Granted Patent B2

US 12,277,865 · App. 17/432,984 · Granted Apr 15, 2025

Inventors: James Yancy Farrow (Lake St. Louis, MO); Bobby Howard Cardwell (Lake View, SC); Amanda Smart Brown (Saint Louis, MO); Richard Anthony Dill (Penhook, VA); Michael Stephen Powell (Gainesville, FL); Jacob Neal Motley (Danville, VA); Nikolaie Arnold Brown (Spring, TX); Keister Logan Richardson, III (Danville, VA); Igor Leonidovich Zheldakov (Reidsville, NC)

Assignee: Eastman Performance Films, LLC

G09B19/24B26D3/085B26D2007/0012B26D2210/00

Abstract

Claims (40)

1. A method to train an installer to cut a film without damaging an underlying substrate, the method comprising:

applying a stretchable surface-protection film to an electrically-conductive substrate provided with at least one irregularity; and

cutting the surface protection film with an electrically-conductive knife which, when in contact with the electrically-conductive substrate, causes one or more notifications to occur,

wherein the surface protection film comprises:

a stretchable polymer film layer;

an adhesive layer, on a first surface of the stretchable polymer film layer, which causes the surface protection film to adhere to the electrically-conductive layer when applied; and

a stretchable protective layer, applied on a second surface of the stretchable polymer film layer, which second surface is opposite the first surface.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface-protection film is applied to the electrically-conductive substrate such that the thickness of the surface-protection film varies across a surface of the substrate.

3. A method to train an installer to cut a film without damaging an underlying substrate, the method comprising:

applying a stretchable surface-protection film to an electrically-conductive substrate provided with at least one irregularity; and

cutting the surface protection film with an electrically-conductive knife which, when in contact with the electrically-conductive substrate, causes one or more notifications to occur, wherein the surface-protection film is applied to the electrically-conductive substrate such that the tension of the surface-protection film varies across a surface of the substrate.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface-protection film is applied to the electrically-conductive substrate by a method comprising:

applying a slip solution comprising one or more surfactants to the surface protection film, or the electrically-conductive substrate, or both;

contacting the substrate with a tack solution at a first location on the substrate;

contacting the surface-protection film with the first location on the substrate to thereby adhere the film to the electrically-conductive substrate at the first location;

contacting the substrate with a tack solution at a second location on the substrate;

stretching the surface-protection film as needed to conform the surface protection film to the at least one irregularity of the electrically-conductive substrate; and

contacting the surface-protection film with the second location on the substrate to thereby adhere the film to the electrically-conductive substrate at the second location.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the stretching of the surface-protection film causes the thickness of the surface-protection film to vary across a surface of the substrate.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the stretching of the surface-protection film causes the tension of the surface-protection film to vary across a surface of the substrate.

7. A method to train an installer to cut a film without damaging an underlying substrate, the method comprising:

applying a stretchable surface-protection film to an electrically-conductive substrate provided with at least one irregularity; and

cutting the surface protection film with an electrically-conductive knife which, when in contact with the electrically-conductive substrate, causes one or more notifications to occur, wherein the surface-protection film is applied to the electrically-conductive substrate by a method comprising:

contacting the surface-protection film at a first location on the substrate to thereby adhere the film to the electrically-conductive substrate at the first location;

stretching the surface-protection film as needed to conform the surface-protection film to the at least one irregularity of the electrically-conductive substrate; and

contacting the surface-protection film at a second location on the substrate to thereby adhere the film to the electrically-conductive substrate at the second location.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the stretching of the surface-protection film causes the thickness of the surface-protection film to vary across a surface of the substrate.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the stretching of the surface-protection film causes the tension of the surface-protection film to vary across a surface of the substrate.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stretchable polymer film layer comprises one or more of: a polyurethane, a polyester, a vinyl, PVB, PVC, a polyether, or a polycaprolactone.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one irregularity comprises one or more of a bend, a curve, an edge, a ridge, a valley, a void, or a hole.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more notifications comprise one or more of a light, a sound, a vibration, or a mild electrical shock.

13. The of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-conductive knife is provided with a cutting blade, the depth of which is not fixed.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein a depth, a pressure, and/or an angle of the cutting of the surface-protection film with the electrically-conductive knife varies across a surface of the surface-protection film.

15. The method of claim 5 , wherein the thickness of the surface-protection film is less than 80% of the thickness of the unstretched SPF in at least one point on the surface of the substrate.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein a stretchability of the surface-protection film is from about 150% to about 500%.

17. A device for carrying out the method of claim 1 , the device being an open circuit comprising:

an electrically-conductive substrate mounted at a vertical and/or a horizontal angle provided with at least one irregularity;

a power supply, in electrical communication with the electrically-conductive substrate;

one or more notification devices selected from a visual alert, an audible alert, or a tactile alert, in electrical communication with the power supply and the electrically-conductive substrate; and

an electrically-conductive knife, in electrical communication with the one or more notification devices, the power supply, and the electrically-conductive substrate such that, when the knife is brought into contact with the electrically-conductive substrate, the open circuit is closed, causing the one or more notification devices to activate.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (59)