Apparatus and method for depositing a substance on articles
First Claim
1. A continuous process for depositing a substance onto an article in a predetermined pattern, the process comprising:
- providing a non-contacting substance deposition device;
providing at least one three-dimensional article which has a surface;
providing a conveyor configured to transport the at least one article in a continuous closed loop path past said substance deposition device at least twice;
creating a continuous re-circulating relative motion between the at least one article and the substance deposition device, such that the at least one article passes by the substance deposition device at least two times; and
during the continuous relative motion, for each of the at least one articles, depositing a substance onto at least a portion of the surface of the article by using the device, wherein in each pass, the deposition device deposits only a portion of the total predetermined pattern to be formed, and the article is passed by the device at least twice to form the predetermined pattern.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatuses and methods for depositing a substance onto an article are disclosed, including apparatuses and methods of directly printing on three-dimensional articles, as well as the articles printed thereby or having a substance deposited thereon. In some cases, the apparatuses and methods involve creating a re-circulating relative motion between at least one article and a substance deposition device. In some embodiments, the articles can be conveyed in a closed loop path past one or more substance deposition devices. The articles can be conveyed past the substance deposition device(s) one or more times, and during each pass by the substance deposition device(s), a portion of a predetermined pattern may be applied to the articles by the substance deposition device(s).
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A continuous process for depositing a substance onto an article in a predetermined pattern, the process comprising:
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providing a non-contacting substance deposition device; providing at least one three-dimensional article which has a surface; providing a conveyor configured to transport the at least one article in a continuous closed loop path past said substance deposition device at least twice; creating a continuous re-circulating relative motion between the at least one article and the substance deposition device, such that the at least one article passes by the substance deposition device at least two times; and during the continuous relative motion, for each of the at least one articles, depositing a substance onto at least a portion of the surface of the article by using the device, wherein in each pass, the deposition device deposits only a portion of the total predetermined pattern to be formed, and the article is passed by the device at least twice to form the predetermined pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A process for depositing a substance onto an article in a predetermined pattern, the process comprising:
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providing a non-contacting substance deposition device; providing at least one three-dimensional article which has a curved surface a portion of which has a first radius; providing a cylindrical conveyor having a second radius that is substantially the same as the first radius, the cylindrical conveyor configured to transport the at least one article in a closed loop path past said substance deposition device at least twice, wherein the curved surface of the three-dimensional article that has the first radius is presented toward the non-contacting substance deposition device and is disposed generally along the second radius of the cylindrical of the conveyor such that the portion of the curved surface having the first radius is located at a constant distance from the deposition device as it is presented to the deposition device; creating a re-circulating relative motion between the at least one article and the substance deposition device, such that the at least one article passes by the substance deposition device at least two times; and during the relative motion, for each of the at least one articles, depositing a substance onto at least a portion of the curved surface of the article by using the device, wherein in each pass, the deposition device deposits only a portion of the total predetermined pattern to be formed, and the article is passed by the device at least twice to form the predetermined pattern.
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Specification