Method for manufacturing a decorated heating article
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for decorating culinary articles with multiple colors using inkjet printing face challenges, particularly when high-temperature curing is required, as standard inks degrade at temperatures above 300°C, leading to poor adhesion and pattern concealment.
Innovation Solution
A method involving direct inkjet printing of a composition onto an opaque substrate, using heat-stable binders and pigments, without an organic receiving layer, ensuring adhesion through substrate porosity or binder, and applying a transparent finishing layer to maintain decoration visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If standard inkjet printing with organic inks is used on culinary articles, then multi-color decoration can be applied, but the inks degrade at high temperatures above 300°C causing poor adhesion and pattern concealment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the ink composition by using inorganic pigments suspended in a water-based vehicle instead of organic inks, and employs a separate organic binder layer that can withstand high temperatures. This parameter change allows the decoration to survive curing temperatures above 300°C without degradation, maintaining both adhesion and pattern visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite decoration system consisting of multiple layers: an inorganic pigment layer suspended in water-based vehicle, an organic binder layer containing heat-stable polymers, and optionally a clear coat layer. This composite structure combines the heat resistance of inorganic materials with the adhesive properties of organic binders, resolving the contradiction between ease of decoration and reliability at high temperatures.
2Strength
If high-temperature curing is applied to inkjet-printed decorations, then durable coating is achieved, but standard inks degrade and patterns are concealed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a water-based vehicle that evaporates during curing, leaving behind only the inorganic pigments and binder. This disposable vehicle system allows for easy application and complete removal during the curing process, preventing any harmful residues while maintaining pattern visibility and coating durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the thermal stability parameters of the decoration system by replacing temperature-sensitive organic inks with heat-stable inorganic pigments and binders. This parameter change enables the coating to withstand high-temperature curing (above 300°C) without degradation, achieving durability while preserving pattern visibility.
3Ease of manufacture
If screen printing or tamp print is used for multicolored patterns, then patterns can be applied to flat surfaces, but multiple printing operations and screens are required increasing cost and time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical screen printing system with an inkjet printing system that uses digital control to deposit patterns. This substitution eliminates the need for physical screens and multiple printing operations, allowing complex multicolored patterns to be applied in a single pass, thereby increasing productivity and reducing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal printing system using inkjet technology that can print multiple colors and complex patterns without requiring separate screens for each color. The digital control system allows the same printing head to deposit different pigments in various patterns, making the system universally applicable to diverse decoration requirements while improving productivity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for high-temperature curing of inkjet-printed decorations on culinary articles, achieving durable, multi-color, and hyper-realistic designs without degrading the coating, ensuring excellent adhesion and maintaining the appearance of the patterns.
Implementation Method 1
The composition is applied by an inkjet process, in droplet form, onto the opaque substrate
Implementation Method 2
The binder ensures the adhesion of the decoration to the substrate or to the opaque layer if this one is not intrinsically opaque
Implementation Method 3
The substrate or the opaque layer, on which the decoration is printed, is porous and ensures the adhesion of the decoration to the substrate or to the opaque layer
Implementation Method 4
achieve high-temperature curing of inkjet-printed decorations on culinary articles, achieving durable, multi-color, and hyper-realistic designs without degrading the coating
Implementation Method 5
a heat treatment of solidifying said moist layer of the decoration, to form a decoration having the form of a continuous or discontinuous layer
Data Source
AI summary
A heating article includes a substrate having two opposite surfaces, at least one of which is opaque, and a heat-stable coating arranged on the opaque surface. The heat-stable coating includes an at least two-color decoration having continuous tones and being provided in the form of a continuous or discontinuous layer. A method for manufacturing such an article includes applying a decoration composition on the opaque surface of the article to form a moist decoration layer, and then heating the moist decoration layer to form a decoration having the form of one of a continuous or discontinuous layer.