Granted Patent B2

US 12,600,080 · App. 17/347,008 · Granted Apr 14, 2026

Inventors: Dave Savino (Glen Burnie, MD); Owen McGovern (Columbia, MD); Gillian Ross (Ellicott City, MD); Stephen Mynott (Towson, MD); Paul Weedlun (Fulton, MD)

Assignee: Avery Dennison Retail Information Services LLC

B29C59/026B29C59/005B29C65/48B29C66/727B29C66/7392B41M5/0047B41M5/0064B41M7/0027B29C2795/002B29K2101/12B29K2675/00B29L2031/722

Abstract

Claims (33)

1 . A sheet or roll-fed process to create a printed flexible and stretchable heat transfer emblem having an embossed relief pattern on one side, comprising the steps of:

coating a stretchable thermo-plastic film with an ink receptive layer;

printing on one side of the stretchable thermo-plastic film using a digital printer to define printed areas and unprinted areas, the thermo-plastic film comprising a hot melt adhesive;

using a sheet or roll-fed process, applying a polymeric protective layer over the printed side of the thermo-plastic film;

using a sheet or roll-fed process, adhering the unprinted side of said thermo-plastic film to a moldable foam substrate by an adhesive-backing on one side of said moldable foam substrate to thereby produce a multi-layer substrate, the adhesive backing comprising a thermoplastic adhesive, wherein the thermo-plastic film comprises layers having graduated melt temperatures such that a side of the thermo- plastic film facing the ink receptive layer melts at a higher temperature than a side of the thermo-plastic film facing the moldable foam substrate;

heating the multi-layer substrate to a compression temperature that allows the polymeric foam to remain compressed after molding;

embossing the multi-layer substrate by placing the printed thermo-plastic film against a mold having a lower temperature than the heated moldable substrate and a surface relief profile until the multi- layer substrate permanently retains the relief profile with profile changes of up to 6 mm and profile details of at least 0.05 mm, the molded multi-layer substrate being capable of elastic elongation in one direction within a range of 2% to 75%;

removing the embossed multi-layer substrate from the mold; and

trimming the embossed multi-layer substrate to provide said stretchable emblem having an embossed relief pattern on one side.

2 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said step of printing on one side of said thermo-plastic film comprises using an inkjet printer.

3 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said step of printing on one side of said thermo-plastic film comprises using a laser printer.

4 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said step of printing on one side of said thermo-plastic film comprises printing on said ink receptive coating.

5 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said thermo-plastic film comprises polyamide, polyurethane or polyolefin configured to bond to foam.

6 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said thermo-plastic film has a first melt point within a range of between 120 C and 180 C.

7 . The process of claim 6 , wherein said adhesive-backing on said moldable foam substrate has a second melt point within a range of between 90 C and 160 C.

8 . The process of claim 6 , wherein said adhesive-backing on said moldable foam substrate has a second melt point within a range of between 100 C and 160 C.

9 . The process of claim 8 , wherein said moldable foam substrate has a third melt point within a range of between 140 C and 200 C.

10 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said moldable foam substrate has a third melt point within a range of between 140 C and 200 C.

11 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said step of embossing the multi-layer substrate comprises placing the printed thermo-plastic film against a mold at room temperature.

12 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said moldable foam substrate comprises thermal formable polyurethane foam.

13 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said moldable foam substrate comprises any one from among a group consisting of open cell polyurethane foam, polyester foam, polyamide foam, acrylic foam, or EVA foams.

14 . The process of claim 1 , wherein said moldable foam substrate is less than or equal to 6 mm thick.

15 . A sheet or roll-fed process to create printed flexible and stretchable heat transfer emblem having a three-dimensional surface relief profile, comprising:

coating a thermo-plastic film with an ink receptive layer;

printing onto one side of the thermo-plastic film to define printed areas and unprinted areas, the thermo-plastic film comprising a hot melt adhesive;

using a sheet or roll-fed process, applying a polymeric protective layer over the printed side of the thermo-plastic film;

using a sheet or roll-fed process, adhering the thermo-plastic film to an adhesive-backed moldable substrate to form a multi-layer substrate, the adhesive backing comprising a thermoplastic adhesive, wherein the thermo-plastic film comprises layers having graduated melt temperatures such that a side of the thermo-plastic film facing the ink receptive layer melts at a higher temperature than a side of the thermo-plastic film facing the moldable foam substrate;

heating the multi-layer substrate to a compression temperature at which the moldable substrate can permanently compress;

embossing the multi-layer substrate using a mold having a lower temperature than the heated moldable substrate and a relief profile until the moldable multi-layer substrate takes on the relief profile with profile changes of up to 6 mm and profile details of at least 0.05 mm, the molded multi-layer substrate being capable of elastic elongation in one direction within a range of 2% to 75%;

removing the molded multi-layer substrate from the mold;

cutting the molded multi-layer sub in selected areas;

removing the cut/selected areas to produce a flexible and stretchable emblem having a three- dimensional relief profile on one side.

16 . The process of claim 15 , wherein said thermo-plastic film comprises TiO 2 .

Assignments (3)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (27)