Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-21
2001-03-20
Knable, Geoffrey L. (Department: 1733)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
C156S248000, C156S275500, C156S295000, C156S297000, C428S038000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06203635
ABSTRACT:
The invention which is the subject of this application is related to the bonding of relatively planar pieces of glass or plastics material, known as bevels, to planar surfaces such as windows and panes of glass, and sheet material in general, to provide a decorative effect. Typically, the bevels are shaped so as to be used to provide decorative effect independently or in combination with other bevels when attached by a resin to the pane.
At the present time the conventional method for bonding a cluster of bevels is to hold the sheet material in a horizontal plane and then for each bevel, position the same on the glass with a layer of adhesive between the bevel and the glass. The bevel is pushed onto the glass to squeeze and remove air entrapment and excess adhesive, which is forced to the edges of the bevel. Ultra violet light is passed over the bevel which acts to cure the adhesive and bond the bevel to the glass surface. However, the curing process also hardens the excess adhesive which is then required to be cut and be removed from the glass using glass cleaning preparations before the next bevel is applied. This cleaning process can leave deposits on the glass surface which affect the appearance of the glass, and the deposits can migrate under the bevel to attach the adhesive which bonds the bevel to the sheet material and cause defects, delamination. Furthermore, the removal of the cured excess adhesive is difficult to perform neatly and is time consuming. This process is then repeated for each bevel, which typically abuts the previously bevel. The process is therefore repeated a number of times and, when one considers that certain decorative effects require upwards of twenty bevels to be applied, one after the other, it will be appreciated that the conventional process is not ideal and can take up a considerable amount of time.
The applicant has a co-pending application which offers one solution to the problems of the conventional method by spot curing the bevel in position prior to the general curing of the adhesive but this process can be time consuming and as such is not always appropriate for use.
The aim of the current invention is to provide a method and apparatus which allow the bonding of bevels to a surface to be performed quickly, accurately and securely and to minimise the need for removal of excess cured adhesive from the surface once the bonding process is completed. Another aim is to achieve the improvements without affecting the quality or visual appearance of the bond between the bevel and the surface.
In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of bonding a plurality of bevels to a planar surface to form a decorative effect, said method comprising the steps of placing said bevels in position on the surface to form a cluster of said bevels and a decorative effect, with a layer of adhesive applied between said bevels and surface; applying pressure to said bevels to move excess adhesive and/or entrapped air to the edge of said cluster of bevels; and applying a curing medium to cure said adhesive and bond the bevels to the surface and; characterised in that a template is placed on the surface prior to the bonding, said template having an aperture or apertures of a shape which matches that of the required bevel cluster and into which the bevels are placed to form the cluster prior to bonding.
Typically the surface is a surface of sheet material such as glass or plastics material which is transparent.
Typically the template is formed such that when the bevel cluster is formed in the aperture and pressure is applied to the bevels to move the excess adhesive to the edge of the cluster, the excess adhesive flows onto the template to lie thereon during curing. Once cured the excess adhesive is scored out around the bevel cluster perimeter. This allows the template to be removed from the surface with the excess adhesive bonded to it and the cured excess adhesive can then simply be peeled from the template.
In a preferred embodiment the template is provided so that it can be releasably secured to the surface, at least around the perimeter of the aperture, to help reduce the risk of excess adhesive being forced underneath the template and being difficult to remove, once cured. One suitable material for the template has been found to be a plasticised vinyl sheet.
Preferably the template is formed from an Ultra-Violet or other suitable photo-initiating light transmitting plastics sheet which is typically a clear material.
Typically the outline of the aperture matches, but is slightly larger than, the outline of the cluster of bevels to give the desired effect. In use, the fit between the template aperture and bevel cluster, when formed to fit in the aperture in the required shape, is such that there is a minimum gap between the outline of the template aperture and the edge of the bevel cluster. With the template in position, the bevels are pressed onto the surface and at least a portion of the excess adhesive may pass onto the surface of the template rather than onto the surface to which the bevels are to be bonded. The excess adhesive can subsequently be removed from the template if the template is required to be used again. The use of the template thereby helps to minimise the amount of excess adhesive which is required to be removed from around the edge of the bevels. Additionally the template aperture allows the positioning of the bevels to form the bevel cluster to be aided.
In a further feature of the invention a photo initiating resin adhesive is used which can be through cured even when on the template by the application of light from a curing medium such as an ultra violet light source, thereon.
By the term through cure is meant that the resin is cured though the extent of the depth of the same so that the entire resin layer has a relatively solid form. This relatively solid form in turn allows the cured resin to be peelably removed from those areas where it is not required i.e. on the template.
In a preferred use of the resin the same is preferably provided to be through cured within a time of 0-20 seconds from commencement of curing thereby allowing the same to be ready to be removed relatively quickly and, as it is peelably removable from the template for the bonding method for the bevel to the pane to be completed quickly.
The ability to cure the resin of the invention in the manner set out and using a photo initiating light source is achieved by assessing the particular characteristics of the light source and light emitted, which is to be used. There is then included in the resin an initiator component for curing which is best suited to the particular light source characteristics.
In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a further template, said template positioned on the surface of the sheet material opposing the surface to which the bevels are to be applied and viewable through said sheet material. The template typically includes a series of lines relating to the outline of the bevels which are to be applied and which shows the relative position of each of the bevels.
In one embodiment, the areas defining the shape of each of the bevels on the further template are darkened, with the outline of the bevels shown as lighter lines, said darkened areas provided to indicate foreign matter, trapped air, excess adhesive and the like more clearly, and said template removed during the curing of the adhesive.
The curing medium used is typically an ultra violet light or other suitable photo initiating light source and, in one preferred embodiment is shone through the sheet material onto the faces of the bevels which are in contact with the surface to which they are to be bonded. This ensures that the light is applied through and onto substantially planar surfaces and thereby improves the standard of bond formed and overcomes any problems caused by reflection of the light by the bevels, which particularly occurs when curing from above onto what is typically a shaped face of the bevels as where the bevels edges abut, UV light is reflect
Head Johnson and Kachigian
Knable Geoffrey L.
LandOfFree
Bevel bonding method does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Bevel bonding method, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Bevel bonding method will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2440472