Decorative decal assembly for a weight plate

Abstract

The decorative decal assembly (20) is configured to be secured within a recessed surface (26) of a weight plate (18) and includes an adhesive layer (36), a printable surface (44) of an adjacent ink protective printing layer (42), and one or more print decals (48) secured to the printable surface (44) and between an upper support surface (40) of the adhesive layer (36) and the ink protective layer (42). The recessed surface (26) defines a display area (56) surrounded on all sides by an expansion zone (58) extending between the display area (56) and the shoulders (30, 32) of the weight plate (18) that define the recessed surface (26) to permit limited expansion of perimeter edges (62A, 62B) of the decal assembly (20) into the expansion zone (58) without contacting the shoulders (30, 32) whenever the weight plate (18) experiences a bounce shock.

Claims

1. A rubber substrate with decal assembly attached thereto, wherein the decal assembly comprises: an adhesive layer having a contact surface that is attached by chemical bond to a surface of the rubber substrate; an intermediate layer in direct contact with the adhesive layer, wherein the intermediate layer is formed from an elastomeric material; and a decal on a surface of the intermediate layer opposite the adhesive layer, wherein the decal comprises a colored material.

2. The rubber substrate with decal assembly as recited in claim 1 comprising more than one decals, wherein the decals may be of one or more colors and/or shapes.

3. The rubber substrate with decal assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein the decal is disposed on a printable surface of the intermediate layer.

4. The rubber substrate with decal assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein the decal is in direct contact with the intermediate layer.

5. The rubber substrate with decal assembly as recited in claim 1 further comprising a protective layer disposed over an outer surface of the decal.

6. The rubber substrate with decal assembly as recited in claim 1 comprising a plurality of the decals positioned adjacent one another along a display surface of the rubber substrate.

7. The rubber substrate with decal assembly as recited in claim 1 comprising at least two decals wherein a first decal is positioned at least partially over a second decal.

8. The rubber substrate with decal assembly as recited in claim 1 comprising more than one decals, and wherein at least one of the one or more decals comprises a color different from that of the substrate.

9. A rubber substrate and decal assembly comprising; an adhesive layer having a contact surface that is attached to a surface of the rubber substrate and having a support surface opposite the contact surface, wherein the adhesive is formed from a material that chemically bonds to the surface of the rubber substrate; an intervening layer in direct contact with the adhesive layer support surface and formed from an elastomeric material; and a visual display on a surface of the intervening layer opposite the adhesive layer, wherein the visual display comprises a colored material.

10. The rubber substrate and decal assembly as recited in claim 9 wherein the visual display is positioned along a display area of the rubber substrate.

11. The rubber substrate and decal assembly as recited in claim 10 wherein the display area is a sidewall surface of the rubber substrate.

12. The rubber substrate and decal assembly as recited in claim 9 comprising two or more visual displays that include at least one overlapping segment with one another.

13. The rubber substrate and decal assembly as recited in claim 9 wherein the intervening layer protects the visual display from mechanical stress and deformation associated of the substrate.

14. The rubber substrate and decal assembly as recited in claim 9 further comprising an outermost layer that is disposed over the visual display.

15. The rubber substrate and decal assembly as recited in claim 9 wherein the decal assembly comprises a number of visual displays that are positioned a distance away from one another along the surface of the rubber substrate.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of prior art weight plate showing a circular recessed surface that is co-axial with a central axis of the weight plate.

(2) FIG. 2 is weight plate having a decorative decal assembly secured within a recessed surface on a side of the weight plate and constructed in accordance with the present disclosure.

(3) FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view taken along sight line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION

(4) Referring to the drawings in detail a decorative decal assembly for a weight plate 18 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and is generally designated by the reference numeral 20. The weight plate 18 includes a first side 22 and an opposed second side 24, and also includes a recessed surface 26 that is defined within the first side 22. A second recessed surface 28 is defined in the second side 24 of the weight plate 18. The recessed surface 26 extends between a first shoulder 30 and a second shoulder 32 defined within the first side 22 of the plate. The shoulders 30, 32 descend below an exterior surface 34 of the first side 22 of the weight plate 18 to surround and thereby define the recessed surface 26.

