Methods for transferring holographic images into metal surfaces
AssigneeAlcon Inc.
InventorsMark W. Schaefer, Thomas L. Levendusky, Simon Sheu, Robert B. Larsen, Neville C. Whittle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for impressing holographic images or holograms in the surface of metal objects such as aluminum cans, sheet metal or metal foil. The surfaces of metal shims and print rolls bearing holograms are hardened as by coating them with thin amorphous diamond coatings or diamond like coatings so the holograms can be embossed into many thousands of metal objects with clarity and consistency.
Claims23
A method of applying a holographic image to the surface of an article made of hard temper metal comprising:
- providing a photoresist coated plate,
- etching a holographic pattern in the photoresist with said pattern etched to a depth of at least about 2–3 microns in the photoresist,
- growing a mother shim on said photoresist with said pattern in it from said photoresist,
- transferring said pattern from the mother shim to multiple sister shims,
- pressing at least one of said sister shims against a die having a surface hardness of at least about 110–125 kg/mm2 to transfer said pattern from said at least one sister shim to said die surface,
- hardening the surface of said die by a process selected from ion implantation and coating the surface with diamond-like carbon, amorphous diamond coating or carbon nitride to a surface hardness of at least about 545 kg/mm2, and
- providing a metal article to be impressed with said holographic image, said article having a surface hardness of at least about 50 kg/mm2, and
- pressing said die against a surface on said metal article to transfer said holographic image into a surface on said metal article.
A method for producing a die for use in impressing a holographic image many times into strip material or numerous articles comprising:
- providing a photoresist coated plate,
- etching a holographic pattern in the photoresist,
- growing a mother shim with said pattern in it from said plate,
- pressing said mother shim against a sister shim to transfer said pattern to the sister shim, and pressing the sister shim against a metal die to transfer said pattern to said metal die, and coating at least a portion of said die bearing said holographic image with a diamond-like coating.
A method of applying a holographic image to the surface of hard temper aluminum drawn can bodies comprising:
- providing at least one cylindrical print cylinder having a holographic image pressed in its surface around a portion of the circumference of the print cylinder and a smooth surface around the remainder of the circumference of the print cylinder,
- providing a hard temper aluminum can body having a longitudinal axis parallel with the longitudinal axis of said at least print cylinder,
- moving at least one of said at least one print cylinder and said can body toward the other to press said smooth surface on the print cylinder against said can body under substantial interfacial pressure, and
- rotating at least one of said can body and said at least one print cylinder on its longitudinal axis while maintaining said substantial interfacial pressure to transfer said image from said print cylinder to the surface of said can body.
A method of applying a holographic image to the surface of sheet metal comprising:
- supporting said sheet metal against a flat plate member, and passing said sheet metal on said plate member through a bite between a turning print cylinder having a holographic image pressed in its surface and a turning backup roll with the sheet metal product moving against said holographic image on the print cylinder to impress the image into the surface of the sheet metal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.