WO2000063016A1

WO2000063016A1 - A method for producing volume-defining items employing lenticular lens technology

Info

Publication number: WO2000063016A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/010774
Authority: WO
Inventors: Richard Guest
Original assignee: Impact Creative Technologies, Inc.
Priority date: 1999-04-21
Filing date: 2000-04-21
Publication date: 2000-10-26
Also published as: AU4653300A

Abstract

A method for producing volume-defining item (40) using lenticular lens material (31) including providing a thin lens having two opposing surfaces: smooth, flat surface (33) and embossed lenticular surface (32). Image (34) is printed on surface (33). The printed material (31) is laminated to board material (35), such as a food safe material. The printed and laminated material (31) is cut and formed into item (40).

Description

A METHOD FOR PRODUCING VOLUME-DEFINING ITEMS EMPLOYING LENTICULAR LENS TECHNOLOGY

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application Serial No. 09/132,733, filed August 12, 1998.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method for producing volume-defining items having lenticular lens technology to provide images on the produced items.

In marketing and selling a product, it is often advantageous to impart an appealing, aesthetic appearance to the product to improve its desirability in the eyes of a consumer. Volume-defining items such as, for example, food containers provided for use in a typical fast-food setting, may possess images for advertising, movie promotions, games of chance, pictures, cartoons, or other similar images. Conventional packaging and providing of images on a volume-defining item are accomplished by printing an image on a sheet-like material and then wrapping and adhering the printed sheet-like material to conform to the shape of a volume-defining item. This method presents difficulty when producing items having a volume or irregular contours not readily suitable for receiving a two-dimensional printed sheet and also requires a two- step process.

In addition, typical packaging provides printing stationary, two- dimensional information and pictures on wrappers, boxes, containers, cups, and the like. Lenticular lens technology provides a means for producing an attractive, aesthetic display with enhanced marketing and advertising appeal. See, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 5,695,346. It has been known to make lenticular lenses by forming them through an extrusion process or by employing a colander for larger size lenses or injection molding. Such systems provide a lenticular lens on one surface of the plastic film and a flat surface on the other. It has also been known to apply interlaced preprinted images on paper backing or other material and with great precision to secure the same to the film flat surface to thereby establish a unitary article having the image and the lenticular lens with the relative lens viewing positions providing the desired images. The printing of items utilizing lenticular lens technology includes methods such as sheet fed offset (lithographic), web fed offset (lithographic), web fed rotary letterpress, web fed roto-gravure, and sheet fed screen printing. These types of printing require a multi-step method before items can be provided with an image and finished as a usable product. These state of the art methods may include providing a transparent web to an in-line printing process which has a flat side and a lenticular side; transporting and printing an image on the flat surface of the transparent web with a printing unit; applying an opaque coating to that flat surface; applying an opaque web material over the opaque coating; setting the image on the flat surface with a heat setting device; and then subsequently cutting and stacking the material for further production use. These methods are intended to create an illusion of depth for a viewer of the image seen on the flat surface of the transparent web initially provided. See, e.g.,

U.S. Patent No. 5,560,799.

It has generally been known to print an image on a basic, two- dimensional sheet and subsequently adhere and affix this sheet to the surface of a volume-defining item. Although the presently known methods often include extra, non-value-added steps in producing volume-defining items, such as disposable cups, containing lenticular lens technology. These methods also do not specify preferable thickness tolerances for application of additional materials to lenticular webs. Paper stock, for example, may be additionally combined with the lenticular web.

What is lacking in the art, therefore, is an improved method for producing particular items having lenticular lens material. The improved method is directed to accomplishing these tasks with fewer non- value-added process steps than current processes which print images for application to items, such as disposable cups, for example, utilizing lenticular lens technology. The improved method also adheres to more defined tolerances which are preferable in the production of consumable or disposable volume-defining items.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has met or exceeded the above-mentioned needs, as well as others.

