METHOD FOR MARKING A LAMINATED FILM MATERIAL

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for marking a laminated film material comprising at least a metal film and a plastic film material affixed to it by means of an adhesive. To ensure that the marking of the film withstands any subsequent process steps, such as sterilization of the packaging, and is visually appealing, it is envisaged that the plastic film material be removed and/or visibly changed in structure by laser.

Description: Method for marking a laminated film material The invention relates to a method for marking a laminated film material in a development according to the generic part of claim 1 as well as a laminated film for packaging purposes according to the generic part of claim 18. The use of laminated films as backing foils for blister packs is well-known in packaging technology. Such laminated films consist of a metallic base, such as aluminium, affixed to a plastic film, which is printed on the upper side and/or the side facing the metal foil, and a plastic film material on the underside that can be welded to a plastic container. Such laminated films are often also marked on the upper side with a variety of information, such as the expiry date, a lot number, and other marks identifying the contents of the pack. If the blister pack is to undergo various other process steps after sealing, such as sterilization by autoclaving, because the contents of the pack are for use in the field of medicine, for example, then it must be guaranteed that the marking on the upper side can withstand such treatment. A thermal transfer printing process for marking blister packs which are subsequently exposed to sterilization is known, for example, from EP-0 646.471. The result of the marking, however, is not particularly satisfying, because it is too full of contrasts and cannot therefore be optimally coordinated with the packaging design. Furthermore, the process entails the consumption of a large quantity of material. Moreover, using present technology, the marking still has to be carried out on rolled material, i.e. on film which is generally wound around a roller, because it is not possible to a mark containers that are already sealed. The invention addresses the problem of marking the upper side of a laminated film, especially for blister packs, in such a manner that the marking withstands subsequent process steps such as sterilization of the packaging and produces a result which is optically suitable. Furthermore, the marking process should take place on-line in a packaging plant and be characterized by minimal consumption of materials. The invention solves this problem with the features indicated in claim 1 and claim 21. With regard to further substantial design features, reference is made to the dependent claims. The use of laser enables the upper side of the film material to be furnished with marks which prove resistant to subsequent process steps, such as sterilization in particular, and retain their characteristics. As a result of the laser treatment, either the upper plastic film is changed thermally in such a manner that a visible colour change occurs, or the part of the surface treated with the laser beam is removed to produce the desired lettering. In the case of the latter subtractive procedure, the coloured top layer of the film is removed down to the metal substrate, which also serves as a buffer against the laser treatment, thus eliminating the risk of perforation. If a plastic is selected whose colour contrasts sharply with the metallic colour, then the film acquires a clearly visible marking which can be integrated much better into the visual identity of the packaging design than is possible with black-and- white printing. Because the underlying metal layer does not show any change when the packaging is treated in an autoclave, there is no impairment of the marking after such treatment. If a colour change of the upper plastic layer is to be achieved by laser, then generally a plastic film is used containing pigments whose colour changes on laser treatment. In every case, laser permits tha marking of containers that are already filled and sealed, because printing takes place on a non-contact basis with a relatively large distance between the marker and the sealing film, so that a smooth surface is not required. Further details and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following description and drawings. The drawings show: Fig. 1 a schematic diagram of a laser marking unit and the printing of a film according to the invention; Fig. 2 a diagram of the integration of two laser marking units in a packaging plant; Fig. a diagram of blister strips arranged alongside each other; Fig. 4 a schematic diagram of the control system for several laser marking units. Laser marking unit 1 is designed for the marking of a laminated film, especially for a blister pack. Such a laminated film comprises a metallic substrate, typically of aluminium, affixed to a plastic film which is printed on the upper side and/or on the side facing the metal foil, and a plastic film material on the underside that can be welded to a plastic container. As a result of the laser treatment in the laser marking process, either the upper plastic