Patent Abstract:
A method of producing a reflective design includes the steps of lasering a pattern on an adhesive side of a reflective laminated material. The lasering ablates the adhesive and causes these areas to not adhere. The reflective laminate material is applied to a substrate. A carrier layer of the reflective laminate is removed to produce a reflective design on the substrate. This method allows for highly customized designs at a reasonable cost that are very visually appealing. The substrate may be a textile, paper, or decal material. The textile may be the garment or may be a patch that is sewn onto a garment or applied to the garment with an adhesive.

Full Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present invention is a continuation-in-part of the patent application Ser. No. 11/117,053, filed on Nov. 15, 2007, entitled “Method of Producing a Reflective Design on a Substrate and Apparatus”. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING 
       [0004]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Garments for running, cycling, footwear, hats, backpacks, jackets, pet collars, and leashes all utilize photo-reflective material for the purpose of increasing the wearer&#39;s visibility and safety after dark. This material is typically attached to the garment by sewing or is adhered using heat activated adhesive. One problem with the addition of reflective material is that it typically reduces the aesthetics of the garment in daylight. As a result, many consumers are unwilling to take advantage of the beneficial features provided by reflective materials on garments. 
         [0006]    Thus there exists a need for more visually appealing garments that have light reflecting material. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0007]    A method of producing a reflective design that overcomes these and other problems includes the steps of lasering a pattern on an adhesive side of a reflective laminate material. The reflective laminate material is applied to a substrate. A carrier layer of the reflective laminate is removed to reveal a reflective design on the substrate. This method allows for highly customized reflective designs at a reasonable cost that are very visually appealing. The substrate may be a textile, paper, or suitable decal material. The substrate may be a garment or may be a patch that is sewn onto a garment or applied to the garment with an adhesive, or a decal that can be applied to an object with a smooth surface. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system for producing a reflective design on a textile in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an example of a reflective design on a textile in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of the steps used in producing a reflective design on a textile in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view of a reflective laminate in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart of the steps used in producing a reflective design in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart of the steps used in producing a reflective design in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    The present invention increases the aesthetic appeal of garments that have a reflective film. In one embodiment, the reflective film is patterned on its surface with a laser. In another embodiment, the adhesive on the backside of the reflective film is patterned with a laser, causing portions of the reflective film to not adhere to the substrate. Once laminated, the lasered film creates a reflective pattern. The pattern can be text or graphics. 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system  10  for producing a reflective design on a textile in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. A reflective film  12  is laminated or sewn to a substrate  14 . In one embodiment, the substrate  14  is a textile product. A pattern or design is put into a computer  16 . The computer  16  directs a laser  18  and associated optics to focus the laser beam  20  onto a surface  22  of the reflective film  12 . It is thought that the laser beam partially ablates and partially carbonizes the surface of the reflective material. The reflective film  12  has tiny glass beads reflectors embedded in a polymer. Where the surface is carbonized the surface looks black and the glass beads are no longer able to enhance the reflection of light. Note that the appearance of the finished product is substantially increased by only having the surface of the reflective film patterned by the laser. To achieve adequate results, the laser intensity and dwell on a particular spot need to be precisely set or the laser may not sufficiently mark the reflective film or it may burn through the reflective film. Ideally, the surface is patterned so lightly that to a user&#39;s touch the laser patterned area appears to be at essentially the same level as the rest of the front surface of the reflective film. Note that the pattern may be made by a number of dots where the laser has been focused on the surface of the reflective material. The density of the dots can be used to create shades of grey. On a colored reflective film, variations in dot density results in duotones. 
         [0016]    In one embodiment, the laser beam is positioned at different spots on a stationary reflective film. Conversely, it is possible to move the reflective film and have the laser beam be stationary. 