A method is provided for producing items utilizing lenticular lens technology. The method combines in a novel way a number of steps which are conventional and well known in the art to form volume-defining items using lenticular lens technology. The method starts by providing a thin lens having an embossed lenticular surface on a first side and a flat surface on an opposing side. Next, the method includes printing an image on the flat surface of the thin lens to provide a printed thin lens which is then laminated to a board material, such as paper stock used in disposable cups. Finally, the printed and laminated thin lens produced in the previous step is cut into a preselected shape or format and then formed into its ultimate embodiment as a volume-defining item utilizing lenticular lens technology.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a functional process flow diagram depicting the process steps involved in the method of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of a blank cut into a predetermined shape by a step of the method of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2; and,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a volume-defining item produced by the method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As used herein, the terms "web" or "in-web" refer to materials applied as rolls of material instead of in sheets of material. The term "volume-defining" is broadly defined as the quality of embodying at least a portion of a volume. Thus, the term "volume-defining items" may include, but is not limited to, items such as disposable drinking cups, closed and open-ended boxes, food containers, spheres, pyramids, or other shapes which are fundamentally characterized as enclosing at least a portion of a volume.

Referring now to Figure 4, an embodiment of the method of the present invention is provided. The thin lens may be extruded 1 by a conventional process such as that of VPI of Shaboygan Falls, Wisconsin. The thin lens may be embossed 2, substantially simultaneously with step 1, thereby providing a lenticular surface such as by the conventional process of VPI, such as with an engraved roller. Optionally, the embossing operation 2 may be performed as a secondary, off-line operation subsequent to the extruding operation 1. The extruded thin lens is provided in web to permit application of web printing technologies. The initial thin lens should also possess an opposing flat surface suitable for receiving a printed image. At this stage in the method, the thin lens with its embossed lenticular surface has a thickness preferably of from about 0.005 to 0.012 inches. Next, this thin lens is wound 3 into web, thereby forming a preloaded web of embossed plastic material prepared for printing. The winding process 3 is provided by state-of-the-art apparatus or methods such as by a conventional roller unit.

Referring to Figure 1, the preloaded web of embossed plastic material is loaded 4 for lens print and a printing press is used to print 5 an image or graphics onto the flat surface of the preloaded web of embossed plastic material, thereby producing a printed thin lens. The printed image may be any variety of image or images having an appealing appearance as embodied in an item possessing the image. By way of example, and in the context of a cup, a racing car may be printed onto the thin lens in various stages of change. This would provide an illusion of movement when the cup is turned by a consumer such that the racing car appears to move across the outside surface of the cup. Other examples might envision Santa Claus drinking a beverage or the image of a popular sports figure alternated with his or her sports statistics. Printing 5 of the thin lens is accomplished by utilizing a conventional web offset (lithographic) in one embodiment by employing plates during the printing process.

Referring to Figure 1 , in another embodiment, printing 5 may also be accomplished by a conventional web rotogravure technology employing engraved cylinders. If one elects to print the image onto the thin lens using web offset technology, the printing step 5 is performed on a wide web offset, with a preferable width of from about 8 to 50 inches, and is performed as a single operation. If one elects to print the image onto the thin lens using web roto-gravure technology, the printing step 5 is performed on a wide web roto-gravure printing press that may possess in-line laminating functionality and possibly may have in-line die cutting capabilities. This in-line feature lends a more efficient and cost effective approach to performing the method of the present invention. The printing press of this embodiment is preferably from about 32 to 40 inches wide. In addition, the printing step 5 may be performed on a commercial sheet fed offset printing press. The preferable width of this sheet fed offset printing press is from about 20 to 40 inches. Once the image is printed, in step 6 the printed thin lens is optionally rewound into web format or maintained in-line in sheet format.

Referring again to Figure 1 , next the method provides for laminating 7 the printed thin lens to a board material which is preferably a paper stock such as a treated, food safe board material. Although the board material may be a multitude of other materials, such as the plastic used in a credit card, for example. The laminating step 7 may be accomplished by any well known method for heat or adhesive conjoining of web to web, sheet to web, or sheet to sheet materials. The lamination 7 may be performed as part of an in-line continuous manufacturing process or as part of an offline sub-process of the main process flow. The board material is optionally provided in either web or sheet format. The thickness of this board material is preferably from about 0.005 inches to about 0.015 inches. Thus, the laminating 7 of the printed thin lens to the board material may combine a web of the printed lens married to either a sheet or a web of the paper stock material.

Referring again to the method embodied in Figure 1 , the printed and laminated lens formed in the previous step 7 preferably has a combined thickness, of printed and laminated thin lens and board material, from about 0.010 inches to about

0.03 inches. The web of a board material may be food safe, treated board material such as that provided by a combination of a board and a coating. The board may also be provided as a conventional product of International Paper. The coating, which is provided to treat the board to make it food safe, may be applied by a method such as that used by RJR Packaging of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a preselected shape is determined 8 and the printed and laminated thin lens is cut 9 according to this preselected shape. This cutting step 9 is preferably effected by a conventional process such as by die cutting. The preselected shape will be user defined and depend primarily on the ultimate item desired to be formed by the one employing this method. If a disposable cup is the ultimate item to be formed, for example, then a shape 20 similar to that embodied in the shape of Figure 2 will be cut by the cutting step 9 of this method. Other volume- defining items, such as lenticular disposable french fry containers, for example, are also contemplated by the scope of this invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the preselected shape which is cut as a result of the previous step 9 is next formed 10 into a volume-defining item, such as a disposable cup, for example, which includes the printed and laminated thin lens containing a particular and desirable image. The forming process 10 may be performed by utilizing a conventional heat seal process to seal the edges of the preselected shape and to form the disposable cup or other product. A conventional forming process 10 may be utilized such as that provided by Imperial Bondware of Shelbyville, Illinois.

Additionally, Figure 3 provides a cross-sectional view of a portion of the shape 20 provided by the view at 3-3 of Figure 2. The thin lens 31 is embodied with a lenticular surface 32 and a flat surface 33. Printing of an image 34 is performed on the flat surface 33 in preparation to be viewed through the lenticular surface 32. Laminating a board material 35 to the flat surface 33 over the printed image 34 is performed to provide an additional layer to the cross-section prior to the cutting and forming processes.

In further examining another aspect of the invention in Figure 4, a disposable cup 40 formed by the methods of the present invention is provided. This disposable cup 40, in accordance with the method of the present invention, is embodied as a printed and laminated thin lens which has been cut and formed into a disposable cup 40 having a lenticular image or images 41 formed thereon.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alterations to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting after the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for producing a volume-defining item having lenticular lens material comprising: providing a thin lens having an embossed lenticular surface and a flat surface; printing an image on said flat surface of said thin lens using a sheet fed offset printing press to provide a printed thin lens; laminating said printed thin lens to a board material to provide a printed and laminated thin lens; cutting said printed and laminated thin lens to form a blank having a preselected shape; and, forming said blank into said volume-defining item determined by said preselected shape.

2. The method of Claim 1 , further comprising extruding a thin lens prior to said providing a thin lens.

3. The method of Claim 1 , further comprising providing said thin lens with a thickness of from about 0.005 to 0.012 inches.

4. The method of Claim 1 , further comprising providing said printed thin lens with a thickness from about 0.005 to 0.012 inches.

5. The method of Claim 1, further comprising providing said sheet fed offset printing press with a width of at least about 20 inches.

6. The method of Claim 1 , further comprising providing said board material as a food safe, treated board material.

7. The method of Claim 1, further comprising providing said printed and laminated thin lens with a thickness from about 0.010 inches to 0.03 inches.

8. The method of Claim 1, wherein said cutting comprises using a die for cutting.

9. The method of Claim 1, further comprising providing said volume- defining item as a disposable cup.

10. A volume-defining item formed in accordance with the method of Claim 1.

11. A disposable cup formed in accordance with the method of Claim 10.