Cutlery – Perforating or indenting implements – Pointed
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-05
2001-11-06
Payer, Hwei-Slu (Department: 3724)
Cutlery
Perforating or indenting implements
Pointed
C030S365000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06311399
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the release of entrapped air from beneath sheeting materials. More particularly, the present invention provides a tool including a plurality of resiliently biased pins designed to perforate the sheeting, thereby releasing entrapped air.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Graphics are often produced by imaging plastic films using methods such as screen printing, cutting, electrostatic printing, or inkjet printing. These graphics are adhered to surfaces such as cars, buses, trucks, walls, billboards, etc. When plastic film is used for fleet decoration, it is typically applied over the rivets that are used to assemble the trailer or vehicle bodies. To provide a high quality graphic appearance, the film should be intimately adhered to the surface around the rivets. Because the rivets are raised from the surrounding surface, air is trapped under the film around each rivet. The air must be removed from the pocket around the rivet before the film can be completely adhered to the area around the rivet. Typically, the film is perforated using a single needle, often referred to as an air release tool. Often, four or more holes are made in the film immediately surrounding the rivet using the air release tool. This process is time consuming and physically demanding.
Multiple point pins have been developed that will punch multiple holes with a single application of pressure. The pins are arranged in a circular row around a central plunger that is free of pins. In some tools, the plunger may be spring-loaded such that it moves inwardly as pressure is applied to the tool. The plunger may also include a concave depression to facilitate alignment of the tool over a rivet. This tool may reduce the time for perforating the film around rivets as compared to a single-needled tool, but the pins must be carefully aligned such that no single pin strikes the head of the rivet or all the other pins will be prevented from making contact and perforating the film. In addition, these tools are relatively expensive to manufacture and, thus, are not widely available.
A similar tool is also available in which the pins are arranged in a circular row about the central plunger. Both the pins and the plunger are spring-loaded such that both the pins and the plunger can be depressed into the body of the tool. Because only a single circular row of pins is provided, however, alignment of the tool over the rivet is important to ensure proper removal of the air trapped around the rivet.
Other systems that have been considered are pounce wheels—wheels with a row of pins projecting from the outer surface of the wheel. Registration of these wheels is not required, but multiple passes are usually required to provide adequate placement of the holes. Using them typically results in additional unnecessary holes throughout the film because the user typically makes four or more straight rows of perforations around each rivet. Those additional perforations are not required to release the entrapped air, and may adversely affect the appearance and/or durability of the graphic.
In addition to pounce wheels with single rows of pins, multiple pounce wheels mounted on a single axle have been presented. When these devices are advanced over rivets, however, the pins surrounding the rivet are raised and do not form the perforations required to release entrapped air from around the rivet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides tools and methods for releasing air entrapped between sheeting material and a substrate around a rivet. The tools include movable pins biased outwardly by a resilient member. As a result, the pins can retract when encountering a discontinuity on an otherwise planar surface, such as a rivet, while still allowing for perforation of the sheeting around the rivet. In one embodiment, the pins are located in an annular ring such that only rough alignment of the tool over the rivet is required while still ensuring that the sheeting will be perforated around substantially the entire rivet. In another embodiment, the pins are located about a cylindrical tool faces that is rolled over the rivet.
One advantage of the tools and methods of the invention is that, due to the movable pins and their arrangement, the tools need not be accurately registered over a rivet to ensure effective operation as with known tools. In addition, time required to use the tools is reduced, allowing for faster, more efficient application of sheeting materials. Other advantages include the ability to remove unnecessary pins, if desired, as well to replace pins as they become dulled or are broken.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a tool for the application of sheeting to a surface, the tool including a handle; a face; a plurality of pins protruding from the face, each pin of the plurality of pins being mounted for movement along an axis and biased in a first direction along the axis, wherein the plurality of pins are arranged on the face in an annular ring that has an inner radius and an outer radius, wherein at least one of the pins is located on an inner edge of the annular ring and at least one of the pins is located on an outer edge of the annular ring, and further wherein a radial distance between the inner radius and outer radius is greater than the thickness of one of the pins; and at least one resilient member biasing the plurality of pins in the first direction.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a tool for the application of sheeting to a surface, the tool including a handle; a face having a center; a plurality of pins protruding from the face, each pin of the plurality of pins being mounted for movement along an axis and biased in a first direction along the axis, wherein the plurality of pins are arranged on the face in at least two different distances from the center of the face; and at least one resilient member biasing the plurality of pins in the first direction.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a tool for the application of sheeting to a surface, the tool including a cylinder mounted for rotation about an axis, the cylinder having an outer face; a plurality of pins protruding from the outer face of the cylinder, the pins being spaced about a circumference of the cylinder, wherein the pins are mounted for movement along radii extending from the axis, and further wherein each pin of the plurality of pins is biased radially away from the axis; and at least one resilient member biasing the plurality of pins radially away from the axis.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of releasing air entrapped between sheeting material and a substrate by providing a tool having a face; a plurality of pins protruding from the face, each pin of the plurality of pins being mounted for movement along an axis and biased in a first direction along the axis, wherein the plurality of pins are arranged on the face in an annular ring that has an inner radius and an outer radius, wherein at least one of the pins is located on an inner edge of the annular ring and at least one of the pins is located on an outer edge of the annular ring, and further wherein a radial distance between the inner radius and outer radius is greater than the thickness of one of the pins; and at least one resilient member biasing the plurality of pins in the first direction. The method further includes locating the face of the tool over a rivet covered by the sheeting material, wherein at least some of the pins are located directly over the rivet and some of the pins are located around a perimeter of the rivet; and forcing the tool against the sheeting material, wherein the pins located directly over the rivet are moved in a direction opposite the first direction, and wherein at least some of the pins located around the perimeter of the rivet perforate the sheeting material, whereby air entrapped between the sheeting material and the substrate can be released.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of releasing air entrapped between sh
David John R.
Steelman Ronald S.
3M Innovative Properties Company
Bjorkman Dale A.
Christoff James D.
Payer Hwei-Slu
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