film is changed thermally in such a manner that a visible colour change occurs, or the part of the surface treated with the laser beam is removed to produce the desired lettering. Laser marking unit 1 preferably comprises a laser 2, deflecting mirrors 3 and a flat field lens 4. High frequency- excited sealed-off C0 2 lasers without an external gas supply and having a wavelength of 10.6 μm are preferably used as laser source 2 for the subtractive marking procedure. Generally it can be assumed that the gas fill has a life of about 20000 operating hours. Because the laser is HF-pumped, there is no need for pumping flashlamps, such as are used for example with solid state lasers. For this reason, the costs are confined to the cost of energy consumption. For laser marking by means of a colour change in the upper plastic film, Nd:YAG laser is preferably used. Laser beam 5 is expediently deflected by two rotating galvanometer mirrors 3. These operate in a closed loop with active stabilization of temperature. Because the mirrors 3 have only a very low mass which is moved, a high deflection rate and accurate path precision are possible. After deflection, the beam 5 is focused through a flat field lens 4 onto the operating level 6. Overall, as a result of this calibrated lens and mirror system 3, 4, the focus point of the laser 2 is moved in the operating plane 6. The flat field lens 4 preferably has a focal length of 200 mm, providing a sufficiently large working distance. A distortion of the laser beam 5 is excluded by virtue of the axial shift arrangement of the rotating galvanometer mirrors 3. The mirrors 3 are controlled by a card located in the computer. Furthermore, an integrated beam expander provides for a small diameter of the focus point with good depth of focus in the TEM 00 -Mode. A small diameter of the focus point is important for the quality of the marking, especially if a large working field is envisaged. A favourable diameter of the focus point is 320 μm. Because the writing head of the laser 2, comprising the deflecting mirrors 3 and the flat field lens 4, has a distance of 200 mm from the film surface 6 which is to be marked, a screening of the work space is necessary for safety reasons to protect against any interposition during the marking procedure. Owing to the wavelength of the laser 2 which is used, a plexiglass enclosure can be used for this purpose. This offers the advantage that the marking procedure can be inspected. In addition, the design includes an interruption device 8 for the laser beam 5, which is under electronic control and serves to interrupt the laser beam. It is activated when, for example, the protective doors of the enclosure are opened. Laser marking unit 1 is preferably integrated into a packaging plant, so that the marking of the film is fully automatic, taking place directly on-line, ideally after the packaging container is sealed. Fig. 2 shows five production lines 7 of a packaging plant especially for contact lenses continually transporting the tool carriers 9 illustrated in Fig. 3, each of which is loaded with a blister strip 10. The blister strips 10 comprise five blister packs 11 arranged one behind the other, which are connected to one another by a film strip 12 corresponding in shape to the outline of the upper side of the blister packs 1 1 , because film strip 12 is welded to the individual blister packs 1 1 after these have been filled with the object of the packaging, preferably a contact lens. To mark the upper side of film 12 of the blister strips 10, a stopper bar 13 fitted with sensors is envisaged, causing carrier 9 with the blister strips 10 to stop briefly so that they can be marked in a firm marking position by laser 2. Because the deflection of the laser beam 5 is not sufficient for the five lines 7 envisaged in the preferred embodiment and a shifting of laser marking unit 1 would be too complicated, it is intended that two laser marking units 1 and 100 should advantageously be integrated into the packaging plant wherein unit 1 provides marking for lines 1 , 2 and 3 and unit 100 for lines 3, 4 and 5. Naturally it is also possible to design a package plant with only one laser or also with more than two lasers. As shown in Fig. 4, the requisite marking data are fed by a process control system to the packaging plant and the laser marking units 1 and 100, the datasets possibly being different for each line 7. Within a single line 7, the dataset remains the same until new datasets are transmitted by the process control system. The marking of line 3 is carried out by the laser unit 1 or 100 which is the first to become free. The waste which occurs during the marking procedure is advantageously discharged by an exhaust air system which is not described in further detail here. The present laser printing process is particularly suitable for a blister package having a flexible laminate film cover, e.g., a blister contact lens package. An exemplary blister contact lens package is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,246 to Borghorst. In general, a blister package for a contact lens has a rigid blister container and a flexible laminate film cover that is thermally or adhesively attached to the opening of the blister package. The