Patent Application
20230255382
This invention relates generally to chair mats, and more particularly to a glass chair mat and a method of printing on a glass chair mat.
Chair mats for protecting a floor from wear and tear from an office chair, typically behind a desk, are well known. There are many patents on PVC, vinyl, or plastic chair mats, and these patents teach various methods of printing on the PVC material during manufacture for providing decorative features, corporate logos, and other desired designs, and many examples of these are described below. It is not known, however, to print on glass chair mats, due to the differences in the materials used and the methods of manufacture of such chair mats.
Robbins, III, U.S. Pat. No. 7,029,743, is an example of a PVC desk chair mat that includes an image formed within an area of the lower surface of the mat. The mat is formed of PVC, polypropylene, or vinyl, and the image is formed by silk screening, application of a decal, and molding the image into the surface.
Ney, U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,592, is another example of a PVC desk chair mat that is made of multiple layers, a mat base for contact with the floor, and a graphic layer having a decorative pattern. The graphic layer is connected with the mat base via a first adhesive material disposed. The floor mat also includes a transparent upper protective layer for contact by the chair. A second adhesive material is disposed between and interconnects the upper protective layer and the graphic layer. Because the graphic layer covers the mat base, the mat base may be made from regrind or reprocessed plastic material. The graphic layer is visible through the transparent protective layer.
Nelson, U.S. 2009/0004443, teaches a similar multi-layer plastic chair mat which includes a first decorative layer composed of melamine-formaldehyde impregnated decorative sheet. The chair mat also includes a central core layer that includes at least one resin impregnated sheet. The first decorative layer is coupled to the top first surface of the central core layer. The chair mat also includes a second decorative layer coupled to the bottom second surface of the central core layer, the second decorative layer being composed of a melamine-formaldehyde impregnated decorative sheet.
Aubin, U.S. 2006/0269726, teaches a protective mat having a body portion with an upper and lower surface, and further having a graphic image screen printed on the lower surface of the body such that the image is visible through the upper surface of the mat. The mat is made of vinyl, polyvinyl chloride, or propylene.
Grace-Moore, U.S. 2005/0129916, teaches a protective mat that has a plastic substrate layer (e.g., PVC, etc.), and a decorative material disposed on the substrate layer, and a seal layer disposed on the decorative material opposite the substrate layer. The decorative layer may be formed of paint, pencil, plastic, ink, paper, charcoal, polyurethane, crayon, glue, inlaid objects, and combinations thereof.
While printing on PVC, plastic, or vinyl materials is well known, it is most notably that none of these processes are used on glass chair mats. The only reference known at this time merely teaches etching and similar processes performed directly to the glass and prior to tempering. This reference, James, U.S. Pat. No. 8,168,286, teaches a glass chair mat wherein the patent notes (col 2, lines 54-67) that “prior to tempering, glass may be altered to enhance appeal and aesthetics. For example, while the glass is molten various metal oxides, sulfides, and other compounds may be added to color or stain the glass. Before the glass chair mat is tempered, the glass may be frosted to create an opaque appearance, or etched with designs or texture. Once tempered, the glass chair mat resists alteration thus coloring, cutting, etching, polishing, etc., should be finished before tempering. Alternatively, the . . . mat may be left transparent.”
The prior art teaches printing on plastic, PVC, or vinyl chair mats. However, the prior art does not teach digital printing on glass chair mats. Rather, the prior art teaches away from this form of printing on glass chair mats. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides a glass chair mat formed from a substantially planar sheet of tempered glass having a thickness of between ⅛ to 1 inch, wherein an area of the glass chair mat is selected to cover an area that is greater than an area between the legs of the office chair, such that all legs of the office chair can rest upon the glass chair mat at the same time. The glass chair may further includes a printed layer disposed over at least part of the glass chair mat.
In one embodiment, the glass chair mat of includes a printed layer that is formed by digital UV printing. In one embodiment, the glass chair mat of includes a printed layer that is formed by digital ceramic printing.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a glass chair mat having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide a glass chair mat that includes desirably printed images covering at least some of the glass chair mat.
A further objective is to provide a glass chair mat having images that resist scratching, wear, and damage during use.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention.
The above-described drawing figures illustrate the invention, a glass chair mat that includes a digital printed layer.
As shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the printed layer 40 is formed by digital ceramic printing. In production, a digital printer, in this embodiment a flatbed digital printer, applies a digital ceramic ink (which includes ceramic frit and inorganic pigments) directly to a sheet of untampered glass. Drop fixation may be used to prevent dot gain, and an inline dryer may be used. The glass is then tempered, resulting in the sheet of tempered glass 20 with the printed layer 40 integrally formed. In the embodiment of
Since the organic ink may be more easily scratched, in this embodiment it is formed on the bottom surface 24, as shown in
The title of the present application, and the claims presented, do not limit what may be claimed in the future, based upon and supported by the present application. Furthermore, any features shown in any of the drawings may be combined with any features from any other drawings to form an invention which may be claimed.
As used in this application, the words “a,” “an,” and “one” are defined to include one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise. The terms “approximately” and “about” are defined to mean +/− 10%, unless otherwise stated. Also, the terms “have,” “include,” “contain,” and similar terms are defined to mean “comprising” unless specifically stated otherwise. Furthermore, the terminology used in the specification provided above is hereby defined to include similar and/or equivalent terms, and/or alternative embodiments that would be considered obvious to one skilled in the art given the teachings of the present patent application. While the invention has been described with reference to at least one particular embodiment, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments, but rather the scope of the invention is defined by claims made to the invention.
