Use of the invention in the manufacture of furniture mouldings, building components and the like is also envisaged There is a continuin ; demand for lenzths of material, for example, for picture frames, of differincr ornamentai and/or decorative appeal and also for the provision of means to apply decorative finish to other household items such as furniture. In recent vars, there has been a resurgence in the popularity of decorative finishes on furniture, walls, objets d'art and picture frames.

Considerably artistic skill is demonstrated by craftsmen usinez modern paints and lacquers, such as water based mulsion and crackle lacquers, to obtain exciting results usinsuchtechnicuesasraroliin,stipplin and marbling. All these techniques are carried out by hand. They are time consuming and require considerable manual dexterity Consequently, they are expensive. Automate decoration usually produces a finish lacking in character and which does not possess the aesthetic appeal of a hand-finished article.

The articles suitable for decoration in accordance with the following invention may be formed by any conventional technique using conventional materials or may comprise articles made in accordance with one of Applicants'co-pending LTK Patent Application Nos. 98 23881 and 97 23009 or granted UK Patent No.

318.2276 The present invention, in contrast, provides an automate, relatively inexpensive method of applying decorative finishes to articles such as picture frames. The invention further provides an apparats capable of applyino decoration shaving a

hand-finished qualit} According to the present invention a method of decorating pre-formed articles comprises feeding an article through one or more stations, applying at least one coati_ to the article and passinl, the coated article, before the or each coaring has dried, decoratingstationhavingadecoratingelementforbringingaa movinU band of sheet material into contact with the article Preferably, a coatin_ is applied over a previous coating before it has dried. so that each wetduringpassagethroughthedecoratingstation.remains Conveniently, the decoratinl, element comprises a pressure roller beneath which the moving band of sheet material passes so that the material is brought into at least selective contact with the coated surface of the article being decorated. The pressure roller inclues surface ornamentation for transmitting through the moving band of skeet material so as to impress a corresponding surface decoration on the article.

Preferably, the roller comprises an engrave material.

Optionally, the roller inclues a removable sleeve carrying surface ornamentation thereon, the sleeve comprising a flexible moulable material. decoratingelementcomprisesabrush.Alternatively,the The sheet material, which is advantageously reelable, is selected from plastics materials such as clin,, film or polyester, paper materials such as crepe paper or blotting paper, fabric materials, foils or ans other similar material. Further, the sheet materia) may be crut-pied before being passed beneath the decorating element for contact with the article. The material is advantageously crumpled by being fed through a tube of diameter considerably smaller than the width of the sheet. lt will be seen that the sheet material is fed from a reel and is drawn beneath the decoratin,, element for contact with the article and is subsequently accumulated

on a reel.

The or each coating may be selected from paints, lacquers. varnishes or specialist including.forexample,cracklevarnishes.water-basedfinishingme diums mulsions to which colour concentrates have been added and non-standard mulsions. The coatinl, has a dried finish resulting in a matt, gloss. antique or metallised surface appearance.

The present invention further provides an apparats for decorating a pre-formed article, the apparatus articlesecuringstationhavingconveyingan means for feeding the article into a paintinl, station where at least one coating is applied to the article. a decorating station havinl a decoratliil, element for bringing a moving band of sheet material into contact with the coated article before the or each coating has dried and a dryin (y station for drying the resultant decorated surface of the article. articleisfeedthroughatleastthepaintinganddecoratingstationsP referably,the by means of a chain chainconveyorincludingarticleengagingthe barbs for securing the article thereto. This facilitates decoration of the majority of the article, for example. three sides of an article of rectangular cross-section.

The painting station has a pluralitv of paint spray guss for applving different coati-s to the article The spray guns may be set at an anle to the articles so that pairs of izuns operate to clive full painting coverage or different sides of the article are subjected to different colours or thicknesses of paint.

The decorating station comprises a base along which the conveying means feeds the article, a material reel for feeding the sheet material under the decorating element, which forces the material into direct contact with the article, and a waste reel for collecting material which has been in contact with the article.

The material is kept in contact with the article by a retaining element spaced a pre- determined distance downline of the decorating element The pre-detennined distance is such to provide a calculated contact time determined by the rate at which the article is fed througll the decorating station.

The invention further provides a decorated article comprising a pre-formed article having at least one coating applied thereto, the or each coating being modifie by the application of a force tiirou Ydi an intermediate medium.

The intermediate medium comprises a sheet material adapted to alter the concentration or thickness of the or each coating and to remove excess coating material, for example, paint or lacquer from the surface of the article.

Where two or more coatis,, s are applied to the article the coatingrs are blended and/or selectivelv removed to obtain an aesthetically appealing surface decoration shaving a hand-finished character.