laminate cover is designed to be flexible such that the covering material can be easily handled when the laminate covering material is applied on the package during the production process and when the covering material is removed by the consumer. The laminate covering material has at least an outer thermoplastic layer and a backing layer. The outer thermoplastic layer is produced from a film-forming thermoplastic polymer, including polyolefin, e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene and copolymers thereof; polyester, e.g., polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate and copolymers thereof; and polyvinyl chloride. The outer layer is a protective layer that provides a printable surface, and the backing layer provides moisture and gas barrier properties. Suitable materials for the backing layer include metals, e.g., aluminum; and thermoplastic polymers, e.g, polyolefin, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl alcohol or acrylonitrile polymer, although a metal is preferred. Preferably, the backing layer is produced from a material that has a higher thermal decomposition temperature than the thermoplastic of the upper layer. Additionally, the laminate covering material can have additional layers including a thermoplastic film inner layer, which is adjacently placed to the backing layer so that the inner layer can act as an adhesive layer that attaches the laminate film cover to the blister container. The flexible laminate film cover material can be provided as a roll that is suitably configured for an on-line printing process. In general, a contact lens is produced, inspected and placed in a blister container along with an amount of an isotonic saline solution. Then the film cover, which has been cut to cover the opening and certain exposed portion of the blister container, is placed over the container and affixed or sealed, e.g., thermally, to the container around the opening. The present printing process is highly flexible printing process that can print the flexible film cover before or after it is cut from the roll and even after it is placed and affixed to the package. The present printing process is especially suitable for printing variable information, e g , lot number, expiration date, power and the like, on the flexible film cover One of advantages of the present process is that the laser printing process is a highly flexible and robust process that can impart clear and legible information even on a non-uniformly planar surface This flexible nature of the present invention is highly important in that the flexible laminate cover tends to form a wavy surface and tends to buckle up unattached sections Accordingly, conventional variable information printing processes, such as thermal transfer processes and ink-jet processes which require a flat surface to properly imprint, are not highly suitable for printing information after the cover is sealed on the container In addition, since a contact lens package is sterilized, typically in an autoclave, after the cover is sealed to the container, the ink applied on the cover is subjected to a high temperature and humidity environment, which promotes thermal degradation of the applied ink and further impedes legibility of the printed information In contrast, the present process does not use an ink system to impart information on the cover, and therefore, legibility of the printed information is not affected by the sterilization process Accordingly, a preferred embodiment is that the laminate cover material is printed after the cover material is affixed to the package using the laser printing process In accordance with the present invention, the upper layer and the backing layer of the laminate covering material have a color contrast such that when a pattern of the upper layer is removed by the laser, the pattern is clearly visible For example, when a blue pigment or dye is added to the thermoplastic formulation for the upper layer and an aluminum layer is used as the backing layer, a highly legible message can be imparted on the cover material by removing or ablating the upper layer to form a pattern of alphabets or a graphic design The marking results obtained using a C0 2 -laser show that the marking of the film is characterized by a very high quality of lettering and resistance The text is clearly legible and is distinguished by a high degree of resolution The top coloured layer of the film is removed as far as the metal substrate, wherein it has been shown that, when aluminium is used as the substrate, this provides a good buffer for the laser treatment and no perforations occur during the process Overall, the marking is of pleasing appearance and matches the packaging design well Because the process is carried out on a non-contact basis with a relatively large distance between marker and sealing film, containers that are already filled and sealed can be marked without any problem in respect of clarity and resolution of the lettering Moreover, the integration of a marking unit within a packaging plant has the advantage that the production process can be substantially more flexible. In addition, it has been shown that, after sterilization, the marking remains clearly legible and is not subject to changes.

