Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Post imaging processing – Including post developing step
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-14
2002-09-03
Schilling, Richard L. (Department: 1752)
Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th
Post imaging processing
Including post developing step
C430S011000, C430S012000, C430S939000, C040S702000, C040S773000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06444413
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of backing a photograph, a backing material for backing the photograph, and an apparatus for bonding the backing material to the photograph. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of backing a photograph, a backing material for backing the photograph, and an apparatus for bonding the backing material to the photograph, through which the present invention enables a user to fit a photograph into a frame for its display in a condition in which the photograph enables its mirror-finished surface to be smooth, i.e., free from any deformation such as geometrical irregularities, warping, feature or waving and like deformations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although a surface of a photograph is originally flat, there is a fear that the photograph is impaired its appearance as a whole when the photograph uses as its base a plastics substrate instead of a paper substrate. More specifically, due to a difference in appearance in finished surface of an emulsion layer of the photograph between the plastics-substrate photograph and the paper-substrate photograph, the former (i.e., plastics-substrate photograph) is impaired its appearance as a whole even when the surface of the plastics-substrate photograph includes minor geometrical irregularities. This is because the surface of the plastics-substrate photograph is mirror-finished, which makes it possible to accumulate much attention on such geometrical irregularities. Consequently, it is very important for the plastics-substrate photograph to keep its mirror-finished surface in good condition.
In the photograph or work intended for display use, ornamentation use or the like, there is a fear that the work deteriorates its value under the influence of heat radiated from a spot light and the like. This is because the heat increases a surface temperature of the work, and is then transmitted to a backing material of the work to wave or distort the same so that the work loses its smoothness in its display surface.
In order to avoid such trouble, it is so devised that the backing material made of plastics such as vinyl chloride, acrylic resin and the like has its thickness increased up to approximately 2 to 4 mm. Alternatively, the plastics material (i.e., backing material) has its opposite surfaces fixed to aluminum sheets.
However, the number of photographs or works used in an ordinary photograph exhibition ranges from 30 to 50 pieces. Consequently, in case that all the works require their backing materials made of vinyl chloride each having a thickness of 2 mm, the total weight of such backing materials reaches approximately 20 to 34 Kg. This makes it very hard for a female transporter to transport on foot these works from a processing laboratory and the like. Further, in preserving, the works tend to be damaged due to their heavyweight. Such heavy weight also poses another problem lying in the structural strength of their preserving place. Further, since these works are large in thickness, they require a large space in preserving.
Although there is material (for example, such as polycarbonate and the like) which has been rendered resistant to heat by itself, such material is only resistant to heat or only hard to melt. In other words, for example, when a sheet made of such material having a thickness of approximately 0.5 mm is heated in a condition in which the sheet has its peripheral portion fixed, the sheet deforms or waves as is in the case of a sheet made of vinyl chloride. Consequently, at the present time, a vinyl chloride sheet which is cheaper in cost is widely used.
On the other hand, as for methods for applying an adhesive to the photograph backing material in order to bond the photograph to the backing material, there are conventional two methods: a first one, wherein a double-faced adhesive tape is used over the entire surface of the backing material; and, a second one, wherein deposits of an adhesive assuming dot-like shapes are disposed over the entire surface of the backing material, or an adhesive is applied to the entire surface of the backing material. In the first method using the double-faced adhesive tape, air bubbles or adhesive pools are often formed. Further, application of pressure by hands or by means of rollers often cause a layer of the adhesive of the tape to wave. Consequently, in the case of a hard photographic sheet, an immense number of geometrical irregularities are formed in the surface of the photograph, and not absorbed by the sheet, as shown in FIG.
17
(A). Due to this, the photograph has its appearance deteriorated in contrast with the case of a soft photographic paper which is capable of absorbing any adhesive pools formed thereon. In the second method disposing the adhesive deposits over or applying the adhesive to the entire surface of the backing material, the photograph is put on the backing material, and then rubbed by hand or squeezed using a roller to bond the photograph to the backing material. In such a second method, when the adhesive is large in viscosity, it is hard for such adhesive to move evenly. This tends to produce geometrical irregularities in the surface of the photograph, as shown in FIG.
17
(B). Further, the hand's rubbing operation performed in the surface of the photograph tends to damage the photograph's surface. Further, in the other operation using the squeezing roller in order to bond the photograph to the backing material, when dust settles on the surface of the squeezing roller, the photograph's surface tends to be damaged by such dust.
There are two types in the method of disposing the dot-like adhesive deposits. One of these two types in used in bonding a postcard and the like, wherein a soft adhesive is used; a paper substrate and a corresponding photograph thereof are pressed together using the roller in bonding them together. In this first type of the method, there is no fear that an adhesive pool is smashed to produce air bubbles. This makes it possible to bond the photograph over substantially the entire surface thereof, and therefore to provide a sufficient bonding strength. In this case, however, since the adhesive used here is soft and therefore poor in resiliency, the hard photograph is not suitable in bonding since the geometrical irregularities tend to be formed on the surface of the photograph and such formation of the irregularities damages the photograph in appearance, as shown in FIG.
18
(A).
In the second type of the method, even an amateur worker may easily bond the photograph ranging from a quarter-cut size to an uncut size. In this case, in order to reduce the bonding strength of thephotograph, the spacing of the adhesive deposits is increased so that the number of the adhesive deposits is within a range of approximately 180 to approximately 200 per square inch. This makes it possible for the worker to peel and repair a poorly bonded photograph. As shown in FIG.
18
(B), each of the adhesive deposits has a flat top portion with a small center projection. In this case, the flat top portion of the adhesive deposit is relatively wide in surface area to form a convex portion. Such convex portion appears in the surface of the hard photograph to damage the photograph in appearance.
On the other hand, in case that the backing material is provided with an adhesive surface covered with a peelable sheet of paper., the photograph is bonded to such backing material in a conventional method comprising the following steps (1) to (5):
(1) an end portion of the peelable sheet is slightly peeled off to expose a part of the adhesive surface of the backing material;
(2) the photograph is then put on the backing material, and aligned therewith in peripheral position. After that, the worker pushes an end portion of the photograph by his finger to bond the thus pushed end portion of the photograph to the part of the adhesive surf ace of the backing material having been exposed in the preceding step (1);
(3) the photograph is then rolled
Schilling Richard L.
Schmeiser Olsen & Watts
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