A METHOD AND KIT FOR MARKING AN ARTICLE WITH IDENTIFICATION SYMBOLS

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of marking an article with identification symbols comprising the steps of providing a masking material (1a) and an active substance (4), which reacts with the material of the article (6), the masking material (1a) being impermeable to the active substance (4), removing sections from the masking material corresponding to the identification symbols, locating the masking material (1a) on the article (6) and applying the active substance (4) to the masking material to mark the areas of the article (6) exposed through the masking material wherein the identification symbols are inputted into a computer (7) which is programmed to activate a printing means (8) for removing sections corresponding to the required identification symbols from the masking material (1a) and the masking material (1a) is in the form of a continuous web which can be fed through the printing means (8).

Description: A METHOD AND KIT FOR MARKING AN ARTICLE WITH IDENTIFICATION SYMBOLS The present invention relates to a method and kit for marking an article with identification symbols, in particular, for marking a motor vehicle with the numbers and letters of its registration plate, engine number or other number unique to that vehicle. It is well known to stencil, sandblast, engrave or etch marks on articles or products for the purpose of identifying the contents of the container, the origin of the product or the date of manufacture of the product. However, these methods require specific machinery and a certain level of skill to achieve the . desired effect. In the motor industry it is known to mark the registration number or other unique number of a vehicle on one or more of the glass windows in order to discourage theft of the vehicle. A vehicle marked in this way would require a thief to change all the windows, which is a time consuming and expensive operation, before it could be sold again. Moreover, attempts to remove the registration number by abrasive methods would cause permanent damage to the glass, making tampering very obvious. Accordingly, this form of identification has proved popular, particularly in the motor and motor insurance industries. AU-531,407 describes a method of marking an article using a stencil of impervious material which is marked by a multitude of small perforations using an electrostatic means. The stencil has a layer of adhesive on one side which enables it to be adhered to the surface of the article to be marked. Once the stencil is applied to the article, a paste-like corrosive substance is spread over the stencil to react with the areas which are exposed through the small perforations. The paste-like corrosive substance used is ammonium bifluoride. Organic thickening agents are often added such as gum acacia and gum tregacanth but this results in a paste of varying quality owing to their nature. US-2,067,925 discloses a method of applying a printed design to a transfer. A plate is engraved with the design using an engraving tool and then an etching composition is forced into the engraved lines. A transfer tissue is applied so that upon removal, the etching composition sticks onto the transfer leaving no residue in the plate. The printed design is in relief and can then be moistened and pressed onto the article which is to be marked for a sufficient length of time to allow the etching composition to react. The disadvantages with this method are the slow speed of production and the fact that the tissue paper of the transfer when wetted, has very little mechanical strength and the definition of the resultant mark is often blurred requiring delicate handling by the operator. The present invention, therefore, seeks to overcome the disadvantages of the known marking methods. According to the present invention, there is provided a method of marking an article with identification symbols comprising the steps of providing a masking material and an active substance which reacts with the material of the article, the masking material being impermeable to the active substance, removing sections from the masking material corresponding to the identification symbols, locating the masking material on the article and applying the active substance to the masking material to mark the areas of the article exposed through the masking material wherein the identification symbols are inputted into a computer which is programmed to activate a printing means for removing sections corresponding to the required identification symbols from the masking material and the masking material is in the form of a continuous web which can be fed through the printing means. The advantage of this method is that the indicia can be transferred to the masking material in a fast, simple and effective manner and the subsequent marking undertaken without any special tools or skilled operators. Preferably, the computer can activate the printing means to print the identification symbols more than once on the continuous web of masking material. Preferably, the web of masking material is perforated into a plurality of strips to allow a single strip to be removed after passing through the printing means. Such perforations allow easy removal of a strip of the masking material from the rest of the web after passing through the printing means. Preferably, the masking material is self-adhesive and is applied to a backing material. Preferably, the masking material is a wax impregnated material. Preferably, the active substance is applied to predetermined sizes of paper strips with water absorbent qualities which have sufficient strength to allow handling when wet. Preferably, the active substance is applied by hand pressing from intaglio plates. Preferably, the active substance is applied by mechanical pressing from intaglio plates. Preferably, the active substance and paper are dried out until required for use, the active substance being activated by the addition of water. Preferably, the active substance comprises ammonium hydrogen difluoride and a thickening agent. Preferably, the thickening agent is hydroxy methyl cellulose. Preferably, the thickening agent is gum tragacanth. Preferably, the computer stores the inputted indentification symbols for future reference. Preferably, the article to be marked is a motor vehicle and the identification symbols are the vehicle registration number, or other unique number. The present invention also provides a kit for marking an article with identification symbols comprising a masking material and an active substance which reacts with the material of the