Granted Patent B2

US 8,114,811 · App. 12/270,488 · Granted Feb 14, 2012

Abstract

Claims (25)

1. A printable multilayer label comprising:

a transparent protective layer having a top surface and a bottom surface;

a thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer bonded to the bottom surface of the transparent protective layer wherein the thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer comprises a thermally active dye that changes color when heated; and

wherein the transparent protective layer is of a thickness and weight, which permits sufficient heat to be conducted through it to an area of the thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer to cause the thermally active dye to change color in the area where the heat is conducted.

2. The label of claim 1 , wherein the thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive operable to attach the label to a surface.

3. The label of claim 1 , further comprising a release liner layer releasably bonded to the thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer.

4. The label of claim 1 , wherein the transparent protective layer is comprised of polyester.

5. The label of claim 1 , wherein the transparent protective layer is comprised of polypropylene.

6. The label of claim 1 , wherein the transparent protective layer is comprised of cellulose acetate.

7. A method of printing a label comprising:

applying heat to a portion of a protective layer of the label; and

conducting sufficient heat through the protective layer to an image-forming adhesive layer of the label so that a portion of the image-forming adhesive layer is raised to a temperature where thermally active dye in the portion of the image-forming adhesive layer changes color.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the image-forming adhesive layer is laminated to the protective layer.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the protective layer is transparent allowing the color change of the thermally active dye in the image-forming adhesive layer to be visible through the protective layer.

10. The method of claim 7 , where the image-forming adhesive layer comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the label further comprises a release liner that is releasably bonded to the image-forming adhesive layer.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the protective layer is transparent, thus allowing the color change of the thermally active dye in the image-forming adhesive layer to be visible through the protective layer.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising attaching the label to a surface by peeling off the release liner and placing the exposed image-forming adhesive layer against the surface and applying temporary pressure to the label.

14. A method of manufacture for a printable multilayer sheet, the method comprising:

bonding a transparent layer to a thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer where the thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer comprises thermally active dye that change color when heat is applied and where the transparent layer is of a thickness and weight, which permits sufficient heat to be conducted through it to an area of the thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer to cause the thermally active dye to change color in the area where the heat is conducted.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising releasably bonding a release liner layer to the thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the transparent layer is comprised of polyester.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the transparent layer is comprised of polypropylene.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the transparent layer is comprised of cellulose acetate.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the thermosensitive image-forming adhesive layer is further comprised of a pressure sensitive adhesive.

Assignments (8)