(5) The decorative decal assembly 20 includes an adhesive layer 36 that has a contact surface 38 and an opposed support surface 40. The adhesive layer 36 may be made of a pressure sensitive adhesive such as acrylic adhesive designed for applications requiring clarity, high shear, permanent tack, and chemical resistance. One such permanent acrylic adhesive is Part #TT-V29 from FLEXcon located in Spencer, Mass. or Structured 350 Adhesive from 3M Company which is designed to prevent air bubble formulation when laminated or applied to surfaces. Additional adhesives include but are not limited to other acrylic, polyurethane-based pressure sensitive adhesives, thermosetting adhesives, epoxy or similar chemical cure adhesives and the like capable of bonding sufficiently to withstand impact and use commonly experienced by the weight plate.

(6) An ink protecting printable layer 42 has a printable surface 44 that is secured to the support surface 40 of the adhesive layer 36. The ink protecting printable layer 42 also has an opposed outer protective surface 46. The ink protecting printable layer 42 must be made of a material capable of withstanding the bounce shock associated with weight plate 18 activity; mechanical stress and deformation experienced by the weight plate 18; resistance to ultra-violet light (UV light) and other chemical exposure; as well as resistant to abrasion. One such material is a layer 42 of high strength polyurethane film part number EU94DS available from Smith and Nephew Extruded Films of East Yorkshire, England. Other comparable materials including polyester, urethane and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) films, high flex vinyl and comparable printable films. Experiments by the present inventors have established that the layer 42 should optimally have a thickness that is ideally between about 80 microns and about 150 microns thick, which is of sufficient thickness to withstand abrasive forces experienced by the weight plate. (For purposes herein, the word thickness is to mean a shortest distance between opposed outer surfaces of the printable layer.) For weight plates requiring additional durability and related specific conditions (e.g. exclusively outdoor, ocean-beach usage), the ink protecting printable layer 42 may have a thickness between about 50 microns to about 300 microns, depending on a predetermined specific application for the weight plate 18.

(7) At least one, or a first ink decal 48 is secured to the printable surface 44 of the ink protecting printable layer 42 so that the ink decal 48 and the printable surface 44 are adjacent and secured to the support surface 40 of the adhesive layer 36. FIG. 3 shows a second ink decal 50 displaced away from the first ink decal 48; a third ink decal 52 similarly displaced away from the second ink decal 50; and, a fourth ink decal 54 positioned away from the third ink decal 52. These four ink decals 48, 50, 52, 54 represent the markings 14 shown in FIG. 2, wherein only the leading edges of the four ink decals 48, 50, 52, 54 are seen in the FIG. 3 fragmentary, cross-sectional view taken along sight line 3-3 of FIG. 2. By the phrase ink decal 48, it is to be understood that the ink decal 48 may include a spray of ink 48 onto the printable surface 44 of the ink protecting printable layer 42, such as ink sprayed by a digital plotter printer, or ink-jet technology; laser-ink application technology; chemical etching, screen printing, flexographic printing or any process known for applying a light-reflective, highly elastomeric ink substance to the printable surface 44 of the ink protecting printable layer 42. The ink decal 48 should be curable via ambient conditions or other techniques such as application of UV light or heat exposure so as to remove any solvent medium, which is often water or volatile, solvent-based compounds. One such ink 48 that may be selected is silkscreen 800 series ink from Union Process of Akron Ohio. It is important to select an ink 48 material which will not fade, discolor or degrade when exposed to conditions such as UV light, heat or other factors and also must be sufficiently elastomeric to withstand mechanical stress and deformation commonly experienced by the weight plate, and identified herein as bounce shock.

(8) The recessed surface 26 defines a display area 56 surrounded on all sides by an expansion zone 58 extending between the display area 56 and the shoulders 30, 32 of the weight plate 18 that define the recessed surface 26. The expansion zone 58 extends a sufficient distance between perimeter edges 60A, 60B of the display area 56 and the shoulders 30, 32 defining the recessed surface 26 to permit limited expansion of perimeter edges 62A, 62B of the decal assembly 20 into the expansion zone 58 without any perimeter edge 62A, 62B of the decal assembly 20 contacting the shoulders 30, 32 defining the recessed surface 26 whenever the weight plate 18 experiences a bounce shock. Additionally, the contact surface 38 of the adhesive layer of the decal assembly 20 contacts, is adhered to and completely overlies the display area 56 of the recessed surface. The ink protecting printable layer 42 of the decal assembly 20 also completely overlies the display area 56 of the recessed surface 26.

