Patent Application
20050052516
The present invention relates to laminate panels, and more particularly to a laminate panel that can be used to form an advertising system on panels such as stowage bin doors used in an aircraft.
In a commercial aircraft, a plurality of laterally aligned overhead stowage bin doors are typically included along the port and starboard sides of the passenger cabin of the aircraft. Larger commercial aircraft may even have one or more rows of overhead stowage bin doors located along a central area of the passenger cabin between a pair of aisles within the passenger cabin. Each of the stowage bins includes a door which can be raised by a passenger or crew member. The stowage bin doors, when closed, are readily visually apparent to the passengers and crew members within the passenger cabin area of the aircraft.
The stowage bin doors, when in their closed positions, form either relatively flat or only slightly curving surfaces. These doors could advantageously be used for supporting advertising messages. However, up until the present time, it has not been thought to provide laterally adjacent pluralities of stowage bin doors with segmented portions of a single advertising mural or message. Providing laterally adjacent stowage bin doors with segmented portions of a single advertising mural or advertising message would provide an opportunity for the airlines to use this space to generate advertising revenue through one or more advertising murals that are not only aesthetically pleasing to view, but unique from the standpoint that the entire advertising message can be presented in a much larger format than if only a single stowage bin door was employed for this purpose.
It would further be advantageous if the segmented portions of an advertising mural could each be integrally formed on separate laminate panels, via a digital printing process with the laminate panels then being used to help form respective stowage bin doors. This would allow a high contrast color image to be formed on each laminate panel. It would further allow the advertising mural to be changed by simply replacing the stowage bin doors with a different set of stowage bin doors that included a different advertising mural. Such a change could easily be effected in a very short time frame so as not to impact the profitability of the airline operating the aircraft.
Accordingly, there still exists a need in the art for an advertising system and method making use of a plurality of stowage bin doors on an aircraft to present an enlarged, advertising mural through the use of two or more, laterally adjacent stowage bin doors. Particularly, there is a need for a laminate panel that can be used to form an integral portion of a stowage bin door or any other structural panel within a mobile platform, and which is suitable for presenting a high contrast color image that can be used to help form a mural.
The present invention is directed to a laminate panel particularly well adapted for use in forming an advertising system within a mobile platform. In one preferred form, the laminate panel is formed as a part of each one of a plurality of adjacently disposed overhead stowage bin doors on a mobile platform such as an aircraft. The laminate panels collectively help to provide an advertising mural or other form of advertising message that is segmented into several distinct sections, and the adjacent stowage bin doors are manufactured to each incorporate only one of the segments of the advertising message or mural. When the stowage bin doors are assembled onto the stowage bins, a complete rendition of the advertising mural or message is formed. Using a plurality of the stowage bin doors to present the advertising mural or message enables the mural or message to be presented in a significantly enlarged form that provides a visually dramatic presentation of the mural or message to occupants of the mobile platform.
It is also an important advantage of the present invention that the laminate panel of each stowage bin door is constructed to form an integral, permanently attached portion of the bin door. Thus, the message or mural can be quickly and easily changed simply by removing one set of stowage bin doors and attaching a different set of stowage bin doors having a different advertising message or mural incorporated thereon. Furthermore, there is no need to use adhesives or any solvents to clean the surfaces of the bin doors before the advertising message or mural can be changed. This makes the changing of the advertising mural easier and more quickly accomplished than with some arrangements that incorporate the use of adhesives for securing the advertising materials to their support panels. In addition, incorporating the advertising material into the bin door provides a fireworthy colorfast, cleanable, and abrasive, stain and solvent resistant surface.
