Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Discontinuous or differential coating – impregnation or bond
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-08
2001-11-27
Le, Hoa T. (Department: 1773)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond
C428S207000, C428S328000, C428S330000, C428S331000, C428S402000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322878
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to an object with a decorative surface coating, powdered materials for producing the decorative coating, a kit for performing the method with the powdered materials for producing the decorated surface, and a method for coating the surface of the object with the decorative coating. More particularly, the invention relates to process using non-toxic materials for producing a decorative coating on a surface of an object.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
It is known to produce a decorative pattern on the surface of an object, such as a sheet of paper or the like, by floating one material on the surface of a liquid material and transferring the floated material to the object by contacting a surface of the object with the surface of the liquid material. Typical of the known processes is the floating of an oil based liquid on a water surface; the oil based liquid, being immiscible with the water surface, can stay in a pattern and be transferred in that pattern to an object brought into contact with the water surface. The reverse of that process is also known where water based materials are floated on an oil based surface. It is also known to produce patterns of different colors by using float materials that will not mix on the float surface and will then be transferable as separate colors in some pattern. Variations on these prior art methods are used in xerography and other duplicating processes.
A difficulty with the prior art methods for production methods and hobbycraft activities is the problem of treating spills of the liquid materials and the “clean up” after the coating processes have been completed. Water based materials can usually be passed to conventional drains but there is some difficulty in disposing of oil based materials and more difficulty is encountered in cleaning up spilled oil based materials. In the case of a child's hobbycraft, the use of oil based materials as the transfer material is likely to produce more clean up activity than the hobbycraft activity itself. A further difficulty with prior methods for hobbycraft activities is the mixing of complex formulas for liquid baths that sometimes require hours, and even days, of advanced preparations for the actual hobbycraft activity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention employs the process of transferring patterned designs to the surface of an object by using a colorant material that is immiscible with a liquid material and that is compatible with the surface of the object. The process employs finely divided powder materials that are of a size that the surface tension of the liquid material will float the powder on the liquid without wetting the finely divided powder material due to a surfactant contained in the powder while permitting the powder material to be transferred from the liquid to the surface of an object contacting the liquid. The process employs finely divided powder material potentially consisting of various similar chemical formulations and/or compounds or groups but consisting mostly of compounds consisting essentially of aluminum silicate, hydrous calcium magnesium silicate, aluminum sulfate iron free, aluminum chloride, calcium carbonate, hydrous aluminum silicate and n-octyl alcohol, and other similar materials. The invention herewith disclosed teaches the novel methods of fine powder chalk like materials floated on a liquid bath like water. The size of these chalk like powders is such that the surface tension of the liquid bath and/or the precise formulation chosen allows the chalk like powders to float on the surface of the liquid bath. The powdered material will float on the liquid while permitting the powder material to be transferred.
In one form of the process, the powdered material is floated on the surface of a liquid bath by being blown, shaken, dripped, scraped or by other means placed into contact with the liquid bath. The powdered material may be finely pulverized chalk materials of different particle sizes composed of different formulations and compounds but consisting essentially of chalk material with surfactants and anhydrous or hydrous compounds and floats on the surface of the liquid in a pattern of its application or can be moved on the surface to produce a random pattern. The object that is to be decorated with the powdered material then is placed into contact with the liquid surface and the powdered material is transferred to the surface of the object. The object may then be dried or treated in steps to set the pattern on the object. The advantage of the powdered material process hereafter described is that the liquid bath may be readily available tap water and the powdered material may consist essentially of finely pulverized chalk materials with a selected range of particle sizes and surface characteristics. The further advantage of the use of these materials is that the accidental spill of the liquid or the powder, or the contact of the liquid or the powder with a user does not create a clean-up problem as the materials can be easily removed from a spill or surface without much effort.
The process of the present invention and the objects produced by the process can be accomplished by creating a pattern on an object with a substance that will not accept the transfer material, or by pretreating the object with a substance that will be attractive to the transfer material so that the transfer may be made directly to the object without the use of a liquid bath.
The transfer material may be either a powdered material or an almost liquid suspension of particles in a carrier that will act as a liquid without wetting the particles while being suspended and bouyant on the liquid. This aforementioned transfer material being known to be capable of numerous formulations and compounds but consisting essentially of chalk powders containing several known mutually functioning properties such as surfactants, anhydrous or hydrous chalk powders in suspension within fluid without wetting, or without absorbing or without combining with other powders, depending on the formulation in use. The use of a chalk as the powdered material provides a nontoxic substance for use with simple tap water thus providing a user safe environment.
The objects of the present invention include the production of objects with decorative or informational patterns of a transferred material onto a surface of the object in a simple and safe process.
A further object of the present invention in accord with the preceding object is a process for transferring patterns of one material onto another material in a safe and nonhazardous manner.
Another object of the present invention is the use of a nontoxic material in a pattern transfer process that will permit the method to be used by people of all ages on a wide range of surfaces.
REFERENCES:
patent: Re. 30568 (1980-12-01), Fitton
patent: 3798016 (1974-03-01), Filton
patent: 5182103 (1993-01-01), Nakane et al.
patent: 5879742 (1999-03-01), Voigt et al.
Gart Mark B.
Voigt Lynn S.
Voigt Richard M.
Le Hoa T.
Wasson George W.
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