Plastic objects including lenticular lens sheets

Abstract

A plastic product formed from a method of fabricating plastic objects having an insert of lenticular lens material integrally bonded or otherwise attached therein. In one embodiment, the method is used to fabricate a container, such as a conical cup, by first manufacturing or providing a sheet of lenticular material comprising layers of lens material and optical ridges and grooves and an ink layer printed on the flat side of the lens material. To protect the ink from the heat of molten or moldable plastic during later plastic processing, a thermally protective substrate is attached or bonded to the ink layer by using adhesives to attach a plastic substrate or by coating the ink with coating materials that thermally protect the ink from high temperatures. In one embodiment, the protective substrate is applied in a two step process of first placing a plastic hot melt onto a polyester or other material release liner and, after cooling of the hot melt, using heat and pressure to laminate or bond the hot melt plastic to the ink and then removing the liner. Lenticular inserts are cut out of the lenticular material sheets and the inserts are positioned within a mold where the container is formed by injection, blow, or other molding process. In this step, the substrate acts as a bonding surface as it contacts the molten plastic, melts, and then cools forming a bonding interface with the plastic used to form the container.

1 . A plastic product fabricated according to a method comprising:
 providing a lenticular lens material sheet comprising a lenticular lens layer having a first surface and a second surface, and an ink layer bonded to the second surface of the lenticular lens layer;   bonding a substrate layer to the ink layer;   cutting a lenticular insert from the resulting bonded lenticular lens material sheet;   positioning the lenticular insert in a mold cavity of a plastic molding assembly;   operating the plastic molding assembly to process a plastic material charge into the mold cavity to form the plastic object; and   cooling and ejecting the plastic product from the mold cavity wherein at least a portion of the substrate layer bonds to the plastic material charge during the operating of the plastic molding assembly, and the substrate layer thermally isolates the ink layer during the operating of the plastic molding assembly.   
   
   
       2 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , wherein the molding temperature is in the range of 300° to 700° F. 
   
   
       3 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , wherein the plastic material charge is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, styrene, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride. 
   
   
       4 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , wherein the substrate layer is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, amorphous polyethylene terephthalate, ultraviolet-curable coatings, solvent-based coatings, electron beam curable coatings, and water-based coatings. 
   
   
       5 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , wherein the substrate layer has a thickness selected from the range of 0.5 to 3.0 mils. 
   
   
       6 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , the method further including, prior to the bonding of the substrate layer,
 fabricating the substrate layer by providing a release liner and applying a substrate material to the release liner and   wherein the bonding of the substrate layer comprises forcing the ink layer and the substrate material into contact, activating the substrate material with heat and pressure to attach the substrate material to the ink layer, and removing the release liner.   
   
   
       7 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , wherein the substrate layer comprises a coating material and the bonding of the substrate comprises coating the ink layer with the coating material. 
   
   
       8 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , wherein the plastic molding assembly is one of an injection molding machine and a blow molding machine. 
   
   
       9 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , further including concurrently with the operating of the plastic molding assembly, retaining the first surface of the lenticular insert in contact with an outer wall of the mold cavity to block flow of the plastic material charge onto the first surface. 
   
   
       10 . The plastic product according to  claim 9 , wherein the retaining of the first surface comprises applying a vacuum to the portion of the first surface. 
   
   
       11 . The plastic product according to  claim 9 , wherein the retaining of the first surface includes attaching raised surface members to an exposed side of the substrate, the raised surface members contacting a center die element in the mold cavity of the plastic molding assembly during the positioning of the lenticular insert. 
   
   
       12 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , wherein the first surface of the lenticular lens layer has optical ridges and corresponding optical grooves. 
   
   
       13 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , wherein the first surface of the lenticular lens is smooth and the lenticular lens material sheet has lens forming air channels. 
   
   
       14 . The plastic product according to  claim 1 , further including a pimer coating situated between the lenticular lens layer and the ink layer.