METHOD FOR DIGITALLY PRINTING ELECTROLUMINESCENT LAMPS

• US 20090252933A1
• Filed: 04/04/2008
• Published: 10/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Jager, Gregory G., Free, M. Benton, Hennen, Daniel W.
• Application Number:
  US12/062,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20090252933A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/195.100
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 7/2483 the supplying means involving no pressure or aspiration, e.g. means involving gravity or capillarity B05B7/2459, B05B7/247 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 3/00 Printing processes to produce particular kinds of printed work, e.g. patterns printing apparatus or machines of special type or for particular purposes B41F17/00; special designs or pictures per se B44F; manufacturing printed circuits using printing techniques H05K3/12 ; manufacturing organic semiconductor devices using printing techniques H10K71/13
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

A printer for digital printing in which ink is deposited in metered amounts on a substrate. The printer includes a wheel rotatable by a shaft of a motor, an idler disposed in a paint reservoir, and a segment of wire disposed around the wheel and the idler. A computer controls movement of the wire by controlling the rotation of the wheel. As the motor rotates the wheel, electroluminescent material contained within the paint reservoir coats the wire and is drawn by the wire in front of an air stream, which pulls the electroluminescent material from the wire and carries it toward the substrate to make an electroluminescent sign.

Claims

1. A method of forming a pattern on a substrate, comprising:

providing a cable;

coating at least a portion of an exterior surface of the cable with an electroluminescent material;

directing an air stream at the at least a portion of the cable coated with the electroluminescent material; and

electronically controlling advancement of the cable through the air stream such that a metered amount of the electroluminescent material is removed from the exterior surface of the cable and is deposited onto the substrate to form a pattern on the substrate.

2. A method of digital printing to form a pattern on a substrate, comprising:

providing at least one paint injector, the at least one paint injector having a wheel rotatable by a shaft of a motor, an idler at least partially disposed in electroluminescent material contained in a reservoir, and a wire-like member disposed at least partially around the wheel and the idler;

advancing the wire-like member with the motor to apply a coating of the electroluminescent material to the wire-like member;

electronically controlling the position of the at least one paint injector relative to the surface and electronically controlling advancement of the wire-like member through a fluid stream; and

directing the fluid stream at the coated portion of the wire-like member, while controlling the position of the paint injector and the advancement of the wire-like member, thereby removing at least a portion of the electroluminescent material from an exterior of the wire-like member and depositing it onto a substrate to form a pattern on the substrate.

3. An apparatus for digitally printing a pattern on a substrate, comprising:

a support structure;

a carriage associated with and movable in at least one direction relative to the support structure;

an ink injector secured to the carriage, the ink injector comprising;

a motor having a rotatable shaft;

a wheel rotatable by the shaft of the motor;

an idler; and

an elongate segment disposed around at least a portion of the wheel and a portion of the idler and advanceable by the wheel, the elongate segment having a quantity of electroluminescent material coated onto at least a portion of the elongate segment;

at least one fluid nozzle positioned and oriented for directing a jet of fluid toward the at least a portion of the elongate segment to remove an amount of the electroluminescent material from the elongate segment and direct the amount toward a surface of a substrate to form a pattern on the substrate; and

a controller electronically connected to the motor for controlling rotation of the wheel and for controlling the position of the carriage relative to the support structure.

4. An apparatus for forming a pattern on a substrate, comprising:

an electronically controllable drive mechanism;

a structure associated with the drive mechanism and movable thereby;

an electroluminescent material supply in communication with the structure for depositing electroluminescent material on at least a portion of the structure; and

at least one fluid nozzle having at least one nozzle orifice positioned and oriented for directing at least one jet of fluid toward at least a portion of the structure to remove an amount of the ink electroluminescent from the structure and direct the amount toward a substrate,

wherein movement of the structure relative to the at least one fluid nozzle substantially controls the amount of the electroluminescent material removed from the structure, and wherein the amount of the electroluminescent material directed to the substrate forms a pattern on the substrate.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the structure comprises a wire.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further including a biasing device associated with the wire to maintain tension in the wire.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, further including a mechanical metering device in contact with the wire for removing an amount of the electroluminescent material from the wire before the wire passes in front of the at least one orifice.

8. An electroluminescent article, comprising:

a substrate; and

an electroluminescent material digitally printed on the substrate in a particular pattern to form an electroluminescent sign.

9. The article of claim 8, wherein the substrate comprises a flexible material.