US3701880A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method for sculpturing an indicia or decorative design in the surface of an article with a beam of corpuscular energy
Assignee: Philips North America LLC
•
Filing: 1968-11-29
•
Granted: 1972-10-31
•
Expires: 1988-11-29
Abstract
Abstract An indicia or artistic pattern, etc. is sculptured into the surface of an article, such as a glass envelope for an electric lamp or the like, by subjecting the article to a laser or an electron beam and varying the position of the article relative to the beam at a speed and in a manner such that the beam scans the article and removes preselected surface portions thereof either by vaporization or by thermally-induced fracturing and spalling. In the case of vitreous or ceramic articles that are susceptible to thermally-induced fracturing, etching by vaporization is achieved by preheating the article to a temperature which is near or above the strain point of the material. The sculpturing is preferably programmed by pulse-operating a laser with a control means which includes a photocell that scans a prototype article having the desired indicia or pattern on its surface. Apparatus for automatically reproducing a pattern or indicia in the surface of an article utilizing a laser source, a prototype article, means for correlating the movement of the prototype article and the article being processed relative to the laser beam and a photocell, and means for maintaining the laser beam in focused relationship with the surface of the article when the latter is of non-planar configuration is also disclosed. Novel decorative effects in the case of glass lamp bulbs are achieved by laser-etching the desired pattern in a coating applied to the exterior surface of the bulb and by subjecting a bulb to a series of laser pulses which produce a plurality of spaced cavities in the bulb surface by thermally-induced spalling and give it a pleasing facet-like appearance.
Inventors
- 👤 Clair M Rively
- 👤 James Petro
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 16:00
CPC Classifications
C; C03; C03C; C03C23/00; C03C23/0005; C03C23/004; B; B23; B23K; B23K26/00; B23K26/02; B23K26/06; B23K26/064; B23K26/0648; B23K26/0665; B23K26/08; B23K26/0823; B23Q; B23Q35/00; B23Q35/04; B23Q35/08; B23Q35/12; B23Q35/127; B23Q35/128; B44; B44C; B44C1/00; B44C1/22; B44C1/228; C03C23/0025; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/13; Y10T428/131
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
176 words
A method of sculpturing an indicia or a decorative design or the like in the surface of an article that is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of vitreous, glassceramic and ceramic substances that have different but predetermined strain points, which method comprises; subjecting the article to a stationary beam of corpuscular energy that has a predetermined power density per unit area, moving said article relative to said stationary beam of corpuscular energy in a manner such that the beam scans the surface of the article and heats only preselected portions thereof, and controlling the speed at which said article is moved so that the scan rate and power density per unit area of the impinging beam are so correlated that the surface portions of the article struck by the beam are rapidly heated to a temperature which is above the strain point of the material from which the article is made and is sufficient to remove said preselected surface portions and thereby sculpture the desired configuration into the surface of the article.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
176 words
A method of sculpturing an indicia or a decorative design or the like in the surface of an article that is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of vitreous, glassceramic and ceramic substances that have different but predetermined strain points, which method comprises; subjecting the article to a stationary beam of corpuscular energy that has a predetermined power density per unit area, moving said article relative to said stationary beam of corpuscular energy in a manner such that the beam scans the surface of the article and heats only preselected portions thereof, and controlling the speed at which said article is moved so that the scan rate and power density per unit area of the impinging beam are so correlated that the surface portions of the article struck by the beam are rapidly heated to a temperature which is above the strain point of the material from which the article is made and is sufficient to remove said preselected surface portions and thereby sculpture the desired configuration into the surface of the article.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the depth of the depressions sculptured into the surface of said article is controlled by varying the intensity of said beam and moving the article at a constant rate of speed.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the length and spatial orientation of the depressions sculptured into the surface of said article are controlled by pulsing the beam at a predetermined rate in concert with the speed and direction in which said article is moved relative to said beam.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said beam comprises an electron beam.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said beam comprises a laser beam.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
78 words
The method of claim 5 wherein; said laser beam is pulsed at a predetermined frequency, said article is of elongated configuration and is concurrently moved along and rotated about its longitudinal axis, and the rotational speed and axial movement of said article are so correlated relative to the pulse frequency of the laser beam that the desired indicia or decorative design is defined by a series of spaced lines which are etched into the surface of the article.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
71 words
The method of claim 6 wherein; said laser beam is pulsed at a frequency of about 60 cycles per second, and said article is rotated at a speed that is near synchronous at a submultiple of the 60 cycle per second laser-pulse frequency and the etched lines are thereby formed in groups which are distributed in a controlled pattern over the surface of the article and define a repetitive design therein.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
115 words
The method of claim 1 wherein: the power density per unit area of the impinging beam and the rate at which said article is moved are such that the said preselected surface portions of the article are vaporized, said article is composed of a material in said group that has a coefficient of thermal expansion in excess of approximately 15 X 10 7 per *C aNd thus comprises a material which fractures when rapidly heated to a temperature above its strain point, and at least the portion of said article that is struck and sculptured by said beam is preheated to a temperature near its strain point and fracturing of the article is thereby prevented.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
79 words
The method of claim 1 wherein; said article is light-transmitting and of hollow configuration and has a thin adherent coating of dissimilar material on its exposed surface, said beam and article are so oriented that the beam impinges upon said coating, and the power density per unit area of said beam and the speed with which the beam scans the moving article are so correlated that the portions of said coating which are struck by said beam are vaporized.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
107 words
The method of claim 1 wherein; said article is composed of a material in said group that has a coefficient of thermal expansion in excess of approximately 15 X 10 7 per *C and thus comprises a material which fractures when rapidly heated to a temperature above its strain point, and the power density per unit area of said beam and the speed with which the beam scans the moving article are so correlated that the said preselected surface portions of said article fracture and separate from the surrounding segments of the article in response to localized thermal stresses induced in the article by the impinging beam.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
