Glass bottle with engraved label and method therefor

Abstract

A glass bottle having a body adapted to contain a beverage with a label that carries a predetermined information, and a method for engraving the label are provided. The label is engraved on a predetermined portion of the body by selectively removing glass from the body. The selective glass removal is performed by applying high pressure jet of abrasive material onto a sanding film adhered to the predetermined portion of the body. The predetermined information includes letters and/or images provided by a user. The predetermined information is edited with a computer program, in a way that the edited information is suitable for printing on a sanding film. The sanding film has a property of resisting abrasion selectively according to specific portions of the predetermined information printed thereon, so that glass of the bottle are removed on an area corresponding the adhered sanding film except the specific portions.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a glass bottle for alcoholic beverage bottle with engraved label and a method for providing such glass bottle. More particularly, this invention relates to a glass bottle for alcoholic beverage having a label engraved on the external surface of the bottle according to customized design that a user wants, and a method for engraving such customized design to a glass bottle.

Alcoholic beverages such as wines, whiskies and brandies are frequently selected as gifts due to their popularity and symbolic meanings for congratulation of specific events including birthday, graduation, launch of business, etc. While luxurious and beautiful packages or paper cards carrying congratulation messages have been widely used for representing the messages of those who send the beverages as gifts, such means for carrying congratulation messages are separate from the glass bottle that contains the beverages.

Glass bottles for high-priced alcoholic beverages usually have an authentic design, and such design is a vital part showing the value of the gift. It would be highly desirable for the glass bottle itself to carry messages for gift permanently.

Prior art did not provide an efficient and versatile method for providing such permanent messages or images on a glass bottle for alcoholic beverage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention contrives to solve the disadvantages of the prior art.

An objective of the invention is to provide a glass bottle that carries a permanently engraved label.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a glass bottle having a permanent label engraved on the bottle according to a design customized to a user's request.

Still another objective of the invention is to provide a method of engraving a permanent label, which is customized to a user's request, on a glass bottle.

To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a glass bottle including a body adapted to contain a beverage and a spout connected to the body for dispensing the beverage. The body includes a label that carries a predetermined information. The label is engraved on a predetermined portion of the body by selectively removing glass from the body. The selective glass removal is performed by applying high-pressure jet of abrasive material onto a sanding film adhered to the predetermined portion of the body. The sanding film carries the predetermined information.

The predetermined information includes letters and/or images provided by a user or customer.

Alternatively, the predetermined information is selected by a customer from an existing collection of information.

The predetermined information is edited with a computer program, in a way that the edited information is suitable for printing on a sanding film.

One surface of the sanding film is self-adhesive so that the sanding film can be attached to the body of the glass bottle.

The sanding film has a property of resisting abrasion selectively according to specific portions of the predetermined information printed thereon, so that glass of the bottle are removed on an area corresponding the adhered sanding film except the specific portions.

The depth of removal is controlled to a predetermined value.

The selected portion of the engraved label may be plated to have a color that is different from the color of the glass bottle. Preferably, the color is gold.

Preferably, the selected portion that is plated is the portion in which glass has been removed.

The present invention provides a method for engraving a permanent, customized label on a glass bottle.

The method includes the steps of (a) receiving information for the customized label from a customer, (b) printing the information on a sanding film, (c) firmly attaching the sanding film on a predetermined portion of the body of the glass bottle, and (d) engraving the label.

The label is engraved by selectively removing glass from the body. The selective glass removal is performed by applying high pressure jet of abrasive material onto the sanding film.

The label engraving step includes moving the glass bottle relative to the high pressure jet so that specific portion of the sanding film is exposed to the high pressure jet at a given moment.

The printing step includes a step of editing the information from the user with a computer program, in a way that the edited information is suitable for printing the sanding film.

The advantages of the present invention are: (1) a customized label that carries unique messages for each glass bottle is provided; (2) the unique label is permanently engraved on the glass bottle; (3) the label greatly enhances the value of wine or liquor that is sent as a gift; (4) a customer has a variety of choice for combined images and messages; (5) the aesthetic appearance of the unique label is further enhanced by the plating applied selectively on an image or letters; and (6) the message engraved precisely in a shallow depth on the surface of the bottle provides a clear and three-dimensional impression.

Although the present invention is briefly summarized, the fuller understanding of the invention can be obtained by the following drawings, detailed description and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a glass bottle having a customized, permanently engraved label according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the glass bottle is rotated relative to a high-pressure jet of abrasive materials;

FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged view showing that glass is removed selectively at specified portions of the label;

FIG. 4 is a schematic elevation view showing the glass bottle is moved up and down relative to a high pressure jet of abrasive materials; and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing a method of engraving a customized, permanent label on a glass bottle according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a glass bottle 10 according to the present invention. The glass bottle includes a body 12 that is adapted to contain a beverage such as wine or brandy and a spout 14 that is connected to the body 12 for dispensing the beverage. The body 12 includes a label 16 that carries a predetermined information. The label 16 is engraved on a predetermined portion 13 of the body 12 by selectively removing glass from the body 12.

Referring to FIG. 3, the selective glass removal is performed by applying a high-pressure jet 18 of abrasive material from a nozzle 20 onto a sanding film 22 adhered to the predetermined portion 13 of the body 12. The sanding film 22 carries the predetermined information provided by a customer.

The predetermined information includes letters and/or images provided by a user or customer.