article, the masking material being impermeable to the active substance wherein a computer is provided and an associated programme which when inputted with the identification symbols data will activate a printing means for removing sections from the masking material corresponding to the identification symbols and the masking material is in the form of a continuous web which can be fed through the printing means. The present invention further provides a continuous web of wax based material which is self-adhesive and applied to a backing material wherein the backing material is provided with a plurality of regularly spaced holes along each edge of the web which enable the backing material and wax based material to be passed through a printing means. Preferably, the wax based material is an impregnated tissue paper. A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 depicts a web of masking material according to the present invention; Figure 2 depicts a strip of wet strength paper coated with an active substance according to the present invention; Figure 3 is a schematic representation of the steps taken to mark a vehicle with required indicia; Figures 4a, 4b and 4c show how the masking material and a strip as depicted in Figures 1 and 2 would be applied to a vehicle window. It should be noted that Figures 1 to 4 will be described, particularly in connection with the marking of the glass windows of a motor vehicle although numerous other applications are envisaged. Figure 1 depicts a web of masking material 1 applied to a web of backing material 2. The masking material is a wax impregnated material and is preferably self-adhesive to allow easy removal from the backing material 2 of release paper. During preparation of the web of masking material 1 and backing material 2 , the masking material 1 is removed from the edges 11 of the backing material 2 to allow regularly spaced holes 12 to be punched in the backing material. The backing material 2 can then be "tracked" through a dot-matrix printer or other similar printing devices. The web of masking material should be a wax impregnated material or similar material which will allow perforation by dot-printing, laser or die-cutting means. The masking material 1 and backing material 2 are also provided with lines of perforation 3 dividing the masking material into strips la, lb, lc, etc. For convenience, the backing material 2 and masking material strips la, etc will be arranged in fanfold fashion. The lines of perforation 3 allow easy removal of a single masking material strip la, etc after passing through the dot-matrix printer. Figure 2 depicts a strip of paper 5 having sufficient strength to allow handling when wet which has been coated with an active substance. The patches of active substance 4 are formed by printing from intaglio plates. The intaglio plates are cut to a range of differing design shapes as defined by the areas required to be etched. The plates should be coated with an active chemical substance which is known to chemically react with the article to be marked and to which the masking material strips la, etc are impermeable. In the case of marking glass, a suitable active substance is ammonium hydrogen difluoride with an inorganic thickening agent such as hydroxy methyl cellulose or an organic agent such as gum tragacanth. The coating process may be by hand or by intaglio printing techniques. The formulation of basic ingredients will vary according to the printing process chosen. In the case of hand production, a ratio of ten parts active substance to one part thickening agent has proved suitable. Various other substances can be added to the mix such as plasticisers and colourings. The active substance is made up by mixing the active agent into an aqueous solution, adding colouring and adding that to a previously prepared thickening agent made up by dispersing the gum tragacanth or hydroxy methyl cellulose in water and allowing to thicken. The resulting coating substance may then be applied to the plates. The strips of paper 5 are then applied to the plates by heavy pressure rolling and lifted to print out the intaglio areas of the plate. The paper strips may be dried and packed in air tight containers without fear of deterioration. When rewetted the active substance 4 will etch accordingly. It has been found that the use of etching transfers in the form of patches as opposed to directly applying pastes or other fluid variations of the active substance is particularly suitable for unskilled persons. Furthermore, patches are much safer to use, can be packaged more easily and are considered safe enough to mail to end users worldwide. With the addition of the screens the quality of image and definition produced is enhanced considerably as compared to other known techniques. With a full intaglio press or a proof press with hand coated plates, the formulation of the coating ingredients will vary according to the method. If mechanical or semi-mechanical printing methods are used with a full intaglio press or a proof press with hand coated plates, the formulation of the coating ingredients will vary according to the method used. Figure 3 shows schematically how to mark a vehicle window using the method of the present invention. Data corresponding to the vehicle registration number or other unique data is inputted into a computer 7 which is programmed to activate a printer 8 through which the web of masking material strips la, etc is passed. The printer 8 is preferably a dot-matrix printer and will remove sections from the masking material corresponding to the vehicle registration number and/or other indentification symbols. The strip la is then removed and located on the window of the vehicle 9 to be marked. A patch 4 containing the active substance is then moistened, located over the strip la and allowed to etch the glass which is exposed through the strip la. The computer 7 can be programmed to print the registration number on to the required number of strips la, lb, etc so that each window of the vehicle can be marked. The inputted data corresponding to the vehicle can then be stored in a memory for future reference and to ensure that no identification symbols are repeated. Figures 4a, 4b and 4c show the three stage process used to locate the masking material strip la and a patch 4 on a motor vehicle window 6. Figure 4a illustrates the first stage where the strip la, which is self-adhesive and has been marked with a vehicle registration number, is applied to the window 6. In stage two illustrated in Figure 4b, the moistened patch 4 is placed over the strip la to react with the areas of the glass window 