The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 20, 2016
Filed:
Jul. 31, 2015
The Hillman Group, Inc., Cincinnati, OH (US);
Gary Edward Will, Gold Canyon, AZ (US);
Mark Leslie Tarter, Mesa, AZ (US);
Bryan Keith Solace, Chandler, AZ (US);
James Francis Huss, Scottsdale, AZ (US);
The Hillman Group, Inc., Cincinnati, OH (US);
Abstract
An automatic product sublimation process is disclosed allowing for point-of-sale customization of sublimation parameters in a retail environment. A dye sublimation transfer printing system is configured to print one or more images onto transfer media, then position the media onto a substrate. A selected product is positioned on top of the media. The system is configured to automatically determine, by a processor, one or more of a temperature and duration of a single thermal cycle to sublimate the one or more images onto the selected product. The determination may be based on properties of the product, characteristics of the images, or both. One or more heating platens engage the transfer media to sublimate the product in a single thermal cycle, wherein at least one of the cycle's temperature and duration match the determined values. The disclosed process improves the quality of the sublimation technique, yet requires no substantive operator training.