Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Hollow or container type article
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-18
2004-02-10
Koslow, C. Melissa (Department: 1755)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Hollow or container type article
C428S068000, C428S204000, C428S205000, C024S704200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06689434
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a frontal part comprising a decorative part made from a support, from a decorative layer applied thereto, and from a heat-cured layer situated on the decorative layer, and also, if desired, comprising a reinforcer for supporting the decorative part. The present invention further relates to a process for producing the novel molding, and also to its use in household electrical devices, for furniture fronts or for the frontal area of automobiles.
Frontal parts known are composed either of a particle board to which a decorative layer has been applied, or else of a surface-coated steel sheet.
A disadvantage here of frontal parts made from particle boards with a decorative layer applied is that they have to be provided with an edging, and this also has to be bonded in a moisture-proof manner, since particle boards tend to swell in moist environments. In addition, frontal parts of this type made from particle boards with a decorative layer applied cannot be recycled. Frontal parts made from surface-coated steel plate are very complicated to produce and are therefore very expensive, in particular when produced in relatively small numbers, and the surface coating also limits the selection of different decorative effects. The possibilities for shaping the frontal parts known hitherto are, furthermore, limited, and additional functional elements also have to be molded onto the frontal parts in separate operations.
DE-A 19604370 has moreover disclosed worktops made from thermoplastics and comprising a plastic sheet, to the underside of which has been applied a supporting apparatus which is composed of a grating-like module with an open lower side. Although these worktops are moisture-resistant and can be recycled, their stability is insufficient for some application sectors.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to remove the disadvantages described and to produce an improved frontal part which is made from plastic, is moisture-resistant, can be recycled, can be produced in a simple manner and, furthermore, permits unrestricted shaping and the integration of functional elements.
We have found that this object is achieved by an improved frontal part comprising a decorative part made from a support, from a decorative layer applied thereto, and from a heat-cured layer situated on the decorative layer, and also, if desired, comprising a reinforcer for supporting the decorative part.
The decorative part present in the novel frontal part is preferably composed of a support, of a decorative layer applied thereto, and of a heat-cured layer situated on the decorative layer. It can also be advisable to insert an intermediate layer between the support and the decorative layer. It is also possible, if desired, for there to be the corresponding intermediate layers, decorative layers and heat-cured layers applied on both sides of the support, giving a sandwich-type structure with the support in the middle. There may also be functional elements molded onto the decorative part.
Based on the total weight of the support, the material of the support may comprise from 1 to 60% by weight, preferably from 5 to 50% by weight, particularly preferably from 10 to 40% by weight, of reinforcing fillers, such as barium sulfate, magnesium hydroxide, talc with an average particle size of from 0.1 to 10 &mgr;m, measured to DIN 66 115, wood, flax, chalk, glass fibers, coated glass fibers, long or short glass fibers, glass beads or mixtures of these. The material of the support may also comprise the usual additives, such as light stabilizers, UV stabilizers, heat stabilizers, pigments, carbon blacks, lubricants, flame retardants, blowing agents and the like, in the amounts which are usual and required. The support is in particular composed of thermoplastics.
Examples of thermoplastics which form the support for the decorative part are polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polysulfones, polyether ketones, polyesters, polycycloolefins, polyacrylates and polymethacrylates, polyamides, polycarbonate, polyurethanes, polyacetals, e.g. polyoxymethylene, polybutylene terephthalates and polystyrenes. Both homopolymers and copolymers of these thermoplastics may be used here. Besides the reinforcing fillers, the supporting layer is preferably composed of polypropylene, polyoxymethylene, polybutylene terephthalate or polystyrene, in particular of copolymers of styrene with subordinate proportions of one or more comonomers, e.g. butadiene, &agr;-methylstyrene, acrylonitrile, vinylcarbazole, or esters of acrylic, methacrylic or itaconic acid. The support of the novel frontal part may also comprise recycled materials made from these thermoplastics.
For the purposes of the present invention, polyoxymethylenes are homo- or copolymers of aldehydes, for example of formaldehyde, and of cyclic acetals. These have repeating carbon-oxygen bonds in the molecule and have melt flow rates (MFR), to ISO 1133, of from 5 to 40 g/10 min, in particular from 5 to 30 g/10 min, at 230° C. under a load of 2.16 kg.
The polybutylene terephthalate preferably used is a relatively high-molecular-weight esterification product of terephthalic acid with butylene glycol and has a melt flow rate (MFR), to ISO 1133, of from 5 to 50 g/10 min, in particular from 5 to 30 g/10 min, at 230° C. under a load of 2.16 kg.
Copolymers of styrene are in particular copolymers having up to 45% by weight, preferably up to 20% by weight, of copolymerized acrylonitrile. These copolymers made from styrene and acrylonitrile (SAN) have a melt flow rate (MFR), to ISO 1133, of from 1 to 25 g/10 min, in particular from 4 to 20 g/10 min, at 230° C. under a load of 2.16 kg.
Preference is also given to the use of copolymers of styrene comprising up to 35% by weight, in particular up to 20% by weight, of copolymerized acrylonitrile and up to 35% by weight, in particular up to 30% by weight, of copolymerized butadiene. The melt flow rate of these copolymers made from styrene, acrylonitrile and butadiene (ABS), to ISO 1133, is from 1 to 40 g/10 min, in particular from 2 to 30 g/10 min, at 230° C. under a load of 2.16 kg.
Other materials used for the support of the decorative part are in particular polyolefins, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, preferably the latter. For the purposes of the present invention, polypropylene is a homo- or copolymer of propylene. Copolymers of propylene contain subordinate amounts of monomers copolymerizable with propylene, for example C
2
-C
8
1-alkenes, such as ethylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene or 1-hexene. It is also possible to use two or more different comonomers.
Examples of particularly suitable support materials are homopolymers of propylene or copolymers of propylene with up to 50% by weight of other copolymerized 1-alkenes having up to 8 carbon atoms. The copolymers of propylene here are random copolymers or block or impact copolymers. If the copolymers of propylene have a random structure they generally contain up to 15% by weight, preferably up to 6% by weight, of other 1-alkenes having up to 8 carbon atoms, in particular ethylene, 1-butene or a mixture of ethylene and 1-butene.
Block or impact copolymers of propylene are polymers for which the first stage is to prepare a propylene homopolymer or a random copolymer of propylene with up to 15% by weight, preferably up to 6% by weight, of other 1-alkenes having up to 8 carbon atoms and then, in the second stage, polymerize onto this a propylene-ethylene copolymer having an ethylene content of 15 to 80% by weight, where the propylene-ethylene copolymer may also contain other C
4
-C
8
1-alkenes. The amount of the propylene-ethylene copolymer polymerized on here is generally such that in the final product the proportion of the copolymer produced in the second stage is from 3 to 60% by weight.
The polymerization to prepare polypropylene may use a Ziegler-Natta catalyst system. The catalyst systems used here are in particular those which have cocatalysts in the form of organic aluminum compounds b) and electron-donor compounds c), as well as a titani
Klemm Klaus
Müller Klaus
Basell Polyolefine GmbH
Keil & Weinkauf
Manlove Shalie
LandOfFree
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