Alternatively, the predetermined information is selected by a customer from an existing collection of information. The information on the label 16 may include scanned images, and photographs from various sources.

The predetermined information is edited with a computer program, in a way that the edited information is suitable for printing on the sanding film 22.

One surface of the sanding film 22 is self-adhesive so that the sanding film 22 can be attached to the body 12 of the glass bottle 10. That is, the sanding film 22 includes an adhesive layer 24 as shown in FIG. 3.

The sanding film 22 has a property of resisting abrasion selectively according to specific portions 26 of the predetermined information printed thereon, so that glass of the bottle 10 are removed on an area corresponding the adhered sanding film 22 except the specific portions 26.

The depth of removal is controlled to a predetermined value not to affect the strength of the glass bottle 10 and to provide a fine and delicate appearance.

The selected portion of the engraved label 16 may be plated to have a color that is different from the color of the glass bottle 10. Preferably, the color is gold.

Preferably, the selected portion that is plated is the portion in which glass has been removed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the present invention provides a method for engraving a permanent, customized label on the glass bottle 10.

The method includes step S10 of receiving information for the customized label 16 from a user, step S12 of printing the information on a sanding film, step S18 of firmly attaching the sanding film 22 on a predetermined portion of the body 12 of the glass bottle 10, and step S20 of engraving the label 16.

The label 16 is engraved by selectively removing glass from the surface of the body 12. The selective glass removal is performed by applying high-pressure jet of abrasive material onto the sanding film 22.

The label engraving step S20 includes step S22 of moving the glass bottle 10 relative to the high pressure jet 18 or the nozzle 20 so that specific portion of the sanding film 22 is exposed to the high pressure jet 18 at a given moment. FIGS. 2 and 4 show an example of how this relative movement is achieved. The glass bottle 10 is fixed on a turntable 28. The turntable 28 can rotate and move up and down as indicated by arrows.

The printing step S12 includes a step S14 of editing the information from the user with a computer program, in a way that the edited information is suitable for printing the sanding film 22.

The method further includes step S16 of selecting a specific glass bottle 10 and measuring dimension of the glass bottle 10 between step S12 and S18. That is, a specific glass bottle corresponds a specific brand and size of wine or liquor that the customer chose. And a suitable size of the sanding film 22 and specific position on the body 12 of the glass bottle 10 where the sanding film 22 are determined based on the dimension measured or stored in a database for particular size and brand of wine or liquor.

After step S20, the method further includes step S24 of removing the sanding film 22 and step S26 of plating selective portions of the label 16 and/or other finish.

The present invention can also be applied to other articles, which have a surface suitable to carry engraved images or letters for decoration purpose. Examples of such articles include a mug, a glass, and a golf club head etc.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to different embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations in form, detail, compositions and operation may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A glass bottle comprising:

a) a body adapted to contain a beverage, wherein the body comprises a label that carries a predetermined information; and

b) a spout connected to the body for dispensing the beverage;

wherein the label is engraved on a predetermined portion of the body by selectively removing glass from the body, wherein the selective glass removal is performed by applying high pressure jet of abrasive material onto a sanding film adhered to the predetermined portion of the body, wherein the sanding film carries the predetermined information.

2. The glass bottle of claim 1, wherein the predetermined information includes letters provided by a user.

3. The glass bottle of claim 1, wherein the predetermined information includes images provided by a user.

4. The glass bottle of claim 3, wherein the predetermined information includes letters provided by a user.

5. The glass bottle of claim 1, wherein the predetermined information is selected by a user from an existing collection of information.

6. The glass bottle of claim 1, wherein the predetermined information is edited with a computer program, in a way that the edited information is suitable for printing on a sanding film.

7. The glass bottle of claim 6, wherein one surface of the sanding film is self-adhesive whereby the sanding film can be attached to the body of the glass bottle.

8. The glass bottle of claim 6, wherein the sanding film has a property of resisting abrasion selectively according to specific portions of the predetermined information printed thereon, whereby glass of the bottle are removed on an area corresponding the adhered sanding film except the specific portions.

9. The glass bottle of claim 8, wherein the depth of removal is controlled to a predetermined value.

10. The glass bottle of claim 8, wherein selected portion of the engraved label is plated to have a color that is different from the color of the glass bottle.

11. The glass bottle of claim 10, wherein the color is gold.

12. The glass bottle of claim 10, wherein the selected portion that is plated is the portion in which glass has been removed.

13. A method for engraving a permanent, customized label on a glass bottle, wherein the glass bottle comprises a body adapted to contain a beverage, and a spout connected to the body for dispensing the beverage, the method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving information for the customized label from a user;

b) printing the information on a sanding film;

c) firmly attaching the sanding film on a predetermined portion of the body of the glass bottle; and

d) engraving the label;

wherein the label is engraved by selectively removing glass from the body, wherein the selective glass removal is performed by applying high pressure jet of abrasive material onto the sanding film.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the label engraving step comprises moving the glass bottle relative to the high pressure jet whereby specific portion of the sanding film is exposed to the high pressure jet at a given moment.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the printing step comprises a step of editing the information from the user with a computer program, in a way that the edited information is suitable for printing the sanding film.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the wherein the sanding film has a property of resisting abrasion selectively according to specific portions of the information printed thereon, whereby glass of the bottle are removed on an area corresponding the adhered sanding film except the specific portions.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the depth of removal is controlled to a predetermined value.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein selected portion of the engraved label is plated to have a color that is different from the color of the glass bottle.