Method and apparatus for making lenticular plastics

Abstract

A method and apparatus for producing a lenticular plastic sheet from a plastic sheet having a first surface and an opposite second surface employs a first chill roller having an outer surface, a patterned chill roller having an outer surface defining a first lenticular pattern thereon, disposed adjacent and parallel to the first chill roller so as to define a first nip therebetween and a second chill roller, having an outer surface and being spaced apart from the first chill roller and disposed adjacent and parallel to the patterned chill roller so as to form a second nip therebetween. A plastic sheet is extruded into the first nip so that the plastic sheet is molten as it passes into the first nip and so that the first surface of the plastic sheet is in contact with the first lenticular pattern, thereby facilitating the formation of a second lenticular pattern on the first surface. The second lenticular pattern is complimentary in shape to the first lenticular pattern. A belt is disposed about the first chill roller and the second chill roller that applies force to the second surface of plastic sheet in the direction of the patterned chill roller, thereby maintaining the first surface in contact with the first lenticular pattern on the patterned chill roller to inhibit distortion of the second lenticular pattern on the first surface of the plastic sheet as the plastic sheet cools from being in a molten state to a non-molten state.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.