BACKGROUND A traditional way of applying a logo or other image to an article such as a car mat is to use embroidery, but the nature and quality of the images which can be produced is very limite. Recently, it has become known to apply designs to car mats and similar articles by screen printing the design onto a sheet of material which is then attached to the mat by stitching or using an adhesive or other means. Although the quality of the designs which can be achieved is improved it still leaves something to be desired. The known processes are also slow and expensive to set up, and the costs are prohibitive for small quantities. If the customer does not like the result the setting up costs are wasted.

The present invention seeks to provide a new and inventive way of embellishing articles which allows photographic quality designs to be produced quickly in large or small quantities at an acceptable cost and in which the resulting designs are waterproof and hardwearing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes a method of applying a design to an article, which includes: -using digital processing means to prepare a digital image for application to the article ; -sending the image to a printer to reproduce the visual image in two dimensional form on a carrier of flexible sheet material ; and -bonding the carrier to the article.

Although processing of the digital image will generally be required in order to enhance the image, e. g. by manipulation of the tone balance, changing or adding a background, etc., in some cases the image may be of sufficient quality to be printed without processing.

The electronic scanning means may comprise a digital camera or a flat bed optical scanner, for example.

In a simple form of the invention the image can be printed onto the upper surface of a white carrier which is secured to the article by welding or by an adhesive.

In one preferred form of the invention the image is printed onto a white carrier and covered by a protective layer of transparent polymeric material.

The transparent layer allows inexpensive inks to be used and provides a high quality gloss finish. The printed surface of the carrier preferably comprises an absorbent matt finish material so that the carrier may be formed of an absorbent material such as paper or have a fibrous layer applied thereto. Good results can thus be achieved using relatively inexpensive ink jet printers and water-based inks. The fibres may comprise natural fibres, e. g. cellulose, or a polymeric material. The transparent layer may be secured by heat laminating onto the carrier, or high frequency (h. f.) welding may be used to secure the layers together. The carrier may be bonded to the article using h. f. welding or using a low melt temperature adhesive with application of pressure.

In another preferred form of the invention the image is reversed and printed onto the underside of a carrier formed of a transparent polymeric material.

The printed image is then provided with a white backing, e. g. by screen printing over the entire image, or by placing a white sheet behind the printed surface. The layer or layers can be secured to the article by h. f. welding or a low melt temperature adhesive with application of pressure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following description and the accompanying drawings referred to therein are included by way of non-timiting example in order to illustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a general schematic view of apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention; and Figures 2 to 6 are sectional views through the layers of an article which has been embellished in accordance with the method, with the layers shown separated for the purpose of illustration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring firstly to Fig. 1, the illustrated apparatus comprises a computer 1 running image manipulation software. The computer 1 is provided with a monitor 2, a keyboard 3 and a mouse 4 and is linked to a flat bed optical scanner 5, e. g. by an RS232, USB, parallel or SCSI port. A CCD digital camera 6 is also provided for image capture. The computer is connected, e. g. by a parallel port, to a printer 7. The apparatus may further include a portable high frequency welding machine 8 of a known kind which uses an h. f. welding die. Alternatively, a simple heating press or a heated hand-held iron may be used, as explained below.

The apparatus is used to embellis or customise an article such as a harness pad or a car mat by applying an image to the article. The first step is to capture a visual image, which, by way of example, may be a view of a customer's motor vehicle, a motor dealership, a persons face, a company logo etc. The image is captured in a digital format, either by optically scanning a photograph using the flat bed scanner 5 or by direct acquisition using the digital camera 6. The acquired image is transferred in digital form to the computer 1 either through a direct link or, in the case of the digital camera, by transferring the image on"smart media"9 or a similar data carrier.

Once in the computer the digital image will usually require manipulation by one or more known image processing techniques such as cropping, rotating, cut-and-paste, adjustment of tone balance, hue etc. When all the necessary processing has been completed the image is sent to the printer 7 to reproduce the manipulated image in two-dimensional form.

First Embodiment A preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated in Fig. 2, uses water soluble inks which may be applied using an inexpensive ink jet printer. The image is printed onto a sheet of flexible polyvinyl chloride (pvc) 10 or other thermoplastic polymer having a printing surface formed by a layer of white fibrous flock material 11. The sheet is relatively thin and flexible, e. g. about 0.3mm thick. Viscose rayon fibres have been found to be suitable, although other fibres such as cotton could be used. The fibres allow the ink to be absorbed into the surface of the sheet so that the ink has an opportunity to dry out without bleeding. The image may be slightly blurred but is generally of good quality.

