Electric heating – Metal heating – By arc
Utility Patent
1998-03-25
2001-01-02
Evans, Geoffrey S. (Department: 1725)
Electric heating
Metal heating
By arc
C219S121690, C219S121700, C219S121710, C427S555000
Utility Patent
active
06169266
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a system and method of incorporating graphic and text elements on a surface of an article, and particularly to such a system and method that incorporates the graphic and text elements via etching of a multi-layered coated surface of the article.
2. Background Art
The marking of products using both graphics and text is a common process employed by almost every manufacturer. This marking is used to provide a user with information related to brand names, product specifications, safety warnings, and much more. One common method of marking products is to adhere a pre-printed label having the desired information onto an appropriate surface of the product. Another common method involves painting or inking the information onto a surface of the product using a direct printing process, such as screen process printing (often referred to as silk-screening), pad printing, or some form of lithographic printing. While these latter processes for directly printing information on a product vary greatly in their details, all involve the use of a reusable component that contains the graphics and text to be printed on the product. For example, screen process printing employs a screen having mesh covered openings in the configuration of the desired graphics and text. The screen is placed on the surface to be printed and paint or ink is forced through the mesh covered openings to form the graphics and text on the article.
Both labeling and direct printing processes work well in many applications, but there are drawbacks. For example, labels can be susceptible to peeling or unauthorized removal. In addition, both labels and topically applied painted or inked markings are susceptible to damage and wear. Further, aligning and placing a label on a product or printing markings on a product can be very labor intensive if done by hand, as is often the case.
Another issue concerning the use of labels or the aforementioned direct printing processes to mark products is related to the current trend toward miniaturization, especially of electronic components. As these components get smaller and smaller, the information being marked on the product must fit in an increasingly smaller area. In addition, the amount of information that needs to be displayed on some electronic components is considerable. For example, a PC Card modem used in conjunction with portable or notebook-type personal computers often requires that registration numbers and approval markings of several countries to be placed on the Card's exterior, along with a variety of other information such as safety warnings, patent designations, and bar coding. Placing so much information in such a small area presents a problem for most types of printed labels and direct printing processes, as they cannot provide the resolution necessary to make the graphics and lettering small enough to fit in the aforementioned shrinking areas and still make them recognizable and readable. This resolution problem is especially troublesome with regard to bar coding. It can become impossible to accurately scan a bar code that is made as narrow as the industry standard allows if the edge resolution is not sufficient to clearly define the widths and separation of the lines forming the bar code.
There is also a considerable amount of lead time involved in printing labels or preparing the reusable components needed for the previously-described direct printing methods. Labels must be pre-printed and stocked in sufficient quantities to meet production needs. Similarly, the reusable components used in the direct printing processes have to be pre-fabricated. This lead time requirement presents a problem where the information that is to be placed on a product is subject to last-minute changes. Referring to the example of a PC Card modem, the registration and approval information tends to change often, and as the popularity of such devices increases worldwide, more countries are establishing requirements for their own approval marking to be incorporated. Such last minute changes can make existing stocks of labels or a pre-fabricated direct printing component unusable. Not only does this require scraping the existing labels and components, and incurring the attendant costs, but the lead time to obtain replacements can be unacceptable. Typically, new art must be prepared and approved, proofs generated, and finally the labels or direct printing components produced and delivered. It has been the experience of the assignee hereto that this process can take two weeks in many cases. Delays of this type can severely limit a manufacturers time to market capability. Further, the cost to obtain labels or direct printing components is often quite high. This can contribute to an escalation in the cost of a product. Additionally, the high cost to obtain labels or direct printing components can make it uneconomical to produce small lots of a product with custom markings. As a result, potential customers could be lost that the manufacturer would have otherwise been able to supply.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method of incorporating graphic and text on a surface of an article that is substantially permanent and wear resistant. In addition, the system and method should produce high resolution, readable graphics and text of very small sizes. And finally, the system and method should allow a user to make changes to the markings almost on a real time basis without the need to scrap old labels and direct printing components, or procure new ones.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above-described needs are realized with embodiments of the present invention directed to a system and method for incorporating graphic and text elements on a surface of an article by employing an ablative etching device that is capable of etching the elements into a coating on the article's surface having at least two layers of a material such as paint, ink or the like. The etching device etches into the coating layers to a depth that removes the material of the outermost, exposed layer, but which leaves intact at least a portion of the depth of an underlying layer. As a result the graphics and text take on the color of the particular underlying layer exposed by the etching process. This has considerable advantage when the underlying layer has a color that contrasts the color of the outermost, exposed layer because the graphics and text elements become plainly readable against the contrasting background color of the outermost layer. For example, if the graphics include conventional bar coding, the contrast provided by the layered coating scheme described above facilitates the accurate scanning of the bar codes.
In some embodiments of the present invention, there are just two layers. In another embodiments there are more layers with at least two layers underlying the outermost, exposed layer. Each of these underlying layers has a different color which contrasts that of the outermost layer. In the first embodiment, all the graphics and text will have the same color, i.e. that of the single underlying layer. However, in the embodiment with multiple underlying layers of different colors, the color of the graphic and text elements can vary. This is accomplished by using the etching device to etch down to the underlying layer having the color desired for a particular portion of the graphics and text.
The ablative etching device can take the form of any appropriate apparatus that removes material from the coating layers without making actual contact with the layers. For example, laser etching devices using a laser beam to etch the coating layers is one possibility. In addition, various types of particle beam etching devices, such as those using molecular, ion, electron, or radical beams to etch materials from a surface, could be employed. However, for the purposes of the present invention, a laser etching device is preferred as such devices provide the desired etching resolution, are readily available from commercial sources and are the most
Evans Geoffrey S.
Lyon Richard T.
Lyon, Harr & DeFrank
Xirom, Inc.
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