Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Including components having same physical characteristic in...
Patent
1982-02-05
1983-08-16
Ives, P. C.
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Including components having same physical characteristic in...
428518, 4284246, 428520, 428352, 428354, B32B 2708
Patent
active
043991823
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to decorative laminates and particularly to laminates comprising thermoplastic material.
Thin decorative sheet materials such as Fablon (Registered Trade Mark) formed of a single layer of thermoplastics material about 100 microns thick having a decorated surface on one side are well known. These materials suffer from the disadvantages that any imperfections in the surface to which they are applied show through to the decorated side and furthermore they tend to shrink by an excessive amount.
Decorative laminates comprising thermosetting plastic materials are also known such as those sold under the name Formica (Registered Trade Mark) but these laminates are relatively more expensive and difficult to cut to size and apply to a surface.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a decorative sheet material that may be applied to flat surfaces to obscure surface imperfections and present a decorated outer surface.
According to the present invention there is provided a decorative laminate of thermoplastic material comprising a base layer and a decorative layer, the laminate having a total thickness in the range of 250 to 450 microns and a shrinkage of less than 0.5% at ambient temperatures and a rigidity in the lengthwise and crosswise directions in the range of 25,000 to 30,000 Kilo Newtons per meter square. Having a rigidity in this range ensures that surface imperfections are satisfactorily obscured and also facilitates application of the laminate.
The base layer can be two to four times the thickness of the decorative layer and is preferably of rigid PVC containing only a small amount of plasticizer, if any, i.e. up to 2% by weight, to minimize shrinkage of the laminate. The base layer can comprise entirely recycled material.
A protective layer can be provided on the decorative layer to minimize damage to the decorative layer in use. The protective layer can be a lacquer or a layer of clear film such as plasticized PVC which can have substantially the same thickness as the decorative layer. Alternatively a U.V. curable coating applied at between 5 and 50 grams per meter square, e.g. of polyurethane or polyester, can provide improved mar resistance, scratch resistance and stain resistance as compared to a plasticized PVC film.
The base layer, the decorative layer and the protective layer can each be PVC thermoplastic material but other thermoplastic materials can be used for some of the several layers.
An adhesive layer can be provided on the base layer to facilitate the application of the laminate. The adhesive layer is preferably a pressure sensitive adhesive covered by a release paper which can be readily removed prior to applying the laminate to the surface to be covered.
Examples of laminates according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the FIGURE in the drawing.
EXAMPLE 1
The laminate comprises a base layer 1, of recycled rigid PVC 250 microns thick and not containing plasticizer. A decorative layer 2 of PVC is provided on one side of the base layer. The decorative layer is 90 microns thick and printed with a pattern. To achieve a constant color the decorative layer is primarily of virgin material and can contain normal amounts of plasticizer to facilitate processing. Above the decorative layer is a protective layer 3 of clear plasticizer PVC film 80 microns thick. The total thickness of the laminate is 420 microns.
On the other side of the base layer 1 is a pressure sensitive adhesive 4 covered by a release paper 5 which can be removed from the adhesive before applying the laminate to a surface to be covered.
The rigidity of the laminate in the lengthwise and crosswise directions was 27,000 and 26,000 Kilo Newtons per meter square respectively and the shrinkage of the unapplied laminate over an extended period at ambient temperature was 0.3%.
After removing the release paper a single sheet of the laminate was readily applied to a surface measuring 150 cm.times.60 cm without wrinkling or creasing and without air being trapped between the
REFERENCES:
patent: 3131069 (1964-04-01), Goller et al.
patent: 3725184 (1973-04-01), Scopp
patent: 3806397 (1974-04-01), Kukoff
patent: 4180615 (1979-12-01), Bettoli
patent: 4333987 (1982-06-01), Kwart et al.
Brown Kenneth D.
O'Neill Terence C.
Internationale Octrooi Maatschappij "Octropa"B.V.
Ives P. C.
LandOfFree
Decorative laminate of thermoplastic material does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Decorative laminate of thermoplastic material, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Decorative laminate of thermoplastic material will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-814818