The sheet is trimmed if necessary, and a clear sheet of transparent pvc 12, or other suitable thermoplastic polymer, is then placed over the printed surface of the sheet 10 and the two superimposed sheets are placed onto an article to which they are to be secured. By way of example, a vehicle mat is shown having a flexible waterproof backing layer 13 of rubberised hessian or the like, which carries a fibrous pile 14 of a thermoplastic polymer such as polyamide or polypropylene. The fibrous layer may typically be up to 5mm thick and the fibres may be cut-off or formed into loops. The sheets are bonded to the mat using the h. f. welding machine 8 having a die which is shaped to correspond to the desired outline of the image. The die incorporates a cutting edge which, on contact with the sheets, removes marginal portions of the sheets around the printed image and bonds the sheets to the backing layer 13 through the fibrous layer 14 using high frequency energy which softens the area of the sheets in the high current regions and melts the part of the fibrous layer in contact with the said area so that the sheets and the mat all become welded together in a continuous peripheral weld. In the case of a fibrous layer formed of a high melting point plastic such as polypropylene it may be necessary to interpose a further thin thermoplastic bonding film 15 between the PVC sheet and the fibrous layer to ensure that a good bond is achieved. One such material is available under the trade name"Bondex".

The printed fibrous surface 11 of the sheet 10 is thus encapsulated between the transparent sheet 12 and the sheet 10 so that the presence of moisture will not cause the inks to run even if water penetrates the mat 13. Also, the transparent surface layer 12 provides a high quality glossy finish which is generally uncharacteristic of surfaces printed with water-soluble inks.

Clearly, the method can be used to apply images to other articles having a thermoplastic surface layer, such as a harness pad with a brushed polyamide surface used to prevent abrasion from a seat belt or the strap of a shoulder bag for example.

Second Embodiment Referring to Fig. 3, the image may be reversed by means of the computer and then printed onto the underside of a sheet of clear thermoplastic film 31.

A suitable clear film is polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET), which can be printed using water-soluble inks applied using an inexpensive ink let printer, although laser printing couid be used. The printed surface 32 of the film is then placed on a backing sheet 33 of white thermoplastic material such as PVC and the two layers 31,33 are then bonded to the article 34 by h. f. welding around the periphery of the superimposed sheets. It may be necessary to interpose a sheet of clear Bondex 35 between the two layers, and another sheet of Bondex 36 may be placed between the backing sheet and the article to assist welding.

Although h. f. welding equipment is very expensive requiring a substantial capital investment this means of attachment allows the printed images to be embedded into the surface of an article having a fibrous layer of thermoplastic material, and the printed sheet has a neat recessed welded edge.

Third Embodiment As shown in Fig. 4, a reversed image is printed into the underside 41 of a sheet of clear thermoplastic film 42 using a suitable printer. If a suitable film such as PET is used water soluble inks can be applied by means of an ink jet printer. A layer of white ink 43 is then deposited behind the printed image using a screen printing technique, following which a layer of low met temperature adhesive 44 is applied to the white layer. The adhesive is applied as a thin sheet with a pelable backing 45 using a heated press or hand iron. After removing the pelable backing layer the adhesive 44 is exposed to bond the printed sheet to the article 46 using the same press or iron.

This method avoids the need for an h. f. welding machine, and instead requires only a simple low cost press or iron. In addition, the printed sheet can be applied to a wider range of articles than is possible using h. f. welding, e. g. rubber mats.

Fourth Embodiment In Fig. 5, a non-reversed image is printed onto a sheet of paper 52, e. g. using an ink jet or laser printer. The printed surface 53 of the paper is then laminated with a protective clear thermoplastic film 54 by application of heat, which can be achieved with a low cost laminating machine. A thin sheet of low met temperature adhesive 55 is applied to the rear, non-printed surface of the paper using heat, and, after removing the peelable backing layer 56 from the adhesive, the laminated paper is bonded to the article 57 by application of heat and pressure using a press or iron.

Fifth Embodiment In Fig. 6 the image is printed onto the top surface 61 of a sheet 62 of white thermoplastic polymer, e. g. acetate, using a laser printer. Since the printed image is not water soluble it can be secured directly to the article 63 using h. f. welding, or a low melt temperature adhesive bonding sheet 64 can be used, as described above.

Sixth Embodiment Another embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 7 again uses water soluble inks which may be applied using an inexpensive ink jet printer. The image is printed onto a sheet of photographic quality inkjet paper or thin card 71 (e. g. 180 gsm) which is specially treated to bind water based inks. A layer of low meit temperature adhesive 72 is then applied to the rear of the paper or card placing the printed surface face down onto a clean surface.

The adhesive is applied as a thin sheet with a pelable backing using a heated press or hand iron to briefly heat the adhesive to about 120°C. The sheet is then cut to size to remove the border surrounding the required design. After removing the backing layer the adhesive is exposed so that it may be used to bond the printed sheet to the article 73, again using a heat press or iron.

