Process and apparatus for embossing a film surface
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorDennis Coyle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process is provided for continuously embossing a pattern onto a surface of a film. The process includes heating a resin material to form a flowable melt; discharging the melt into a first nip, wherein the first nip is an area of contact between an embossing roll and a backside roll; pressing the melt against the embossing roll and the backside roll; and forming a self-supporting film with a surface having an embossed pattern thereon. The embossed roll is heated to a temperature greater than a glass transition temperature of the resin whereas the backside roll is heated to a temperature less than the glass transition temperature of the resin.
Claims22
A process for embossing a film, the process comprising:
- heating a resin and forming a flowable melt;
- directing the flowable melt to a first nip;
- embossing a first side of the flowable melt and cooling a second side of the flowable melt to form an embossed film;
- and
- cooling the embossed film.
A process for producing an embossed film, the process comprising:
- heating a resin and forming a flowable melt;
- directing a carrier film and the flowable melt to a first nip;
- embossing a first side of the flowable melt and cooling a second side of the flowable melt in contact with the carrier film to form an embossed film frangibly fused to the carrier film, wherein the second side is textured with a surface texture provided by the carrier film;
- cooling the embossed film;
- and
- separating the carrier film from the embossed film.
An apparatus for producing a film having a surface with an embossed pattern, the apparatus comprising:
- means for heating a resin to form a flowable melt and directing the flowable melt into a first nip formed between an embossing tool and a backside roll;
- means for maintaining the embossing tool at a temperature greater than a glass transition temperature of the resin;
- means for maintaining the backside roll at a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the resin;
- and
- means for pressing the embossing tool and backside roll together to transfer an embossed pattern to a first side of the melt and produce an embossed film.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.