GB2123198A

GB2123198A - Display panels

Info

Publication number: GB2123198A
Application number: GB08315330A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Charles Edward Dobson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-06-12
Filing date: 1983-06-03
Publication date: 1984-01-25
Also published as: AU1563883A; ES8501149A1; EP0097010A3; ZA834102B; GB8315330D0; ES523443A0; EP0097010A2

Abstract

A rigid transparent panel 10 has a peelable protective layer 12 on one side and a contact adhesive 16 on the other side covered with a peelable protective sheet 18. The protective sheet 18 is peeled back from one edge and an indicia sheet 24 attached. Then they are fed through a nip between rollers 26, 28, peeling the protective sheet 18 back as it advances. The indicia layer is thus laminated to the panel, the indicia facing the panel and being visible therethrough. <IMAGE>

Description

POOR QUALITY

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SPECIFICATION Display panels

5 This invention relates to the production .of display materials, and is particularly concerned with im- ■ proved methods of preparing and presenting display material in sheet form.

Sheet display material can be of various types. For 10 example, it may.take the form of printed paper or fabric, photographs or transparencies. Many of such sheet materials are unsuitable for direct exposure to the surrounding environment, for example because of the danger of damage, and accordingly it is 15 desirable to protect the sheet material by means of a transparent covering, which could be glass, but more usually is transparent plastics; especially acrylic sheet such as Perspex (Trade Mark). If the display sheet is merely supported behind the covering 20 panel, the covering panel merely has a protective effect, and does not contribute greatly towards the visual effect of the display. However, if the display sheet is laminated to the reverse side of the protecting panel, there is a considerable enhancement of 25 the visual effect. The present invention is directed to a method of effecting such lamination, and to display products produced thereby.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a display 30 panel using a substantially rigid transparent panel to ■ one surface of which a contact adhesive has been applied, the surface of the adhesive remote from the panel being covered by a protective sheet which is peelable therefrom so as to leave the contact 35 adhesive on the panel; the method comprising peeling the protective sheet from the adhesive and applying to the exposed adhesive a flexible sheet carrying the display indicia, so that the display • indicia are in contact with the adhesive. There can 40 then optionally be applied to the exposed reverse side of the indicia sheet a protective backing layer. This backing layer may take the form of a sheet of material carrying*a contact adhesive on one surface which is brought into contact with the exposed 45 reverse side of the indicia sheet. If the indicia sheet is transparent, the backing sheet may be adapted to provide a specific visual effect when the indicia sheet is viewed through the transparent panel. For example/the backing sheet may be of translucent material 50 so that the finished panel can be mounted in a light box to produce an illuminated sign. Alternatively or additionally the backing can be coloured so as to provide a coloured background to the transparency. Instead of a coloured backing sheet, a coloured 55 backing may be applied by means of paint.

In another aspect the present invention provides a substantially rigid transparent panel having a contact adhesive applied to one face thereof, the surface of the contact adhesive remote from the panel being 60 covered with a protective sheet which is peelable therefrom leaving the adhesive on the panel.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, various embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying draw-65 ings, which show in fragmentary side view four successive stages in the production of a typical display panel.

• Referring to the drawings, and firstly to Figure 1; a substantially rigid transparent acrylic plastics panel 10 is protected on one surface by a layer of plastics film 12 laminated to it by a contact adhesive; the adhesive being selected so that the film 12 can be peeled from the panel 10, taking the adhesive with it, and leaving a clean surface to the panel 10. The opposite surface of the panel 10 is to have a layer of contact adhesive applied to it. This is effected by means of a web 14, of a type which is commercially available, and comprises a double-sided contact adhesive layer 16 laminated on one side to a plastics film 18 and on the other side to a silicon treated paper 20. Both the plastics film 18 and the paper 20 are peelable from the adhesive layer 16, but the silicon treatment of the paper layer causes the paper to be more easily peelable from the adhesive layer. Thus, the paper layer is drawn away from the adhesive layer 16 as the web is passed around a rubber roller 22. This roller co-operates with another roller (not shown) to provide a nip, and the transparent panel 10 is introduced into this nip so that its surface remote from the protective film 12 contacts the adhesive layer 16, thereby causing the adhesive layer 16 and film layer 18 to be laminated to the transparent panel.

The laminated product resulting from the step shown in Figure 1 can then be handled, transported and stored until required for use. When that time comes, the next stage shown in Figure 2 takes place. First of all, the protective film layer 18 is peeled back from one edge of the panel 10 exposing a marginal portion of the adhesive layer 16. A sheet 24 carrying the display indicia is then carefully positioned so that a marginal portion of the sheet 24 overlies the exposed marginal portion of the adhesive 16, and the edge of the sheet is pressed onto the adhesive. Then the panel 10, with the sheet 24 marginally attached, is fed into a nip between a roller 26, preferably of steel but it could be rubber, and a rubber roller 28; these rollers being driven at a suitable speed by an electric motor. The edge at which the sheet 24 is initially adhered to the panel 10 enters the nip first, and as the rollers draw the panel and sheet through the nip the protective film layer 18 is drawn away from.the adhesive layer 16, until finally the panel passes completely through the nip and the sheet 24 is fully laminated to the panel 10. The display indicia on the sheet 24 face the panel 10, and are therefore visible through the panel when the protective film 12 is removed. This protective film 12 can be removed at any desired time; even before the laminating process. More likely, however, it will be left in place until the panel is ready for installation at the desired display site, so as to provide maximum protection.

