Patent ID: 7671346
Filing Date: 2010-03-02
Classification: B05D,B41F,F26B

Abstract:
1. An ultraviolet (UV) curing apparatus for applying UV light to UV photo initiators in UV curable inks, coatings, or adhesives on products, articles, or other objects, comprising: at least one UV light-emitting device comprising at least one panel with a set of staggered row of UV (LED) assemblies comprising UV LED chips connected to cathode pads and anodes including a first row of UV LED assemblies and a second row of UV LED assemblies, each of the UV LED chips of the UV LED assemblies in the first row are spaced apart from and positioned in offset staggered relationship to each of the UV LED chips in the UV LED assemblies in the second row; a conveyor for moving the UV curable inks, coatings, or adhesives, on the products, articles or other objects; and a panel-moving mechanism operatively connected to said light-emitting device for reciprocating said panel in an orbital, annular, circular, or elliptical path in proximity to the photo initiators while UV light is emitted from the staggered rows of UV LED assemblies to uniformly apply, distribute or sweep UV light on the UV photo initiators and uniformly cure the UV curable inks, coatings, or adhesives, on the products, articles, or other objects, in the absence of one or more masks and without forming one or more masking patterns or spacer patterns, to produce products, articles, or other objects, other than dental material and electric circuits for printed wiring boards, so as to provide an identical degree of polymerization of the UV curable inks, coatings or adhesives on the products, articles, or other object, over all the surfaces being cured that face the UV LED assemblies.