Patent Application
20180356176
The present invention relates to protective and decorative coverings for firearms and firearm accessories, and more particularly, to processes for forming pre-cut make and model specific gun wraps for protecting and personalizing firearms and firearm accessories. The herein disclosed processes provide a methodology for forming pre-cut gun wraps that may be formed specifically for a particular make and model of firearm or firearm accessory, and may be packaged and shipped to customer in a pre-cut form that allows for easy and adjustable non-permanent application to a firearm or firearm accessory.
An exemplary embodiment of the herein disclosed processes includes the steps of: drawings a digital outline of a specific make and model of firearm; measuring a gun wrap surface area; translating the gun wrap surface area into a vector template; combining the vector template with digital artwork to determine a cut path; printing on an adhesive with the digital artwork; laminating the adhesive; cutting the pre-cut model specific gun wrap from the adhesive on a plotter/cutting machine using the cut path; and removing excess material from the pre-cut model specific gun wrap.
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Firearms and firearm accessories are subject to wear damage due to normal use exposing the finish of the firearm or firearm accessory to human skin oils and weather elements. This surface finish wear diminishes resale value and can be costly to restore.
Firearms and firearm accessories are manufactured in a limited variety of color and/or style selections. The ability of a firearm owner to personalize his or her firearm is thus severely limited.
Protective and decorative coverings for firearms and firearm accessories are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,581,404 to Lyon discloses pre-cut protective coverings for placement on various rifle components for providing protection against wear and tear to the firearm. But Lyon does not disclose model-specific pre-cut protective coverings, because the Lyon protective coverings as disclosed are only designed for a particular type of firearm, a rifle. And Lyon does not disclose a process for forming the protective coverings, and so there is no methodology suggested in the Lyon disclosure for forming model specific protective coverings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,589 to Duncan discloses functional decals which may be utilized to mark a firearm with illuminating decals so that a user of the firearm can identify a front and a back of the firearm in the absence of enough light for the user to see unaided. But as with Lyon, Duncan does not disclose a process for forming the decals and so there is no methodology suggested for forming model specific illuminating decals. U.S. Pat. No. 9,395,153 to Bottrell discloses decorative personalization in a firearm magazine holder which may be formed in colors or patterns to personalize the magazine holder. But Bottrell deals with personalization of the magazine holder itself, as opposed to decorative coverings for the magazine holder, and fails to disclose a methodology for forming model specific decorative elements. There is a need, therefore, for forming decorative and protective coverings for firearms and firearms accessories that are make and model specific so that firearm owners may protect and personalize their specific firearm.
The present invention addresses this need by providing a process for forming pre-cut model specific gun wraps that may be quickly and non-permanently applied to a firearm or firearm accessory.
The present invention relates to protective and decorative coverings for firearms and firearm accessories, and more particularly, to processes for forming pre-cut make and model specific gun wraps for protecting and personalizing firearms and firearm accessories. The herein disclosed processes provide a methodology for forming pre-cut gun wraps that may be formed specifically for a particular make and model of firearm or firearm accessory, and may be packaged and shipped to customer in a pre-cut form that allows for easy and adjustable non-permanent application to a firearm or firearm accessory
An exemplary embodiment of the herein disclosed processes for forming pre-cut make and model specific gun wraps includes the steps of: drawings a digital outline of a specific make and model of firearm; measuring a gun wrap surface area; translating the gun wrap surface area into a vector template; combining the vector template with digital artwork to determine a cut path; printing on an adhesive with the digital artwork; laminating the adhesive; cutting the pre-cut model specific gun wrap from the adhesive on a plotter/cutting machine using the cut path; and removing excess material from the pre-cut model specific gun wrap.
The phrase gun wrap is intended to include any protective covering for a firearm or a firearm accessory that may be applied to the outer surface(s) of the firearm or firearm accessory by an owner of the firearm or firearm accessory. Gun wraps may be non-permanently attached to the surface of the firearm or firearm accessory. Gun wraps may, in an exemplary embodiment, be formed on a pressure sensitive adhesive vinyl material. But those skilled in the art will recognize that the gun wraps disclosed herein, and the process for forming a pre-cut model specific gun wrap disclosed herein, may utilize alternative materials to form the gun wraps and all such alternative materials are intended to be included herein.
Referring to
The herein disclosed process 101 for forming a pre-cut model specific gun wrap further includes step 120 measuring a gun wrap surface area. Such measurements may be calculated by a software application, as is known in the art. Process 101 further includes step 130 translating the gun wrap surface area, as measured in step 120, into a vector template. The vector template may be a digital vector template, as is known in the art. Step 130 may further include, in certain embodiments, the additional step of adjusting the vector template to create a proper fit vector template. In this embodiment, the proper fit vector template would then be utilized in place of the vector template for the steps subsequent to step 130.
Process 101 for forming a pre-cut model specific gun wrap further includes step 140 combining the vector template with digital artwork to determine a cut path.
Process 101 for forming a pre-cut model specific gun wrap further includes step 150 printing on an adhesive with the digital artwork. This step of printing an adhesive with the digital artwork may, in certain embodiments, utilize the gun wrap surface area to determine a print area for the adhesive. The adhesive utilized in step 150 may be any adhesive known in the art that provides a surface receptive to the printed digital artwork while also providing sufficient adhesiveness to allow for application of the pre-cut model specific gun wraps to the firearm (or firearm accessory) in a secure but non-permanent fashion. In an exemplary embodiment, the adhesive is a pressure sensitive adhesive vinyl. After step 150, process 101 then includes step 160 laminating the adhesive. The step of laminating the adhesive may involve, in certain embodiments, laminating the adhesive with a clear protective layer of material, which may be a pressure sensitive adhesive vinyl.
Process 101 for forming a pre-cut model specific gun wrap further includes step 170 cutting the pre-cut model specific gun wrap from the adhesive on a plotter/cutting machine using the cut path. After laminating the printed digital artwork (on the adhesive), the vector template is communicated to a plotter/cutting machine and the plotter/cutting machine uses the vector template to cut the various components necessary for the pre-cut model specific gun wrap into the adhesive. The vector template may be communicated by any method of file (or code) transfer known in the art; for example, the internet may be utilized to electronically transfer the vector template to the plotter/cutting machine. The plotter/cutting machine may be any device known in the art that may be utilized to precisely cut the adhesive along a previously determined cut path.
Finally, process 101 for forming a pre-cut model specific gun wrap further includes step 180 removing excess material from the pre-cut model specific gun wrap. After the plotter/cutting machine has cut along the cut path, any excess adhesive material not necessary for the gun wrap (in other words, the material outside the lines of the vector template) is removed, leaving behind only the precisely cut pre-cut model specific gun wrap.
After completion of the herein disclosed process, the pre-cut model specific gun wrap may be packaged and shipped (or sold) to a customer. The customer will receive a gun wrap that is specifically designed for his or her firearm (the particular make and model), and that is already pre-cut so that the individual components (the ride side frame decal, the slide decal, the left side frame decal, and the magazine base plate decal, for example) are ready to be applied to the firearm by the customer.
Throughout this specification, the present invention processes are mostly described in terms of a specific make and model of firearm. Wherever the term firearm appears, it is intended to include both firearms and firearm accessories.
While the present invention has been illustrated and described herein in terms of a preferred embodiment and several alternatives, it is to be understood that the systems and methods described herein can have a multitude of additional uses and applications. Accordingly, the invention should not be limited to just the particular description and various drawing figures contained in this specification that merely illustrate a preferred embodiment and application of the principles of the invention.