The laminated product resulting from the step of Figure 2 can be used as it is, subject to the removal of the protective film 12. Preferably, however, it goes through a further laminating process as shown in Figure 3. In this example, a composite sheet 30 comprises a backing layer 32, for example of plastics film, carrying a contact adhesive layer 34, and a

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protective layer 36 overlies the adhesive layer 34 on the side remote from the backing layer 32, and as with the layer 20 shown in Figure 1 it is more readily peelable from the adhesive layer 34 than is the 5 backing layer 32. The protective layer 36 is peeled back along one edge, and the exposed edge portion of the adhesive layer 34 is applied to an edge of the reverse surface of the indicia sheet 24. Then the panel 12 is fed through the nip between the rollers 10 26,28 in the same manner as in Figure 2, the layer 36 being withdrawn from the adhesive layer 34 as the panel advances through the rollers.

The result is a display panel as shown in Figure 4, which comprises a rigid transparent panel 10 (in this 15 case shown with the protective layer 12 removed) to which an indicia sheet 24 is laminated by means of a contact adhesive layer 16 so that the indicia are visible through the panel, the reverse side of the indicia sheet being protected by means of a backing 20 layer 32 laminated thereto by means of a contact adhesive layer 34.

In passing through the rollers 26,28, the steel roller 28 lies adjacent the panel 10 (or its protective layer 12), while the rubber roller 26 bears upon the sheet 25 or film which is being laminated to other side of the panel. In this way a lamination substantially free from noticeable air pockets can be produced.

The backing film 24 can conveniently be of polyvinyl chloride or other opaque plastics film. If 30 the indicia 24 is transparent or translucent, the backing sheet will be visible through it, and hence the colour of the backing sheet can be selected so as to produce a desired visual effect. In some cases, however, it may be intended that the transparent 35 indicia sheet should be mounted in a light box so as to produce an illuminated sign. In such a case, the

Peking sheet, if provided, must obviously be able to transmit that light. For this purpose, it is convenient if the backing sheet is of translucent material so as to 40 transmit light while obscuring details of the interior of the light box, and also serving to diffuse the light more evenly.

In another modification, after the lamination step of Figure 2, if the indicia sheet 24 is of transparent or 45 translucent material a layer of paint can be applied to its reverse surface, for example by spray coating, so that the colour of the paint is visible as a backing to the indicia. The panel thus prepared can be used as it is, but peferably it undergoes a further lamination 50 step as in Figure 3 so as to provide a protective backing film 32 over the paint layer. The application of paint, Especially by spraying, can be used to give very striking effects, particularly where different colours are applied in different areas. 55 The present invention includes display panels produced by the foregoing methods, or having an equivalent structure. The present invention has been found to produce panels of remarkably high quality and striking visual appearance in a particularly easy 60 manner which does not require expensive machinery or highly skilled labour. Thus, a user purchasing the laminated sheet resulting from the step shown in Figure 1 can apply his own indicia using a relatively expensive steel/rubber roller mechanism, and with a 65 little care and practice he should be able to produce near prefect results every time.

Claims

1. A method of prpducing a display panel using a substantially rigid transparent panel to one surface of which a contact adhesive has been applied, the surface of the adhesive remote from the panel being covered by a protective sheet which is peelable therefrom so as to leave the contact adhesive on the panel; the method comprising peeling the protective sheet from the adhesive and applying to the exposed adhesive a flexible sheet carrying the display indicia, so that the display indicia are in contact with the adhesive.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein a protective backing layer is then applied to the exposed reverse side of the indicia sheet,

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the backing layer takes the form of a sheet of material carrying a contact adhesive on one syrface which is brought into contact with the exposed reverse side of the indicia sheet.

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the protective sheet is peeled back from one edge of the panel exposing a marginal portion of the adhesive, the indicia sheet is positioned so that a marginal portion thereof overlies the exposed marginal portion of the adhesive and the two are then pressed together, then the panel with the indicia sheet thus marginally attached is fed into a nip between a pair of rollers, the edge at which the indicia sheet is initially adhered to the panel entering the nip first, and as the panel and indicia sheet pass through the nip the protective film layer is drawn away from the adhesive layer until finally the panel passes completely through the nip and the indicia sheet is fully laminated to the panel.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein the nip is provided by a hard roller and a soft roller, the hard roller contacting the panel on the side remote from the indicia sheet.

6. A method according to claim 4 or claim 5 wherein the transparent panel carries on its surface remote from the indicia sheet a protective layer peelably secured thereto by a contact adhesive which peels away from the protective layer leaving a clean face to the transparent panel.

7. A substantially rigid transparent panel having a contact adhesive applied to one face thereof, the surface of the contact adhesive remote from the panel being covered with a protective sheet which is peelable therefrom leaving the adhesive on the panel.

8. A panel according to claim 7 having a protective layer peelably secured to its other face by a contact adhesive which peels away with the protective layer leaving a clean face to the transparent panel.

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9. A method of producing a display panel substantially as described herein with reference to the dravvingr..

10. A panel according to claim 7, substantially as 5 described herein with reference to the drawings.

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationary Office, by Croydon Printing Company Limited, Croydon, Surrey, 1984.

Published by The Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A1 AY, from which copies may be obtained.