WO2005035236A1

WO2005035236A1 - Sheeting system

Info

Publication number: WO2005035236A1
Application number: PCT/US2003/028914
Authority: WO
Inventors: Maxly Man Loong Yeung
Original assignee: Sunco Products, Inc.
Priority date: 2003-09-15
Filing date: 2003-09-15
Publication date: 2005-04-21
Also published as: AU2003272401A1

Abstract

A sheet (10) has upper (14) and lower (24) surfaces fabricated of a polymer material. An essentially continuous printed layer (40) on the lower layer is of a first color. A layer of parallel color lines (34) are of a second color between the lower surface and the printed layer form parallel spaces (36) between the lines. Parallel grooves with crests (22) and roots (48) are formed in the upper surface of the sheet parallel with the lines.

Description

SHEETING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheeting system and more particularly pertains to creating a lenticular effect in a sheet having a grooved surface. Description of the Prior Art The use of sheeting systems of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, sheeting systems of known designs and configurations previously devised and utilized for the purpose of creating effects in sheets are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements . By way of example, United States Patent Number 5,723,200 to Oshima et al. discloses a decorative sheet. United States Patent Number 2,951,419 to Lemelson discloses a reflective display device. United States Patent Number 5,254,390 to Lu discloses a plano-convex base sheet for retroreflective articles and method for making same. Lastly, United States Patent Number 4,127,693 to Lemelson discloses reflex reflectors with pyramid-shaped indentations. While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a sheeting system that allows creating a lenticular effect in a sheet having a grooved surface . In this respect, the sheeting system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of creating a lenticular effect in a sheet having a grooved surface. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved sheeting system which can be used for creating a lenticular effect in a sheet having a grooved surface. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of sheeting systems of known designs and configurations now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved sheeting system. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved sheeting system and method which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages . To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a sheet. The sheet has an upper surface and a lower surface, one side edge and a parallel opposite side edge, a front edge and an opposite parallel rear edge. The sheet has a thickness of between about 0.18 and 1.00 millimeters . Next, a printed layer is provided on the lower surface. The printed layer is of a first color and is continuous throughout the entire extent of the sheet. Next, a layer of parallel color lines is provided between the lower surface and the printe layer. The lines are of a second color and extend from one edge of the sheet to an opposite edge. The lines form parallel spaces between the lines. The lines have a width. Next, parallel grooves with crests and roots are formed in the upper surface of the sheet. The grooves are parallel with the lines and extend from one side edge to an adjacent side edge. The grooves preferably have an essentially half cylindrical cross sectional configuration with a radius of curvature. In this manner, when viewing the sheet from the upper surface, through the grooves and crests and roots, and through the space between the lines there will be created an iridescent appearance and color changing illusion. There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved sheeting system which has all of the advantages of the prior art sheeting systems of known designs and configurations and none of the disadvantages . It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved sheeting system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. It is further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved sheeting system which is of durable and reliable constructions. An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved sheeting system which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such sheeting system economically available to the buying public. Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a sheeting system for creating a lenticular effect in a sheet having a grooved surface. Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved sheet having upper and lower surfaces fabricated of a polymer material, an essentially continuous printed layer on the lower layer of a first color, a layer of parallel color lines of a second color between the lower surface and the printed layer forming parallel spaces between the lines, and parallel grooves with crests and roots formed in the upper surface of the sheet parallel with the lines. These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a visually pleasing sheeting system constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of the sheeting system shown in Figure 1 but with parts removed to show certain internal constructions thereof. Figure 3 is a cross sectional view similar to Figure 1 but illustrating an alternate embodiment of the invention. Figure 4 is a plan view similar to Figure 2 tout illustrating another alternate embodiment of the invention. The same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the various Figures. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to Figure 1 thereof, the preferred embodiment of the new and improved sheeting system embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described. The present invention, the sheeting system 10 is comprised of a plurality of components. Such components in their broadest context include a sheet with an essentially continuous printed layer, a layer of parallel color lines, and parallel grooves. Such components are individually configured and correlated with respect to each other so as to attain the desired objective. First provided is a sheet 10. The sheet has an upper surface 14 and a lower surface 24, one side edge 26 and a parallel opposite side edge 26, a front edge 30 and an opposite parallel rear edge 32. The sheet has a thickness of between about 0.18 and 1.00 millimeters. The sheet may be fabricated of any of a wide variety of materials, preferably a polymer, such as polyvinyl chloride, either rigid or soft. The sheet may be transparent or translucent or of a colored material. Next, a printed layer 40 is provided on the lower surface. The printed layer is of a first color and is continuous throughout the entire extent of the sheet. Next, a layer of parallel color lines 34 is provided between the lower surface and the printed layer. The lines are of a second color and extend from one edge of the sheet to an opposite edge. The lines form parallel spaces 36 between the lines. The lines have a width which may be essentially equal to, or greater or lesser than, the width of the spaces. The width of the lines and the width of the spaces may vary, independently of each other. Next, parallel grooves with crests 22 and roots 48 are formed in the upper surface of the sheet. The grooves are parallel with the lines and extend from one side edge to an adjacent side edge. The grooves preferably have an essentially half cylindrical cross sectional configuration with a radius of curvature. In this manner, when viewing the sheet from the upper surface, through the grooves and crests and roots, and through the space between the lines there will be created an iridescent appearance and color changing illusion. There are many PVC sheets in the market today which incorporate a lenticular or iridescent effect . The basic principle in creating such effect is by using scattered lines or grooves or by using scattered dots. The lines or grooves or dots must match up precisely with the imprint graphics in order to get the desired effect. PVC sheets, however, are soft and stretchy by nature which makes it very difficult for perfect alignment. The present invention eliminates this problem. In accordance with the present invention, heavy parallel grooves were embossed onto a transparent PVC sheet. A color PVC sheet is acceptable as an alternate embodiment of the invention. Equally spaced color lines were imprinted on the PVC sheet then a layer of solid color. In this manner an iridescent appearance and color change when you move the PVC sheet perpendicularly to the groove lines is created. More specifically, the method of fabricating a visually pleasing sheeting system in accordance with the present invention includes the method steps as follows: A. Embossing parallel grooves onto a PVC sheet. B. Printing colored lines of a first color on to the grooved PVC at a 50 percent scale. A wide variety of percentages may be used but 50 percent worked out well in experiments . C. Printing a solid second color on top of the color lines at a 100 percent scale. D. Viewing the sheet through the grooves whereby when the first color and second color coincide, you will see a mixed color of the imprinted lines and a solid color and when viewed at the spaces you will only see solid color. The groove lines exaggerate the color change effect . An alternate embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 2. In this embodiment the lines are equally spaced and the lines are all continuous. Alternate embodiments of the invention are shown in Figures 3 and 4. In the Figure 3 embodiment, the lines 134 are unequally spaced from each other as compared to the lines 34 of the primary embodiment which are equally spaced. In the Figure 4 embodiment, the lines 234 include at least some lines which are discontinuous as compared to the lines 34 of the primary embodiment which are all continuous. The discontinuous lines may include even spacings along the length of the lines whereby the lines are a series of spaced dots. These variations can change the color e fect. Another modification is to use material of a first color and lines of another color, such as pink PVC with blue imprinted lines or yellow PVC with green imprinted lines, etc. In another alternate embodiment, a clear transparent sheet is grooved. The first layer of ink is pink lines or dots. The second layer of ink is a blue covering 100 percent of the sheet. In this manner some areas o-f blue are overlapping with the first layer of pink ink. This overlapping will reveal a purple color, or in case the blue color is not strong enough to influence the p±nk color, the tone will be close to magenta with a slight blue tone. Viewing from any angle will not reveal clear transparency because the whole sheet is either covered by one layer of blue ink or two layers of pin and blue ink. Hence, when viewed at certain angles, the groove sheet will reveal areas which only have one layer of ink. In such case, the blue color will appear. When viewed at a slightly different angle, the groove sheet will reveal an area which has two layers of ink. In this case, either magenta or purplish color will appear. As to the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from, the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will he provided. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A sheeting system comprising: a sheet having an upper surface and a lower surface and being fabricated of an essentially transparent polyvinyl chloride; an essentially continuous printed layer on tine lower layer of a first color; a layer of parallel color lines of a second color between the lower surface and the printed layer forming parallel spaces between the lines; and parallel grooves with crests and roots formed in the upper surface of the sheet parallel with the lines .

2. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the sheet has one side edge and an opposite side edge parallel there with and with a front edge and an opposite rear edge parallel there with.

3. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the parallel color lines extends from one edge of the sheet to an opposite edge.

4. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the color of the printed layer contrasts with the colojtr of the lines and is visible through the spaces when viewecd through the upper surface, the printed layer being continuous throughout the entire extent of the sheet .

5. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the grooves extend from one side edge to an adjacent side edge and have an essentially half cylindrical cross sectional configuration with a radius of curvature whereby when viewing the sheet from the upper surface, through the grooves and roots, and through the spaces between the lines there will be created an iridescent appearance and color changing illusion.

6. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the lines are equally spaced.

7. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least some of the lines are unequally spaced.

8. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the lines are all continuous.

9. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least some of the lines are not continuous.

10. A visually pleasing sheeting system for creating a lenticular effect in a sheet having a grooved surface comprising, in combination: a sheet having an upper surface and a lower surface, the sheet having one side edge and an opposite side edge parallel there with and with a front edge and an opposite rear edge parallel there with, the sheet having a thickness of between about 0.18 and 1.00 millimeters; a printed layer on the lower surface, the printed layer being of a first color and continuous throughout the entire extent of the sheet; a layer of parallel color lines between the lower surface and the printed layer, the lines being of a second color and extending from one edge of the sheet to an opposite edge, the lines forming parallel spaces between the lines, the lines having a width; parallel grooves with crests and roots formed in the upper surface of the sheet, the grooves being parallel with the lines and extending from one side edge to an adjacent side edge, the grooves preferably having an essentially half cylindrical cross sectional configuration with a radius of curvature whereby when viewing the sheet from the upper surface, through the grooves and crests and roots, and through the space between the lines there will be created an iridescent appearance and color changing illusion.