(9) It is to be understood that, the decorative decal assembly 20 may be in a specific planar, geometric form to match and completely overlie the display area 56 when the display area takes the shape of a variety of forms. For example, the recessed surface 26 of the weight plate 18 may be in the shape of a co-axial partial or full circle, such as for example when the weight plate 18 is circular having a circular outer perimeter, as shown in FIG. 2. The recessed surface 26 may also be in the form of an arbitrary shape either side 22, 24 of the weight plate 18. Moreover, the weight plate 18 may include a plurality of recessed surfaces 26, 28 on both sides 22, 24 of the plate 18.

(10) In further embodiments, the ink decals 48, 50, 52, 54 may be applied such as by ink sprays or coating, in segments 48, 50, 52, 54 along the printable surface 44 of the ink protecting printable layer 42. The ink decals 48, 50, 52, 54, may be applied to completely overlie the printable surface 44 to also overlie the display area 56 of the recessed surface 26, including, for example solid ink or clear ink segments (not shown) between colored ink segments 48, 50, 52, 54, that may be applied in several colors in adjacent or overlapping segments (not shown). Additionally, the ink decals 48, 50, 52, 54 may be applied in several colors in stacked overlying layers (not shown) of decals 48, 50, 52, 54, wherein each layer includes adjacent color segments within the overlying layers secured to the printing surface 44 of the ink protecting surface layer 42. It is to be understood that additional protective layers 42 with or without print decals attached thereto (not shown) may be applied to further protect the ink decals 48, 50, 52, 54, and that the decorative decal assembly 20 may also include many layers of the ink decals 48, 50, 52, 54 secured between the printable surface 44 of the ink protective printable layer 42 and support layer 40 of the adhesive layer 36.

(11) In some embodiments, the expansion zone 58 has an average distance between a perimeter edge 60A, 60B of the display area 56 and the shoulders 30, 32 of the recessed surface 26 of between about 1 millimeter (mm) and 5 am. (For purposes herein the word about is to mean plus or minus twenty percent.)

(12) The disclosure also includes methods of forming the decorative decal assembly 20 and applying the assembly 20 to the recessed surface area 26 of the weight plate 18. An exemplary method includes the steps of first applying and securing ink decals 48, 50, 52, 54 to the printable surface 44 of the ink protecting printable layer 42; then securing the printable surface 44 of the layer 42 to the support surface 40 of the adhesive layer 36; and then securing the contact surface 38 of the adhesive layer 36 to the display area 56 of the recessed surface 26. This method may also include calibrating ink applicators (not shown) to spay or coat ink decals 48, 50, 52, 54 within a predetermined area or areas on the printable surface 44 of the ink protecting printable layer 42 that completely overlie a predetermined area or areas of the display area 56. The method may also include use of standard release liners (not shown) applied to the contact surface 38 of the adhesive layer 36 so that the decal assembly may be safely stored and transported prior to application to the recessed area 26 and the weight plate 18, wherein the release liner (not shown) is peeled away from the contact surface 38 of the adhesive layer 36 prior to application of the decal assembly 20 to the display area 56. (It is to be understood that a release liner (not shown) is very common in adhesive applications, such as liners pulled away from U.S. Mail Express Mail envelope labels prior to applying the uncovered adhesive on the label to close the envelope. Hence, a release liner is neither shown in the Figures nor claimed.)

(13) The disclosure also includes the aforesaid methods of forming the decorative decal assembly 20 and applying it to the recessed surface area of the weight plate, along with other known methods of applying layered decorative decal assemblies 20 to rubber and/or plastic surfaces.

(14) While the present disclosure has been presented above with respect to the described and illustrated embodiments of the decorative decal assembly 20 for a weight plate 21, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to those alternatives and described embodiments. Accordingly, reference should be made primarily to the following claims rather than the forgoing description to determine the scope of the disclosure.