLY EMBOSSING A SHEET OF MALLEABLE MATERIAL [75] lnventor: Guenter H. Loose, Webster, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company,

Rochester, N.Y.

22 Filed: Feb. 16,1972

21 Appl. No.: 226,702

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 858,428, Sept. 16, 1969,

abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. l0l/3 R, 101/32 [51] Int. Cl. 1344b 5/00, B44c 1/24 [58] Field of Search..." 101/1, 3, 32; 117/37; 310/8.2, 8.3

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,339,199 l/l944 Smith 101/3 R X 2,704,333 3/1955 Calosi et al. 101/3 R X [11] 3,749,006 [451 July 31, I973 2,737,882 3/1956 Early et al 10l/3 R 2,792,779 5/1957 Toeppen et al 101/3 R 3,089,411 5/1963 Sollberger et aL... 101/3 R 3,311,050 3/1967 Schmidt.... 101/3 R X 3,191,527 6/1966 Wadey... l0l/1 X 3,263,607 8/1966 Jacoby 101/3 R X 3,328,610 6/1967 Jacke ct al 310/82 X Primary Examiner-Edgar S. Burr Attorney-W. O. l-lodsdon et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A sheet of malleable material such as photographic film or paper is placed over a projecting mark on an anvil, such as a number, and an ultrasonically vibrating horn is placed against the opposite side of the'sheet. The sheet can be a continuously moving web, and the anvil can be a cylinder which rotates as the web passes in contact therewith, with the mark being periodically brought into register with the horn. Indexing mechanism can be provided to change the mark with each revolution of the anvil.

2 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENTEU 3,749,006

GUE/VTEH H LOOSE INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS WCQW This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 858,428, filed Sept. 16, 1969, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a novel method and apparatus for embossing a mark into a sheet of malleable material such as photographic paper or film, or metal or plastic foil.

2. Description of the Piror Art In the manufacture of photographic paper and film it is usually necessary to place suitable identifying marks thereon such as footage numbers, numbers which will permit tracing of products during inspection procedures, or frame line markings which will improve the accuracy of splicing moving-picture film. Such marks customarily have been applied as inks which have certain drawbacks, such as removability in the subsequent processing of the film or paper,'anddifferent ink compositions and colors for certain types of films; and the necessity for a substantial amount of space for drying the ink, as well as the need for expensive equipment for this purpose. Furthermore, with the so-called Estar or Mylar type of photographic film, which has a polyethylene terephthalate film base, no ink printing is possible because a satisfactory ink for this purpose has not yet been developed.

A mechanical pressure embossing device such as a roll is not acceptable because it causes undesirable material displacement and product distortion, and is a source of dust.

In Calosi et al. Pat. No. 2,748,298 there is described an ultrasonic tool for cutting into various materials. One example of a cutting tool is an ultrasonic horn having a raised emblem on its end surface which is adapted to impinge on the material to be drilled, whereby the outline of the emblem may be cut into the material. This type of tool is not suitable for the marking of long webs of film or paper as they are continuously processed because it would require intermittent motion of the web, with a stop for each impression of the emblem. Moreover, the emblem is cut throughthe sheet rather than simply being embossed thereon. It also is not useable for sequential numbering (footage printing) of film webs, because for each new emblem a new horn is needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention there is provided a novel method for embossing a mark into a sheet of malleable material, such as photographic paper or film, or metal and plastic foil, comprising providing an anvil having a mark projecting slightly above the surface thereof, placing a sheet of the material on the anvil with a first side of the sheet covering and in contact with the mark, and then applying ultrasonically vibrating mechanical pressure impulses to the opposite side of the sheet. the anvil can be flat, and a flat-faced ultrasonic horn employed; or the anvil can be curved, and a curve-faced horn employed.

More particularly, the method finds its most useful adaptation in the periodic marking of a continuously moving web using an anvil which is cylindrical in shape and rotates with the web to bring the mark into embossing position once during each revolution of the anvil.

In effecting this continuous operation the ultrasonically vibrating pressure impulses are applied by maintaining an end face of a continuously energized ultrasonic horn in fixed spaced relationship to the surface of the cylindrical anvil, with the spacing being such that the web engages the end face only when the slightly projecting mark and the end face are in register.

