Claims
- 1. Apparatus for directly printing a layer of radiation curable material onto articles having a cylindrical surface, said apparatus comprising a printing assembly operative for directly printing a layer of said radiation curable material onto the cylindrical surface of said articles, said printing assembly comprising a belt in the shape of a loop having a planar portion for contact with said cylindrical surface of said articles for directly printing said layer of said radiation curable material thereon, a radiation emitting device operative for at least partially curing said layer of radiation curable material applied to said articles, and a turntable for transporting said articles about a path into operative relationship with said planar portion of said belt.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said path comprises a circular path having a tangent parallel to said planar portion of said belt.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said planar portion of said belt is arranged in a vertical plane.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said turntable includes an article inlet and an article outlet, said turntable continuously transporting said articles from said inlet to said outlet past said planar portion of said belt.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a plurality of fixtures for releasing securing said articles thereto, said fixtures operative for rotating said articles when in operative association with said planar portion of said belt.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said belt comprises a continuous belt rotatably supported about a pair of spaced apart journals, said belt rotatable in the opposite direction of rotation of said articles.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said belt comprises a screen.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7, further including at least one squeegee arranged for applying said radiation curable material through said screen onto the surface of said articles.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said squeegee is movable in the same direction as the direction of rotation of said articles.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said turntable transports said articles in a vertical orientation.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said belt comprises a continuous belt rotatably supported about a pair of spaced apart journals.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1, further including at least one squeegee arranged for applying said radiation curable material through said belt onto the surface of said articles, wherein said belt comprises a continuous belt rotatably supported about a pair of spaced apart journals, said belt rotatable in the opposite direction of rotation of said articles.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said belt is arranged at a stationary location adjacent said turntable.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a plurality of belts arranged in spaced apart locations about said turntable.
- 15. Apparatus for directly printing a layer of radiation curable material onto articles having a cylindrical surface, said apparatus comprising a continuous printing belt having a planar portion for directly printing a layer of said radiation curable material onto the cylindrical surface of said articles from said belt when in contact with said articles, a squeegee arranged for applying said radiation curable from said belt onto the surface of said articles, a radiation emitting device operative for at least partially curing said layer of radiation curable material applied to said articles, a plurality of fixtures for releasing securing said articles thereto, said fixtures operative for rotating said articles when in operative association with said planar portion of said belt, and a turntable for transporting said articles in a vertical orientation about a circular path into operative relationship with said planar portion of said belt, said path having a tangent parallel to said planar portion of said belt.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said belt comprises a screen.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said belt is rotatable in the opposite direction of rotation of said articles.
- 18. A process for applying a layer of radiation curable material onto articles having a cylindrical surface, said process comprising providing a belt in the shape of a loop having a planar position for contact with the cylindrical surface of said articles, transporting said articles about a path having a non-linear portion having a tangent parallel to said planar portion of said belt, and applying a layer of radiation curable material onto the cylindrical surface of said articles when in contact with said planar portion of said belt.
- 19. The method of claim 18, further including arranging said planar portion of said belt in a vertical orientation.
- 20. The method of claim 18, further including rotating said articles when in operative association with planar portion of said belt.
- 21. The method of claim 20, further including rotating said belt when applying said layer of radiation curable material simultaneously with rotating said articles.
- 22. The method of claim 21, wherein said belt is rotated in the opposite direction of rotation of said articles.
- 23. The method of claim 18, further including applying a plurality of layers of radiation curable material on the surface of said articles.
- 24. The method of claim 23, further including at least partially curing each of said layers before applying a subsequent layer.
- 25. The method of claim 18, wherein said belt comprises a screen, and said applying a layer of radiation curable material comprises forcing said radiation curable material through said screen using a squeegee.
- 26. The method of claim 25, wherein said squeegee is moved in the opposite direction of rotation as said belt.
- 27. The method of claim 25, wherein said squeegee is moved in the same direction of rotation as said articles.
- 28. The method of claim 25, wherein said squeegee is moved in the opposite direction of rotation of said articles.
- 29. The method of claim 18, further including arranging said belt in the shape of a loop about a pair of spaced apart journals.
- 30. The method of claim 18, further including at least partially curing said layer of radiation curable material by exposure to a radiation source.
- 31. A process for applying a layer of radiation curable material onto articles having a cylindrical surface, said process comprising providing a printing screen in the shape of a continuous loop having a planar position for contact with the cylindrical surface of said articles, transporting said articles about a path having a circular portion having a tangent parallel to said planar portion of said printing screen, applying a layer of radiation curable material onto the cylindrical surface of said articles when in contact with said planar portion of said belt while said belt is being rotated, rotating said articles simultaneously with the rotation of said printing screen while applying said layer of radiation curable material, and at least partially curing said layer of radiation curable material by exposure to a radiation source.
- 32. The method of claim 31, wherein said belt is rotated in the opposite direction of rotation of said articles.
- 33. The method of claim 31, further including forcing said radiation curable material through said printing screen using a squeegee.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/166,811 filed on Oct. 6, 1998, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/062,834 filed on Oct. 17, 1997.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60062834 |
Oct 1997 |
US |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09166811 |
Oct 1998 |
US |
Child |
09832728 |
Apr 2001 |
US |