The article beiill, decorated is preferably a pre-fomled plastics article, for example. an extruded foamed polystyrene or polyvinyl chloride article which has been formed so as to have a rigid outer skin and is of sufficient strength to form members such as picture frames or ornamented building components such as cornices or dado rails. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention is also applicable to articles of natural material such as wood and other materials such as plaster or fibre glass While the article mazez be intended for forming part of a picture frame, the invention is also applicable to the formation of components for furniture which may include features such as ornamental beading.

The invention will now be described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings which show. bu wav of example only. two arrangements of apparats according to the invention In the drawings Figure I is a schematic overview of an article decorating apparatus; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the decorating station according to a first arrangement of the apparats.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the decorating station of Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a side elevation of the decorating station according to a second arrangement of the apparats

tothedrawings.andinitiallytoFigure1.theapparatusforReferring now decorating a pre-formed article comprises a series of stations to facilitate a single pass method of decorating an elongate article. such as an extruded plastics member The article A to be decorated is mounted on a chain conveyor 1-in an article securino station 2. The chain conveyor 1 is provided with a series of barbs or spikes 4 which penetrate a surface of the article A which is not to be decorated, for example. a wall facin (y side of a dado rail or a picture frame. The spiked chain conveyor I thus allows all other surfaces to be decorated or. at least, coated The secured article A is feed throu (yh a paintin station 6 where a number of coatings are successively applied to the article A Spray guns 8 are positioned in the pantin (t station 6 in such a wav as to ensure the coatings are applied as required.

The coating materials usually comprise paints but can also be lacquers varnishes or specialist finishing materials including. for example, crackle varnishes, water- based mulsions to which colour concentrates are added and non-standard emulsions. The coating materials are selected to vield a desired matt, gloss, antique or metallised surface appearance.

In the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1, the spray guns 8 are ancyled to allow the major surfaces of the article (not shown) to be coated. For flat-face articles (where the flat face is dispose upwardly), the spray guns can each coat the available surface and may each be provided with different coating materials to provide. in this case, six different coatinus to tille article. For articles having complex profiles or deep ornamentation, the auns 8 are operated in pairs to provide maximum coating coverage An article A to be decorated will have a base colour on which a first coatina is sprayed. While that coating is still wet, a second coatina is applied (wet-oll-wet application). Each subsequent coating is applied onto the previous wet one and the article is fed whilst the coati-s are still in the wet state to the decorating station 10 where they are contacte with sheet matera) as will be described in more detail with reference to Fluures 2,') and 4. After decoration on the wet coatings the article is transferred from the station 10 to a drying oven 12 and. when all the applied lavers are dry. the decorated article is transferred from the chain convevor I to a take-off conveyor 14

With reference to Figures 2 rand 3. a first arrangement of decorating station 10 comprises a rubber pressure rolief 16 which is positioned so that the article A passes under the roller 1 G from the painting station 6 with the applied coatings still in the wet state. Sheet material 18. is fed from an elevated reel 19. under the roller 16 and into contact with the article A. As the material 18 is fed downwardly, it passes through a control tube 21 which gathers the material to compress it laterally. The tube 21 has a diameter considerably less than the width of the sheet material 18. The material which is now in a crumpled form is fed to the nip between the pressure roller 16 and the article A bein g decorated The crumpled skeet material is maintained in contact with the article bv a further roller 24 and is then reeled onto a waste roller 25. The decorated article is then passed to the dring oven 12.

Figure 4 illustrates a second arrangement of decoratinu station 10 sli-nilar to that shown in Figure 3 in that it comprises a pressure roller 16 which is positioned so that the article A passes under the roller 16 and sheet material l 8 is fed from a reel 19 under the roller 16 and into contact with the article before beiiil, reeled onto a waste roller 25. In this arrangement however, the sheet material is fed directif to the pressure roller 16 without constriction of the material 18 Surface ornamentation 16a is provided on the curved surface of the roller 16 and it is the design of this ornamentation which is transferred through the material 18 which is brought into selective contact with the coated article A. lt will be understood by the skilled reader that an ornamented roller as used in the second arrangement illustrated in Figure 4, can equally be used in the arrangement shown in Figure 3 to provide a combine crumpled material and applied design finish to the coated article. The plain or ornamented roller may be formed of metal or, more conveniently, comprises a plastics material roller. A silicone roller is preferred as it most easily accommodates ornamented articles. is easily engrave or pattern cut and is easilv replaceable. Optionally, a plain metal roller may be adapted by fittinT a removable, ornamented sleeve manufactured from a moulable material.

To provide a further range ouf decorative effect, the roller 16 mazez be replace by a static or rotating brush of various grades of bristle hardness. A wire brush shaving

tines that penetrate the sheet material and score through the article coatings provides a unique finish. A brushed effect used in combination with a pressure roller as described in the arranements above with reference to FILLlres 2,3 and 4 allons combine effects to be achieved.