Claims: What is claimed is: 1. A method for marking a laminated film comprising at least a backing layer and a plastic film affixed to it by means of an adhesive layer, comprising the removal and/or structurally visible modification of the plastic film by means of laser (2). 2. A method of claim 1 , comprising a plastic film material that contains pigments which change their colour on laser treatment. 3. A method of claim 1 or 2, comprising the use of a film (12) which exhibits printed text on the side facing towards or away from the metal film. 4. A method of claim 3, comprising printing with pigments that change their colour on laser treatment. 5. A method of claim 3 or 4, comprising printing which is removed and/or visibly modified in its structure by means of laser (2). 6. A method of one or more of claims 1 to 5, wherein the backing layer is a metallic film. 7. A method of one or more of claims 1 to 5, wherein the backing layer is a thermoplastic polymers, e.g, polyolefin, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl alcohol or acrylonitrile polymer. 8. A method of one or more of claims 1 to 7, comprising the film (12) forming the backing foil of a blister pack (1 1 ) and being firmly sealed with the blister pack (11 ). 9. A method of claim 8, comprising several blister packs (1 1 ) being covered by a film strip (12) and forming a blister strip (10). 10. A method of claim 9, comprising five blister packs (1 1 ) forming a blister strip (10). 11. A method of one or more of claims 8 to 10, comprising the film (12) being marked by laser after sealing to the blister pack (1 1 ). 12. A method of one or more of claims 8 to 1 1 , comprising the sealing the film (12) to the blister pack (1 1 ) and the on-line marking of the film (12) in a packaging plant. 13. A method of one or more of claims 1 to 12, comprising the use of a C0 2 -laser as laser (2). 14. A method of one or more of claims 1 to 12, comprising the use of a Nd:YAG as laser (2). 15. A method of claim 13, comprising a C0 2 -laser (2) with the wavelength of λ = 10.6 μm and the focus point of the laser beam (5) with a diameter of 1000-100 μm, and preferably of 320 μm. 16. A method of one of the claims 8 to 15, comprising a stopper bar (13) for the blister packs (1 1 ). 17. A method of one of the claims 8 to 16, comprising the blister packs (11 ) being transported within the packaging plant in several lines (7) alongside one other. 18. A method of claim 17, comprising two or more lasers (2) for the marking of blister packs (1 1 ) in lines (7). 19. A method of claim 17, comprising only one laser (2) for the marking of blister packs (11 ) in lines (7). 20. A method of one of the claims 8 to 19, wherein an ophthalmic lens, especially a contact lens is packed in blister packs (11 ). 21. Laminated film for packaging purposes comprising at least a metal film and a plastic film material adhered on one side to the metal foil, comprising a plastic film which exhibits laser-inscribed marking. 22. Laminated film of claim 21 , comprising the removal of the plastic layer in the region of the laser-inscribed marking and rendering of the metal layer visible. 23. Laminated film of claim 21 or 22, comprising laser-inscribed marking of 1000-100 μm, preferably of 320 μm, in width . 24. Laminated film of one or more of the claims 21 to 23, comprising a plastic film material which is translucent and exhibits printing on the side facing away from or towards the metal film. 25. Laminated film of claim 21 , comprising a plastic film material which exhibits pigments. 26. Laminated film of claim 25, comprising pigments which change their colour in the field of of the laser-inscribed marking.

Inventors: JUX EGBERT, SCHROETER RENATA, ZAHN DIETER, JUX, EGBERT, SCHROETER, RENATA, ZAHN, DIETER
Applicants: JUX EGBERT, NOVARTIS AG, NOVARTIS ERFIND VERWALT GMBH, SCHROETER RENATA, ZAHN DIETER, JUX, EGBERT, NOVARTIS-ERFINDUNGEN VERWALTUNGSGESELLSCHAFT MBH, SCHROETER, RENATA, ZAHN, DIETER
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B41M5
IPC codes: B32B15, B41J2, B41M5, B44C1, B44C3, B65B61