The novel apparatus of the invention comprises means for performing the various method steps described above, and such apparatus will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view showing apparatus for continuously embossing a web, such as film or paper, by the novel method;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embossing roller or drum seen from the line 2-2 in FIG. 1 (with the film web omitted);

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the embossing drum as seen from the line 3--3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom end view of the ultrasonic horn as seen from the line 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the end of the ultrasonic horn;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a length of movingpicture film which has been embossed with numbers and frame line markings;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side elevational view of a modified arrangement of apparatus for the novel embossing method;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of a part of a modified embossing drum wherein provision is made for indexing the marks; and

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view showing an embossing drum embodying the indexing marking mechanism of FIG. 8.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1-5 of the drawings, there is shown an ultrasonic transducer T which is mounted by a clamp 1 1 on an upstanding bracket 13. The lower end of the transducer T comprises a metal horn 15 having a curved lower end face 17 positioned adjacent to, but spaced slightly from, a rotatable metal embossing roll or drum 19 forming an anvil over which a long web 21 of film or paper is adapted to pass continuously. One or more embossing marks 23 project slightly above the surface of the anvil drum 19 and are so located that the end face of horn 15 will cover the mark or marks when in register therewith.

The ultrasonic transducer T can be constructed in a well-known way, such as in Calosi et al. Pat. No. 2,748,298 which describes a magnetostrictive transducer, orin .Iacke et al. Pat. No. 3,328,610 which describes a piezoelectric transducer, both designed to vibrate the horn back and forth in a lengthwise direction.

Drum 19 is rotatably mounted on a shaft which is journalled in both a bracket 25 and the bracket 13.

A feed roll 27 carries a supply of film or paper to be embossed, and is mounted on bracket 13 for rotation. The web 21 passes from roll 27 under an idler roll 29, over the embossing drum 19, under an idler roll 31, and then around a windup roll 33 which is journalled on bracket 13, and is rotated by a motor 35 mounted on laterally projecting bracket 37.

In the operation of the apparatus the transducer T is continuously energized to produce vibrations ranging anywhere from 20 to 80 kilohertz l KHZ equals 1,000 periods or cycles per second), and the motor 35 is operated continuously to pull the film 21 continuously over the rotating anvil 19. The end surface of horn 15 is spaced from the anvil surface by slightly more than the thickness of the film so as not to engage the surface of the film except every time the slightly projecting mark or marks 23 come into register with the end of the horn, at which time the film is raised slightly by the marks. The vibrating horn beats the film down toward the marks and at the same time the vibrations heat the material locally where it engages the marks, thus causing the marks 23 to be embossed into the bottom sur face of the film.

Referring to FIG. 2 the marks 23 can be a series of inverse numbers, such as l, 2, 3 as well as a series of frameline marks 24 spaced at appropriate distances around the periphery, with all marks arranged on a circle of slightly larger radius than drum 19. Drum 19 also carries near the opposite edge a series of spaced cylindrical studs 41 adapted to fit within the perforations of a moving-picture film as it passes over the drum.

FIG. 3 shows the numerical marks 23 and frameline marks 24, each being carried by insert blocks which fit within appropriate slots at the sides of the drum and are held in place by bolts.

FIGS. 4 and show the lower end of horn which isprovided with a long narrow curved end surface 43 having a somewhatlarger radius of curvature than the drum 19, and having the corner thereof on the side facing towards the approaching film chamfered slightly at 45 to eliminate any possibility of digging into the film.

FIG. 6 shows a length of moving-picture film 21 which has been embossed with the numbers and the frameline marks by the apparatus described above.

Now referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a modification of the apparatus which does not require the idler rolls as in FIG. 1. In this modification the supply roll 47 and the take-up roll 49 are spaced below the embossing drum 19 so that suitable contact is maintained as the film 21 passes over the embossing roll.

FIG. 8 shows a modification wherein the embossing roll 19" is provided with an insert 51 comprising an indexing mechanism of a well-known type having four numbering discs 53 and an indexing lever 55 for advancing the numbering discs sequentially so as to place footage markings on the film or paper web being embossed. As shown in FIG. 9 schematically, the lever 55 is actuated by contact with a cam 57 once each revolution of the embossing drum. Counters and numbering heads of this 'typeare commercially available from the American Numbering Machine Company of Brooklyn, N .Y.