In use, a length of a pre-fomled profile or moulding is selected for decoration.

The article mav be formed using any conventional technique. for example. extrudingusingconventionalmaterials,forexample.wood,plaster, mouldingor medium density fibre boyard (MDF), fibre glass or a plastics material such as polystyrene or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) Decoration can be applied to plain, lightly ornamented or heavilv ornamented profiles and the apparats and method are advantageously used with articles made usin2 techniques developed b the present Applicant. Exemplars of such articles are a) an extrusion havin (i a solvent based wood paste whicll is moulded or otherwise shaped and allowed to dry to form a solid surface ornamentation: b) a plastics article formed by firstly extruding plastics material and then remoulding it in a hot stamp presst and c) a plastics article which is ornamented by feeding the article throu¢ ; h an havinganembossingwheel/rollermaintainedatanembossingstation elevated temperature and arranged to provide an ornamental embosse pattern cut into the article with formation of raised beadings around the embosse portions.

The article to be decorated is introduced to the apparats at the article securing station 2 where it is mounted on the chain conveyor I by pushing the article onto spikes or barbs 4 upstandin, from the chain conveyor 1. To more accurately position an article on the chain conveyor, introducer rollers (not shown) position the article and a pressure roller or wheel (not shown) forces the article downwardly onto the spikes 4 In this way. the article A is supporte on tille chain conveyor allowing all surfaces, except the spiked surface, to be accessible for coati_. The chain conveyor 1 carries the article into the painting station 6 where

the coatings are applied b the spray guns 8. By way of illustration onln, a pre- formed article including surface ornamentation havilJ a dey silver base coat is conveyed into the wherefourcoatingsaretobeapplied.Thefirststation coating is a gold colour to which is added a dark cherry (red) coatln_L, while the gold coating is still wet (wet-on-wet application). A black and finally. a second gold coating are applied over the still wet previous coatinos. It will be noted that the number of coatin (rs is limited only by practical considerations of tille number of supra _uns provided in the painting station. the rate of feed of the article and the propensity of excessive amounts of paint to drip yielding an unreliable finish Between three and six coatinls is considered to Eive an adequate range of results.

The wet and multi-coated article A is then fed into the decoration station 10 where it passes under the pressure roller 16. Sheet material 18 is fed fi-oi-n the reel 19 under the roller 16 and is forced into contact with the coated surfaces of the article A. As the article A is fed undel-the roller. the roller displaces and blends the paint in a manner determined by the following factors : a) the ornamentation of the article. b) surface ornamentation on the rollier ; and c) irregularities. folds or crumpled areas in the sheet material.

A change in any one of these factors will effect the decorative result.

Additionally, the pressure with which the roller is applied to the article will determine the amount of paint displaced and the degree of blending between the superimposed coatings. Excess paint is retained on the sheet i-naterial 18 which is accumulated on a waste reel 25. Having passed through the decorating station, a certain amount of reflow of the paint coatings softens the decorative effect achieved in the decorating station. Further, the imprint of surface ornamentation 16a on the roller 16 throuh the sheet material 18 Qives an imperfect imprint of that ornamentation on the article A which results in a hand-finished appearance.

For the example given above. the final appearance is of that normall ! associated with antique gold leaf ornamented picture frames where the crests of the ornamentation have a burnished or worn L,, old appearance which fades to a dark colour mixed with hints of old in the troughs of the ornamentation. This effect

can be randomise by applying a pattern cut to the roller or by substituting the roller with a brush (not shown).

As discussed in relation to Figures 2 and 3. the sheet material 18 is optionally fed through the control tube 21 to generate random patterning in the sheet material 18.

This is advantageously used with a plain pressure roller 16, but may also be used with an ornamented rollier. lt will be understood bv a person skilled in the art that the roller and sheet technique may be applied to selective parts of the width of the article, for example, an ornamented section of a profile. to vield results in which a final antique finish is achieved where accumulated grime appears to have accumulated in the ornamented width and a crinkle varnish finish is left unaffected on a flat portion of a profile article.

After decoration, the article is fed on the chain conveyor through the dryin oven 12 to dry the decorated coatings and fix the desired finishes thereto. Finally, as the chain convevor is returned towards the mounting area the article is removed from the barbs 4 and is fed to a take off conveyor 14 for stacking and/or packaging It will be seen that the process can be operated in an automate fashion at considerable speed, for example 30-40 metres per minute and up to 50 metres per minute. One can move from an extruded article to a complex coated and ornamented product in a sine ; le pass process A wide variety of ornamental finishes can be obtained maint-, full use of the vast array of coatings which are now available to the decorator and the variety of reelable sheet materials that can be used for contact with the articles.

It will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein. which are given by way of example only, and that various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the appende claims.