Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or... – Physical dimension specified
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-14
2001-05-29
Kiliman, Leszek (Department: 1773)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or...
Physical dimension specified
C428S031000, C428S411100, C428S413000, C428S418000, C428S423100, C428S425800, C428S425900, C428S457000, C428S686000, C428S689000, C428S704000, C428S539500, C428S908800, C428S923000, C428S925000, C428S926000, C428S936000, C428S938000, C428S545000, C428S548000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06238786
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This application claims the priority of German patent applications 196 30 818.6, filed Jul. 31, 1996, and 197 02 566.8, filed Jan. 24, 1997. The entire contents of both of these disclosures are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a method for gloss coating articles of manufacture and gloss coated articles produced by the practice of the method. The invention is especially useful in gloss coating vehicle parts, in particular vehicle wheels or rims. The method preferably coats lightweight metal wheels in order to produce a metallic gloss. The method can be used equally well for vehicle parts located both inside and outside the vehicle. In addition, the method can also be used for articles of daily use in a wide variety of applications, in order to produce a special optical effect, to improve the properties of the articles for certain uses, as well as to protect articles from corrosion. Other representative articles include housings for appliances and instruments.
It is known in the art that articles of manufacture, especially vehicle wheels, can be coated by a system of paint layers to protect against corrosion (see, for example, German patent document G 81 03 758 U1, expressly incorporated herein by reference). For example, a pigmented top coat layer is applied to a cathodically deposited electropaint, the top coat layer being cured by electron beams. Another top coat layer, a clear coat, is applied to this layer. The clear coat is also cured by electron beams. The disadvantage of these methods is that only specific glossy metallic colors can be produced.
It is also known in the art that colored layers can be produced on light metal wheels (see, for example, European patent document EP 0 525 867 A1, expressly incorporated herein by reference). For this purpose, a two-layer system is applied with both layers being paint layers. The first layer consists of a paint that contains the primer and the second layer is a transparent coat and contains mica pigments. The disadvantage is that this does not produce a true metallic gloss but merely simulates it by the pigmentation.
It is generally known to deposit layers with different color and gloss effects on objects by vacuum coating, especially by magnetron atomization. In a vacuum chamber, the objects to be coated are placed opposite one or more “targets” that consist of the coating material or a component of the layer to be deposited. A gas discharge is ignited between the target and the objects in such a fashion that a plasma forms and particles of the one or more targets are atomized. Metals, metal alloys, or metal compounds can be used as targets.
Metallic compounds can also be deposited by reactive magnetron atomization, with a metal being atomized and a reactive gas, such as oxygen or nitrogen, being additionally admitted to the vacuum chamber. With a suitable choice of material, possibly in conjunction with a process gas, layers of different colors can be produced on the coated object.
In order to protect layers deposited in this fashion against corrosion and destruction by mechanical wear, hard, wear-resistant layers are deposited by PVD and/or CVD (chemical vapor deposition) methods on the glossy metallic layers. The disadvantage of this method is that the protection the layers afford is insufficient to withstand the high mechanical and corrosive stresses to which certain articles are exposed, for example, the stresses vehicle wheels are exposed to. In addition, the manufacture of the protective layers is too expensive.
A goal of this invention is to provide an improved method for gloss coating articles, preferably motor vehicle parts and wheels, that avoids the disadvantages of other methods. In the method of this invention, a plurality of different glossy metallic colors can be produced on the surface of the article or portions thereof. Preferably, vehicle wheels made of metal, especially of light metals or alloys, are coated and preferably coated on their normally visible surfaces. A further goal is to provide a method to gloss coat that results in articles that are resistant to corrosion and can withstand high mechanical stresses. Similarly, a goal of the invention is to provide high-stress resistant gloss coated articles. For example, vehicle wheels that resist mechanical abrasion and chipping. The method is economical, thus, the articles coated by the method should be able to be manufactured or coated economically.
According to certain embodiments of the invention, a method for gloss coating of articles is provided. The articles preferably are for vehicles and especially vehicle wheels. The method is characterized by the following method steps: applying a corrosion-inhibiting smoothing base coat; atomizing a high-gloss coat consisting of a metal, a metal alloy, or a metal compound by means of a magnetron in a vacuum, thereby applying a high-gloss coat; applying a transparent wear-resistant top coat, which can comprise a pigment or paint.
In another embodiment, the method comprises a mechanical smoothing of the surface of the article, applying a chromate layer, applying a corrosion-inhibiting smoothing base coat, applying a high-gloss layer made of a metal, a metal alloy, or a metal compound by means of a magnetron in a vacuum, and applying a transparent wear-resistant top coat consisting of a paint.
A further embodiment of the method comprises mechanical smoothing of the surface of the article, applying a chromate layer; applying a powdered paint layer, applying a corrosion-inhibiting base coat, applying a high-gloss layer made of a metal, a metal alloy, or a metal compound by means of a magnetron in a vacuum, and applying a transparent wear-resistant top layer made of paint.
In specific examples of any of the embodiments of the method, the top coat is applied to the high-gloss layer in a CVD (chemical vapor deposition) process. Furthermore, in any embodiment, a pretreatment may be performed. Pretreatments include heating and/or etching in an inert or reactive gas plasma in the vacuum chamber before the high-gloss layer is applied. Also, pretreatment in the vacuum chamber can be applying an adhesion-promoting layer prior to application of the high-gloss layer. And, a corrosion-inhibiting primer layer, such as a powdered baking finish or like composition, known and used in the art, can also be incorporated into an embodiment of the method.
In any embodiment, the high-gloss layer can be applied by direct-current atomization or pulsed-magnetron atomization of the target material selected in an inert or reactive gas atmosphere. A gas or gas mixture, preferably oxygen, nitrogen, or low-molecular weight hydrocarbon, is admitted as a reactive gas atmosphere. In the atomization process, the article can be moved relative to the targets of the magnetron. Also, the gloss on the articles to be coated can be adjusted by adding pigments to the transparent top coat layer. Numerous appropriate pigments, high-gloss layer compositions, chromate layer compositions, transparent top coat layer compositions, and base coat compositions, as well as other appropriate coating layer compositions, are known in the art and can be used in the practice of the invention or to make the products of the invention. For example, documents such as German patent documents 197 02 566.8 (filed Jan. 24, 1997), 196 30 818.6 (filed Jul. 31, 1996), 81 03 758.9 (dated Feb. 12, 1981), 43 25 574 (dated Feb. 2, 1995), 42 09 406 (dated Sep. 30, 1993), European patent publication 0 525 867 (dated Feb. 3, 1993), U.S.S.R. patent document 221 919, Japanese patent document 6-227201, and the Magnetron-Finishing brochure “Magnetron-Verfahren” of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (M
ü
nchen; Germany), each incorporated herein by reference, may be relied on by those of skill in the art.
The invention also provides a coated article produced by incorporating any of the methods disclosed. The article may preferably consist of metal or metal alloy, especially a light metal, and have layers applied to it. The layers incl
Fietzke Fred
Goedicke Klaus
Kaeumle Fritz
Separautzki Reinhold
Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche AG
Evenson, McKeown, Edwards & Lenahan P.L.L.C.
Kiliman Leszek
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