6 which are exposed through the sections removed by passing the strip la through the printer 8. Finally, in stage 3 illustrated in Figure 4c, the strip la and patch 4 are removed to leave the etched vehicle registration number on the window 6. Alternatively, the vehicle registration number could be accompanied by or replaced by a company name or logo or the name and address of an individual. Clearly, the amount of data which can be incorporated is limited by the practical requirement that it must be readable when etched on the vehicle window. It is also envisaged that the method described herein could be applied in many other areas. For example, the active substance could readily be replaced by one which chemically reacts with any number of other materials besides glass. Furthermore, although the present invention has been described in relation to the marking of vehicles, other articles which could be marked for identification purposes are clearly too numerous to mention. A particular advantage of the use of the masking material and active patch is that it is user-friendly and the unskilled person should have no difficulty in marking the required article. The web of masking material may also be provided in other forms such as plastic or even thin metal sheet. However, the web will have to be flexible enough to pass through the printer otherwise another means for removing the sections corresponding to the required indentification symbols must be chosen such as die punching. In such applications, it may not be necessary to provide a backing material. The present invention is envisaged as a method which the vehicle registration authorities could employ to ensure that when a car is first registered, the customer is supplied with means which will enable him/her to incorporate the vehicle registration number on any part of the car desired. A further use would be by insurance companies who would provide the marked masking strips and patches to customers requiring vehicle insurance. Rather than inputting alphanumeric data to a computer, it is proposed that a scanning device could be used which would be linked to the computer in order to produce elaborate etched designs on certain articles, including decorative glassware and mirrors.

Claims: CLAIMS : 1. A method of marking an article with identification symbols comprising the steps of providing a masking material and an active substance which reacts with the material of the article, the masking material being impermeable to the active substance, removing sections from the masking material corresponding to the identification symbols, locating the masking material on the article and applying the active substance to the masking material to mark the areas of the article exposed through the masking material wherein the indentification symbols are inputted into a computer which is programmed to activate a printing means for removing sections corresponding to the required identification symbols from the masking material and the masking material is in the form of a continuous web which can be fed through the printing means. 2. A method as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the computer can activate the printing means to print the identification symbols more than once on the continuous web of masking material. 3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the web of masking material is perforated into a plurality of strips to allow a single strip to be removed after passing through the printing means. 4. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the masking material is self-adhesive and is applied to a backing material. 5. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the masking material is a wax impregnated material. 6. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the active substance is applied to predetermined sizes of paper strips with water absorbent qualities which have sufficient strength to allow handling when wet. 7. A method as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the active substance is applied by hand pressing from intaglio plates. 8. A method as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the active substance is applied by mechanical pressing from intaglio plates. 9. A method as claimed in Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein the active substance and paper are dried out until required for use, the active substance being activated by the addition of water. 10. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the active substance comprises ammonium hydrogen difluorid .and a thickening agent. 11. A method as claimed in Claim 10 wherein the inorganic thickening agent is hydroxy methyl cellulose. 12. A method as claimed in Claim 10 wherein the thickening agent is gum tragacanth. 13. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the computer stores the inputted identification symbols for future use. 14. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the article to be marked is a motor vehicle and the identification symbols are the vehicle registration number, or other unique number. 15. A method of marking an article with indicia substantially as herein described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 16. A kit for marking an article with identification symbols comprising a masking material and an active substance which reacts with the material of the article, the masking material being impermeable to the active substance, wherein a computer is provided and an associated programme which when inputted with the identification symbols data will activate a printing means for removing sections from the masking material corresponding to the identification symbols and the masking material is in the form of a continuous web which can be fed through the printing means. 17. A kit for marking an article with indicia substantially as herein described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 18. A continuous web of wax based material which is self-adhesive and applied to a backing material wherein the backing material is provided with a plurality of regularly spaced holes along each edge of the web which enable the backing material and wax based material to be passed through a printing means. 19. A web as claimed in Claim 18 wherein the wax based material is an impregnated tissue paper. 20. A continuous web of wax based material substantially as herein described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: BROOKING TIMOTHY JOHN, BROOKING, TIMOTHY, JOHN
Applicants: BROOKING TIMOTHY JOHN, BROOKING, TIMOTHY, JOHN
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B60R13
IPC codes: B41M1, B44C1