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is an example of a reflective design on a textile in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. A textile  30  has a reflective film  32  laminated to the textile  30 . Commonly, heat activated adhesive is used to laminate the reflective film  32  to the textile  30 . The reflective film  32  may be laminated by sonic welding, RF welding or any other of the well known laminating techniques. A design  34  is fashioned by a laser onto the surface of the reflective film  32 . The appearance of the overall product can be enhanced by selecting a textile  30  that has smooth surface commonly associated with a higher thread count and thinner yarn. For some applications like collars, it is helpful if the webbing of the textile is braided at approximately 45 degrees to the length of the collar. When this is done, bending the collar does not result in bumps from the textile in the reflective film. Before the reflective film  32  is laminated to the textile  30  the textile may be subjected to heat and pressure. This further tightens the weave of polymer based textiles. As a result, the reflective film sits flat on the textile rather than having a bumpy looking surface. In one embodiment, the reflective film is treated with an ink before it is patterned with the laser. The ink may be an alcohol based ink. 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of the steps used in producing a reflective design on a textile in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The process starts, at step  100 . A high thread count, thin yarn textile at step  102 . In one embodiment, the textile is a polymer based textile. In another embodiment, the textile is a polymer based textile, but not nylon. Pressure and heat are applied to a surface of the textile at step  104 . In one embodiment, only heat is applied to the surface of the textile. The reflective film is laminated to the textile at step  106 . The graphics and text design is input into a computer at step  108 . An ink may be applied to the reflective film at step  110 . At step  112 , the laser is focused onto the reflective film with the appropriate power and dwell settings to create the design, which ends the process at step  114 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view of a reflective laminate  120  in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The reflective laminate  120  has a carrier layer  122 , which protects the reflective film  124 . An adhesive  126 , commonly heat and/or pressure activated, is on an underside of the reflective film  124 . An adhesive protection layer  128  protects the adhesive  126  and keeps if from accidentally becoming adhered to the wrong surface. 
         [0020]    In order to create a pattern in the adhesive laminate  120 , the adhesive protection layer  128  is removed. A laser, such as laser  18  in  FIG. 1 , then creates a pattern in the adhesive. By appropriately adjusting the output settings of the laser the adhesive is ablated at selected locations. Next, the reflective laminate  120  with the patterned adhesive is applied to a substrate, such as substrate  14  in  FIG. 1 . Application may include the use of heat or pressure or both to cause the patterned reflective laminate to adhere to the substrate. The carrier layer  122  is then removed. When the carrier layer  122  is removed areas of the reflective film  124  that had adhesive ablated by the laser are also removed. As a result, a pattern of the reflective film  124  and the substrate is formed. Note that because the pattern is created on the adhesive backside of the reflective film  124 , the image has to be a mirror image of the desired end result. In one embodiment, the top side  22  ( FIG. 1 ) of the reflective film  124  is also patterned with the laser, as discussed with respect to  FIGS. 1-3 . Commonly the substrate will be a textile. The textile may be a finished garment, a garment panel, or the textile may form a patch. The patch may be sewn onto a garment or may have an adhesive backing to form an iron-on patch. Alternatively, the substrate can be paper or a material used to form a decal. Note that the laser is utilized to ablate the adhesive so as used in this embodiment lasering means a process that vaporizes or neutralizes the adhesive. 
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart of the steps used in producing a reflective design in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The process starts, step  130 , by lasering a pattern on an adhesive side of a reflective laminate material at step  132 . The reflective laminate material is applied to a substrate at step  134 . At step  136  the carrier layer of the reflective laminate, as well as the non-adhered laminate material is removed, which ends the process at step  138 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart of the steps used in producing a reflective design in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The process starts step  140 , by creating a design in a reflective film at step  142 . At step  144  the reflective film is applied to a substrate, which ends at step  146 . In one embodiment, steps  142  and  144  are reversed. Note that the substrate may be a textile, paper or a suitable decal material such as polyester film. The textile may be a garment or a patch. The patch may be sewn onto a garment or may be an iron-on patch. For an iron-on patch, the back side of the patch is a heat or pressure or combination adhesive. Commonly the laser patterned reflective film is attached to the patch textile by a heat and/or pressure adhesive. It is possible to attach the reflective film by applying heat or pressure by using a non-stick guard to protect the adhesive backside of the patch. Thus even if the adhesive on the patch is melted it is contained by the non-stick guard, such as a sheet of Teflon. Once cooled, the patch easily peels off the Teflon with the adhesive intact. The patch can later be heat applied to a garment. Alternatively, by adjusting temperature, pressure, and/or dwell time, it is possible to adhere the reflective film to the patch without activating the adhesive on the backside of the patch. 
         [0023]    In one embodiment, the patch is made with tabs that wrap around an article and adhere to each other, thus improving adhesion of a patch to articles such as pet collars 
         [0024]    Thus there has been described a system and method for producing a reflective design on a substrate that results in more visually appealing garments that have light reflecting material. 
         [0025]    While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alterations, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations in the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 3