Alternatively the sheet can be bonded to the mat using an h. f. welding machine having a die which is shaped to correspond to the outline of the image. The die bonds the sheet to the article using high frequency energy which softens the adhesive layer in the high current regions and melts the part of the article in contact with the said area so that the sheet is welded to the article in a continuous peripheral weld and produces an embossed effect.

The article may be a vehicle mat having a flexible waterproof backing layer of rubberised hessian etc. which carries a fibrous pile up to 5mm thick of a thermoplastic polymer such as polyamide or polypropylene. The method can also be used to apply images to other articles having a thermoplastic surface layer, such as a harness pad with a brushed polyamide surface used to prevent abrasion from a seat belt or the strap of a shoulder bag for example.

The printed inkjet paper provides a high quality glossy finish which is generally uncharacteristic of surfaces printed with water-soluble inks. The heating process may improve the binding of the inks so that the design is waterproof and hard wearing.

Seventh Embodiment This embodiment, shown in Fig. 8, again uses water soluble inks applied using an inexpensive ink jet printer. The image is printed onto a sheet of photographic quality inkjet paper or thin card 81 (e. g. 180 gsm) which is specially treated in known manner to bind water based inks. The printed card is placed into a transparent laminating pouch, formed of a thermoplastic polymer, which provides front and rear layers 82 and 83. The pouch is bonded to the sheet 81 using a heat-laminating machine.

The laminated sheet is then placed onto an article 84 to which they are to be secured, e. g. a vehicle mat having a flexible waterproof backing layer 85 which carries a fibrous pile 86, up to 5mm thick, formed of a thermoplastic polymer such as polyamide or polypropylene. The sheets are bonded to the mat using an h. f. welding machine with a die which is shaped to correspond to the desired outline of the image. The die incorporates a cutting edge which removes marginal portions of the sheets around the printed image and bonds the sheets to the backing layer through the fibrous layer using high frequency energy which softens the area of the laminating sheets in the high current regions and melts the part of the fibrous layer in contact with the said area so that the sheets and the mat all become welded together in a continuous peripheral weld. In the case of a fibrous layer formed of a high melting point plastic such as polypropylene it may be necessary to interpose a further thermoplastic bonding film 87 between the laminated sheet and the fibrous layer to ensure that a good bond is achieved.

The printed sheet 81 is thus encapsulated between the transparent sheets 82 and 83 so that the design is waterproof and very hard wearing. Also, the transparent surface layer 82 provides a high quality gloss finish.

Clearly, the method can be used to apply images to other articles having a thermoplastic surface layer, such as a harness pad with a brushed polyamide surface used to prevent abrasion from a seat belt or the strap of a shoulder bag for example.

Eighth Embodiment This embodiment, shown in Fig. 9, again uses water soluble inks applied using an inexpensive ink jet printer as illustrated in Fig. 1. The image is printed onto a sheet of photographic quality inkjet paper or thin card 91 (e. g.

180 gsm) which is specially treated in known manner to bind water based inks. The printed card is placed into a transparent laminating pouch, formed of a thermoplastic polymer, which provides front and rear layers 92 and 93.

The pouch is bonded to the sheet 91 using a heat-laminating machine.

A layer of low melt temperature adhesive 94 is then applied to the rear of the laminated paper or card placing the printed surface face down onto a clean surface. The adhesive is applied as a thin sheet with a pelable backing 95 using a heated press or hand iron to briefly heat the adhesive to about 120°C. The sheet is then cut to size to remove the border surrounding the required design. After removing the backing layer the adhesive 94 is exposed so that it may be used to bond the printed sheet to the article using a heat press or iron.

The article may be a vehicle mat 96 having a flexible waterproof backing layer 97 of rubberised hessian etc. which carries a fibrous pile 98 up to 5mm thick of a thermoplastic polymer such as polyamide or polypropylene. The method can also be used to apply images to other articles having a thermoplastic surface layer, such as a harness pad with a brushed polyamide surface used to prevent abrasion from a seat belt or the strap of a shoulder bag for example.

The laminated inkjet paper provides a high quality glossy finish which is generally uncharacteristic of surfaces printed with water-soluble inks. The heating process may improve the binding of the inks so that the design is waterproof and hard wearing.

In all of the foregoing examples it will be seen that the apparatus is relatively portable so that it can be used to produce customised articles on-site, or set up at shows and exhibitions etc. Once the capital investment has been made the setting up costs are non-existent and operating costs low, yet the process is very quick and produces images with a very high quality gloss finish. The process is suitable for producing large quantities of a single image or very small quantities, and even one image-one print production is perfectly economical.

It will be appreciated that the features disclosed herein may be present in any feasible combination. Whilst the above description lays emphasis on those areas which, in combination, are believed to be new, protection is claimed for any inventive combination of the features disclosed herein.