I have found that the marks embossed into film and paper in the described manner are permanent, and thus are not removed in the processing of photographic film or paper as are ink marks. Moreover, the marks can be embossed into either the emulsion side of the film or paper, or into the opposite side without becoming removable. When the marks are embossed into the emulsion side, I have found surprisingly that upon subsequent processing of the film in photographic solutions the numbers or other marks are colored black or other color such as orange and easily readable. I attribute this to the fact that local reaction of silver halide or dyes of the emulsion has occurred due to the localized heating that takes place when the embossing occurs. My novel method and apparatus are particularly advantageous because they eliminate the need for a substantial amount of space and equipment that are required for accommodating about 30 feet of film to permit the drying of ink marks when film is printed at 187 feet per minute. Successful marking by my method has been achieved at rates as high as 200 and 400 feet of film per minute, using marks which project above the drum surface a distance less than one-half of the thickness of the web, for example projecting 0.002 inch, and a horn vibration amplitude of 0.002 inch toward the film.

It is evident that when marks are to be embossed into a web at several positions across its width, a battery of two or more ultrasonic horns can be employed simultaneously.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within thespirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A method for embossing indicia into a continuously movable web of malleable heat deformable material such as photographic paper or film comprising:

providing a cylindrical anvil rotatable around a fixed axis and having indicia projecting from the surface of the anvil;

guiding a web of malleable heat deformable material around and into continuous engagement with a portion of the anvil surface;

simultaneously continuously transporting the web and rotating said anvil with said web and said anvil surface in contact and moving at substantially the same speed to successively bring said indicia into contact with said web and then into an embossing positionin engagement with one side of the web once each revolution of said anvil then removing said indicia from contact with said web after passing said embossing position; and

applying ultrasonically vibrating pressure impulses by an ultrasonic vibrating device directly to the side of the web opposite the side engaged by said anvil at the embossing position for applying heat and pres sure to the web for embossing said indicia into the web when said indicia and said vibrating device are in register at said embossing position and while said web is being transported.

2. Apparatus for embossing indicia into a web of malleable material such as photographic paper or film comprising, in combination:

a rotatable cylindrical anvil having a surface and rotatable past an embossing position;

indicia on said anvil projecting from said surface a predetermined distance;

means for guiding a web of malleable material into continuous engagement with said anvil surface, said engagement beginning prior to passing said embossing position and ending after said embossing position has been passed;

means for simultaneously transporting said web and rotating said anvil with said web and said anvil surface in contact and moving at substantially the same speed; and

an ultrasonic vibratory device adapted to be ultrasonically vibrated and having an end face positioned at said embossing position adjacent to and spaced from said anvil a distance substantially equal to the combined distance of said predetermined distance 5 and the thickness of the malleable material, said end face of said vibratory device being adapted face.

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Claims (2)

1. A method for embossing indicia into a continuously movable web of malleable heat deformable material such as photographic paper or film comprising: providing a cylindrical anvil rotatable around a fixed axis and having indicia projecting from the surface of the anvil; guiding a web of malleable heat deformable material around and into continuous engagement with a portion of the anvil surface; simultaneously continuously transporting the web and rotating said anvil with said web and said anvil surface in contact and moving at substantially the same speed to successively bring said indicia into contact with said web and then into an embossing position in engagement with one side of the web once each revolution of said anvil then removing said indicia from contact with said web after passing said embossing position; and applying ultrasonically vibrating pressure impulses by an ultrasonic vibrating device directly to the side of the web opposite the side engaged by said anvil at the embossing position for applying heat and pressure to the web for embossing said indicia into the web when said indicia and said vibrating device are in register at said embossing position and while said web is being transported.

2. Apparatus for embossing indicia into a web of malleable material such as photographic paper or film comprising, in combination: a rotatable cylindrical anvil having a surface and rotatable past an embossing position; indicia on said anvil projecting from said surface a predetermined distance; means for guiding a web of malleable material into continuous engagement with said anvil surface, said engagement beginning prior to passing said embossing position and ending after said embossing position has been passed; means for simultaneously transporting said web and rotating said anvil with said web and said anvil surface in contact and moving at substantially the same speed; and an ultrasonic vibratory device adapted to be ultrasonically vibrated and having an end face positioned at said embossing position adjacent to and spaced from said anvil a distance substantially equal to the combined distance of said predetermined distance and the thickness of the malleable material, said end face of said vibratory device being adapted when vibrated to directly apply heat and pressure to the material for embossing said indicia into the material while said material is being transported and when said indicia is in register with said end face.

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