The laminate panel of the present invention is formed by using a digital ink jet printer to deposit an ink layer directly on one layer of polyvinyl fluoride film (PVF). In one preferred implementation an ultraviolet (UV) curable and stable ink is deposited directly on a layer of Tedlar® PVF. The UV curable and stable ink is cured virtually immediately after being deposited on the Tedlar® PVF by a UV light operably associated with the printer, as the UV light passes over the newly deposited ink. The depositing of the UV curable and stable ink directly on the Tedlar) PVF eliminates the need for some type of receptive coating to be formed over the Tedlar® PVF, which would be necessary with water and solvent based digital ink jet inks. In addition, UV curable inks can allow significantly higher ink loadings on the Tedlar® PVF, in some cases possibly in excess of 300%, which is difficult, or impossible, to obtain using water or solvent based digital ink jet inks. The laminate panel, while being especially well suited for use with stowage bin doors, is just as readily able to be used with other panels used in a mobile platform.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
Referring to
The stowage bin system is comprised of a plurality of independent stowage bin doors 161-16n, which are laterally aligned to form a generally continuous overhead storage area. Each stowage bin 161-16n includes an associated bin door 181-18n which may be opened via an associated user-engageable handle 201-20n. The construction of each handle 201-20n is conventional and will therefore not be described. In most instances, at least one stowage bin door 18 near a forward portion of the passenger cabin 12 is left free of any advertising message to comply with FAA regulations that require safety information to be present thereon with no other graphics or indicia that would detract from the noticeability of the safety information. Similarly, at least one bin door close to a midpoint of the passenger cabin area is left clear of advertising indicia, such as indicated by door 181, and typically one stowage bin door 18 at a rear area of the passenger cabin 12 is left free of any advertising material so as not to obfuscate or detract from the visibility of the safety information.
It is a principal advantage of the stowage bin door system 10 that each bin door 181-18n includes a portion of an enlarged, advertising mural or message, which is designated by reference numeral 22. While reference may be made throughout the following text to “mural” 22, it will be appreciated that this includes any form of advertising message or display capable of being segmented into several distinct segments. However, since the bin doors 181-18n are positioned laterally closely adjacent one another, when all of the bin doors are closed, a complete rendition of the single, enlarged advertising mural 22 is presented for viewing to the occupants within the passenger cabin 12.
Preferably the advertising mural 22 is comprised of vivid colors, although it will be appreciated that the colors employed on the advertising mural 22 could be muted or otherwise selected to match or blend in with the colors of the seats, carpeting, etc. within the passenger cabin area 12. To the occupants within the passenger cabin area 12, the advertising mural 22 appears as a single, generally seamless, advertising message. A company logo 24 may be included on each bin door 18 or possibly only on a single one of the bin doors 18 that make up the advertising mural 22. The doors 18 that do not include a segment of the mural 22 form natural “breaks” or dividers which can be used to separate two or more advertising murals.
It will also be appreciated that the use of the bin doors 18 for advertising purposes can represent a means for additional revenue for an airline making use of the system 10 on its aircraft. The enlarged format of each advertising mural 22 further serves to effectively attract and maintain the attention of occupants of the passenger cabin area 12. The advertising mural 22 may be selected to provide a certain theme within the aircraft, such as an oriental theme if the aircraft is typically employed for travel to the Orient. Furthermore, depending upon the colors employed, the advertising mural 22 could help to provide a relaxing ambience within the aircraft 14 if the aircraft is employed on relatively long flights.
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It is an important aspect of the construction of the laminate panel 34 of the present invention that the ink layer 52 is deposited by a suitable digital ink jet printer directly on the Tedlar® PVF film 50. The ink used to form ink layer 52, which makes up the mural 22, preferably comprises an ultraviolet (UV) curable and stable ink (black or colored) that is deposited directly on the Tedlar® PVF film 50. The ink is cured virtually immediately after being deposited by the ink jet printer via a UV light operably associated with the digital ink jet printer that passes over the newly deposited ink as the ink is deposited. The use of UV curable ink allows the ink to be deposited directly on the Tedlar® PVF film 50 (or even on layer 54) without the need for some type of receptive coating to be placed over Tedlar® PVF film 50 or 54, which would be necessary with water or solvent based digital ink jet inks. Advantageously, the Tedlar® PVF films 50 and 54 form a fireworthy material that meets Federal Aviation Administration fire safety requirements for materials used on commercial aircraft. The ability of the UV curable ink to be cured virtually immediately after being deposited on the Tedlar® PVF film 54 or 50 also simplifies and expedites the manufacturing of the laminate layer 34. In addition, UV curable inks allow ink loadings on the Tedlar® PVF in excess of 300% without the use of coatings which would be difficult, or impossible, to obtain using water or solvent based digital ink jet inks
The decorative textured laminate panel 34 further includes a layer 56 comprised of an embossing resin and another layer of polyvinyl material 58 which is disposed against the adhesive layer 36. Polyvinyl layer 58 also preferably comprises a Tedlar® PVF material having a thickness of preferably around 2 mills. Layer 58 is also preferably white in color. The layer of embossing resin 56 may vary significantly, but in one preferred form comprises an arial weight of 0.023 lb/ft2 to 0.031 lb/ft2.
As described above, the ink layer 52 is most preferably applied by a suitable ink jet printer or printing process. Companies making suitable ink jet printers or printing equipment that employ a high quality ink are Vutek of Meredith, N.H. and 3M Corp. of Maplewood, Minn. Other suitable inks are available from Sericol, Inc. of Kansas City, Kans. and Sunjet of Bath, England.
The color image formed by the advertising mural 22, in one preferred form, comprises a high contrast color image which is highly aesthetically pleasing to view. The decorative textured laminate panel 34 is formed in a conventional multi-opening press which uses heat and pressure to laminate the individual layers making up laminate panel 34 together as a single, decorative, textured laminate structure. The textured outer surface 50a of the Tedlar® PVF layer 50 is maintained by the embossing resin of layer 56 as the resin cures in the multi-opening press during manufacture. The decorative texture laminate panel 34 is then combined with the remaining layers 36-48 in a conventional vacuum forming IR oven to form the remainder of the stowage bin door 18. Some trimming of excess material or edge wrapping of laminate section 34 may be required to achieve maximum aesthetic appeal.
While the laminate panel 34 has been described in connection with the manufacture of a stowage bin door, it will be appreciated that the laminate panel 34 is just as readily useable to help form any other type of structural panel. In some instances, the laminate panel 34 may by itself be used to form a complete structural panel. Still further, the laminate panel 34 is not limited to displaying just advertising content, but could obviously be used to provide any type of information.
It is an advantage that the advertising mural 22 thus forms an integral portion of each of the bin doors 18 that form the mural 22. Thus, changing the advertising mural 22 can be accomplished quickly and easily simply by removing the bin doors 18 that have the advertising mural 22 thereon and substituting a different set of bin doors with a different advertising mural. Thus, there is no need to try and remove independent advertising placards from adhesive layers and to reapply new advertising placards. The ability to change the advertising mural without having to deal with adhesives is a significant advantage of the present invention. By integrally forming the advertising mural 22 with each of the bin doors 18, changing of the advertising mural can be accomplished more easily and quickly than with previously developed advertising placards. Thus, there is no need to remove the aircraft from service for an extended period of time simply to change the advertising mural 22.
The laminate panel of the present invention thus enables images, messages or advertising murals to be implemented using the stowage bin doors of an aircraft (or any other type of structural panel) in a manner that does not interfere with use of the stowage bin doors, and further that does not interfere with maintenance of the aircraft or with any of the safety designations on various ones of the stowage bin doors.
It will also be appreciated that while the stowage bin doors 18 form a particularly convenient surface for presenting the mural 22, other interior surfaces, such as a ceiling area, could just as readily be employed for the purpose of presenting the mural. Such an area would be more suitable for presenting a mural that is not intended to be changed frequently, whereas the stowage bin doors are ideally suited for murals that will be changed periodically.
The laminate panel of the present invention further allows for construction of the stowage bin doors with a designated portion of an advertising mural or message printed thereon in a permanent construction. As such, changing of the advertising mural or message can be quickly and easily accomplished by simply changing the stowage bin doors with a different set of doors having a different mural/message. The use of ink jet printing technology to print directly on one of the Tedlar® PVF layers further simplifies the manufacture of the overall door, while providing a high contrast color image to be formed.
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.
