Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F16/00—Transfer printing apparatus
  • B41F16/0006—Transfer printing apparatus for printing from an inked or preprinted foil or band
  • B41F16/002—Presses of the rotary type
  • B41F16/0026—Presses of the rotary type with means for applying print under heat and pressure, e.g. using heat activable adhesive
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F16/00—Transfer printing apparatus
  • B41F16/0006—Transfer printing apparatus for printing from an inked or preprinted foil or band
  • B41F16/006—Arrangements for moving, supporting or positioning the printing foil or band
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F16/00—Transfer printing apparatus
  • B41F16/0006—Transfer printing apparatus for printing from an inked or preprinted foil or band
  • B41F16/0073—Transfer printing apparatus for printing from an inked or preprinted foil or band with means for printing on specific materials or products
  • B41F16/008—Transfer printing apparatus for printing from an inked or preprinted foil or band with means for printing on specific materials or products for printing on three-dimensional articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F19/00—Apparatus or machines for carrying out printing operations combined with other operations
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41P—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO PRINTING, LINING MACHINES, TYPEWRITERS, AND TO STAMPS
  • B41P2217/00—Printing machines of special types or for particular purposes
  • B41P2217/50—Printing presses for particular purposes
  • B41P2217/55—Printing presses for particular purposes for printing compact discs

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a device for applying ornaments on substantially plane surfaces of objects, particularly 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Another problem is the toxicity of solvents used both when diluting inks and when cleaning the equipment.
• 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.
• 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 .
• 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 :
• 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.
• figure 1 shows a schematic overall view of the device.
• 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.
• 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.
• the adhesion-resistant film 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 ;
• 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 .

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Decoration By Transfer Pictures (AREA)
• Printing Methods (AREA)
• Supports Or Holders For Household Use (AREA)
• Chemically Coating (AREA)
• Coating Apparatus (AREA)
• Slide Fasteners, Snap Fasteners, And Hook Fasteners (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11451094

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (5)

Citations (3)

• 2002
  • 2002-06-27 IT IT2002MO000181A patent/ITMO20020181A1/it unknown
• 2003
  • 2003-06-25 AU AU2003246585A patent/AU2003246585A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-06-25 EP EP03761505A patent/EP1556222B1/en not_active Revoked
  • 2003-06-25 AT AT03761505T patent/ATE492399T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-06-25 WO PCT/EP2003/006692 patent/WO2004002741A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-06-25 DE DE60335485T patent/DE60335485D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (3)

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