90 words
The method of claim 1 wherein; said beam comprises a laser beam, said article is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of quartz, silica, high-silica content glass, glass-ceramic, or a semicrystalline ceramic that has a coefficient of thermal expansion less than about 15 X 10 7 per *C and can thus be rapidly heated to a temperature above its strain point without fracturing, and the power density per unit area of said laser beam is such that the said preselected surface portions of said article are vaporized.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 1 wherein; said beam comprises a laser beam, said laser beam is focused onto the surface of said article, the surface of said article being scanned is of non-planar configuration, and the focusing of said laser beam is varied as the beam scans the article so that said beam is maintained in focused relationship with the moving non-planar surface of the article.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
98 words
The method of claim 1 wherein; the configuration to be sculptured into said article is provided on the surface of a second article which is a replica of the article to be processed and thus constitutes a prototype article, and the desired configuration is sculptured into the surface of the article being processed by moving the prototype article in the same direction and at the same speed as the article being processed and concurrently terminating and reestablishing the beam in response to signals generated by scanning the configuration on the prototype article as the latter is being moved.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
105 words
The method of claim 1 wherein; said article comprises a lamp envelope that is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of vitreous and ceramic substances that has a coefficient of thermal expansion such that the material fractures when rapidly heated to a temperature above its strain point, and said beam comprises a laser beam that is focused onto the surface of said envelope and is of such intensity that it rapidly heats the envelope material to a temperature above its strain point and causes the associated surface portion of the envelope to fracture and separate from the surrounding segments of the envelope.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method of claim 14 wherein; the scanning of said lamp envelope by said laser beam is effected by rotating the envelope about an axis that is transverse to the laser beam and generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the envelope, and the laser beam is sequentially terminated and reestablished at a rate such that a plurality of Spaced shallow depressions are formed in the envelope surface.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 15 wherein; the lamp envelope is concurrently rotated about and moved along said axis at speeds which are so correlated with respect to the ''''on-off'''' cycling of the laser beam that a plurality of spaced shallow depressions are formed in a region of the envelope surface that extends around the envelope circumference.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
151 words
The method of claim 1 wherein; said article comprises a lamp bulb that is composed of vitreous or ceramic material that has a coefficient of thermal expansion such that the material fractures when rapidly heated to a temperature above its strain point, said beam comprises a laser beam that is focused onto the surface of said bulb and is of sufficient intensity to vaporize the material thereat, the scanning of said lamp bulb by said laser beam is effected by rotating the bulb about an axis that is transverse to the laser beam and generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bulb, and at least the portion of said bulb that is struck and sculptured by said laser beam is preheated to a temperature such that the temperature gradient produced in the bulb material by the impinging laser beam is less than that which would cause the material to fracture.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
135 words
The method of claim 17 wherein; said lamp bulb is concurrently rotated about and moved along its longitudinal axis; the desired indicia or decorative design is outlined in a photoelectrically-detectable material on the surface of a second bulb that is a replica of the bulb being processed and thus constitutes a prototype bulb, said prototype bulb is rotated about and concurrently moved along its longitudinal axis at the same rates of speed as the bulb being processed, the desired indicia or design is sculptured into the surface of the bulb being processed by scanning the indicia or design on the prototype bulb with a photocell and utilizing the output of the photocell to pulse the laser beam in an ''''on-off'''' sequence that corresponds to the portions of the indicia or design scanned by said photocell.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
86 words
The method of claim 18 wherein; a coating of finely-divided material is applied to the surface of the bulb being processed prior to the preheating and sculpturing thereof, the coating is field in situ onto the bulb surface during the preheating operation, and the speed at which the coated bulb is rotated and the power density per unit area of the impinging laser beam is such that preselected portions of the fired coating are vaporized and the desired indicia or design is etched in the coating.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the bulb being processed is composed of soda-lime glass and is preheated to a temperature such that the portion thereof that is subjected to the laser beam attains a temperature above the strain point of the glass.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
130 words
The method of sculpturing an indicia or a decorative design or the like in the surface of a metal article comprising; fabricating the article from a metal such that at least the surface layer of a portion of said article is more reflective than absorptive to impinging laser radiation, subjecting the said portion of the article to a laser beam, and varying the position of said article relative to said laser beam at a speed and in a manner such that the laser beam scans the surface of the said portion of the metal article and produces a localized heat input which exceeds the heat loss by an amount sufficient to vaporize only preselected portions of the article and thereby sculpture the desired configuration into the surface of said article.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
130 words
The method of sculpturing an indicia or a decorative design or the like in the surface of a metal article comprising; fabricating the article from a metal such that at least the surface layer of a portion of said article is more reflective than absorptive to impinging laser radiation, subjecting the said portion of the article to a laser beam, and varying the position of said article relative to said laser beam at a speed and in a manner such that the laser beam scans the surface of the said portion of the metal article and produces a localized heat input which exceeds the heat loss by an amount sufficient to vaporize only preselected portions of the article and thereby sculpture the desired configuration into the surface of said article.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 21 wherein said metal article is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of silver and a silver-plated base metal.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3246079A
Cited
US3112850A
Cited
US3340601A
Cited
US3410979A
Cited
DE1244346B
Cited
US3453097A
Cited
US3398237A
Cited
US3360398A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-10-31 | 1976-05-01 | 1976-10-31 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-10-31 | 1980-05-01 | 1980-10-31 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-10-31 | 1984-05-01 | 1984-10-31 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |