Claims
- 1. The method of repairing a damaged area on the surface of an optical disc, wherein said surface of said disc includes laser-penetrable material and the damaged area is first buffed in a buffing apparatus with at least one abrasive means and then buffed by an apparatus or by hand with at least one non-abrasive means, and wherein the buffing apparatus includes a disc-receiving means and a buffing wheel made of a flexible material and having a hub, a flexible annular outer rim, a plurality of flexible spirally spokes extending between said hub and rim, and an abrasive means around the periphery of said rim, and said non-abrasive means includes a piece of cloth, said method comprising the steps of:
- mounting the disc in said buffing apparatus in a first plane with said surface of said optical disc being exposed,
- positioning said buffing wheel in a second plane substantially perpendicular to said first plane and under pressure against said surface, whereby said spirally extending flexible spokes of said buffing wheel and said rim are deformed so that the rim defines a flattened portion in engagement with said disc surface and facilitates a substantially uniform pressure along the area of contact between said buffing wheel and said surface,
- rotating said buffing wheel such that the abrasive means on the rim removes material from said surface and leaves behind fine scratches,
- moving said cloth under pressure over the area buffed by the apparatus, whereby the action created between said cloth and said surface generates sufficient heat that causes said laser-penetrable material of said surface to flow, smooth the surface, and substantially remove said fine scratches.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said abrasive means includes 4000 grit abrasive.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the disc is moved under the buffing wheel during the buffing step.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of moving the cloth is accomplished manually.
- 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said cloth is mounted on a hand-held tool.
- 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the tool is concavo-convexo and substantially rigid.
- 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the tool is spoon-shaped and substantially rigid.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said cloth is felt.
- 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said felt is carbonized wool.
- 10. The method of claim 8, wherein said felt is skived from a piece of felt and the skived surface is applied to the disc.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said abrasive means is foam-backed.
- 12. A buffing wheel adapted for use in a buffing apparatus having an optical disc driving means for repairing a damaged area on the surface of an optical disc, wherein said surface is comprised of a laser-penetrable material, said buffing wheel comprising:
- a hub,
- a plurality of spirally extending flexible spokes extending outwardly from said hub, and
- a flexible circular outer rim attached to the outer ends of said spokes and adapted to engage said surface,
- whereby the part of said buffing wheel engaging said disc flattens and applies a substantially uniform force across the engaged surface to produce a substantially uniform buffing of the surface.
- 13. The buffing wheel of claim 12, wherein said rim extends substantially perpendicular to said spokes.
- 14. The buffing wheel of claim 13, wherein the wheel is rotatably driven.
- 15. The buffing wheel of claim 12, wherein said buffing wheel further includes an abrasive means around the periphery of said rim.
- 16. The buffing wheel of claim 15, wherein said abrasive means includes a foam-backed abrasive strip.
- 17. The buffing wheel of claim 16, wherein the abrasive strip includes a 4000 grit abrasive embedded in latex.
- 18. The buffing wheel of claim 17, wherein the abrasive is aluminum oxide.
- 19. The buffing wheel of claim 12, wherein the hub, spokes and rim are integral.
- 20. The buffing wheel of claim 12, wherein the wheel is molded in one piece.
- 21. The buffing wheel of claim 12, wherein the wheel is molded of low-density polyethylene.
- 22. A buffing wheel for buffing a substantially flat surface comprising:
- a hub adapted to be mounted on a shaft, for rotation therewith,
- a plurality of flexible spokes spirally extending from the hub, and
- an outer flexible circular rim connected to the outer end of said spokes having a buffing surface extending substantially perpendicular to the spokes and adapted to have mounted thereon an abrasive/buffing material,
- whereby pressing the wheel against a surface to be buffed deforms the rim in the area of contact with the surface to define a substantially flattened area which applies a substantially uniform force along said flattened area during buffing to produce a substantially uniform buffing of the area.
- 23. The buffing wheel of claim 22, wherein the wheel is rotatably driven.
- 24. The buffing wheel of claim 23, wherein the hub, spokes and rim are integral.
- 25. The buffing wheel of claim 24, wherein the wheel is molded of plastic in one piece.
Parent Case Info
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/040,102, filed Mar. 10, 1997.
US Referenced Citations (36)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
4372785 |
Dec 1992 |
JPX |
5 12832 |
Jan 1993 |
JPX |
5159528 |
Jun 1993 |
JPX |
5303871 |
Nov 1993 |
JPX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Packaging for discwasher, CD-2.TM. CD Polish and Scratch Remover System, Discwasher, Inc., 1989, 2 pages. |
"Removing Scratches on Compact Disks," The New York Times, Jun. 5, 1995, 1 page. |