Coating processes – Frictional application
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-06
2001-01-30
Beck, Shrive (Department: 1762)
Coating processes
Frictional application
C427S369000, C427S002240, C427S002280, C427S205000, C428S907000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06180162
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method for producing an antibacterial metallic article and such an antibacterial metallic article produced by this method. Particularly, the invention is to simply and easily afford an antibacterial property upon the metallic articles at a low cost without making any change in the conventional producing process of the metallic articles.
The antibacterial property in the present invention also means anti-mildew property and anti-algae property. The metallic article generally includes articles made of metals, for example, metallic articles made of stainless steel and aluminum sheets and plates.
1. Background Techniques
Among a recent tendency of seeking hygiene and cleanliness, attention has been paid to materials upon which the antibacterial property is afforded by utilizing a metal having a so-called oligodynamic effect to suppress propagation of bacteria, molds, algae, etc. in silver, copper, etc.
It has been demanded that the antibacterial property be afforded upon every material, because toxic bacteria such as disease-causing colon bacilli-157 and MRSA have epidemically occurred. Metallic articles are not exceptional for this demand.
For example, JP-A-8 49085 proposes stainless sheet and plate having excellent antibacterial property, which have metallic layers or alloy layers of Cr, Ti, Ni or Fe containing Ag and/or Cu formed on their surfaces by magnetron sputtering, and that such a stainless sheet or plate is preferably formed with a metallic layer or an alloy layer containing 19 to 60 wt % of Ag.
JP-A-9 176800 proposes a method in which an antibacterial Austenitic stainless steel is obtained by thermally treating an Austenitic stainless steel having a composition containing C, Si, Mn, Cr, Ni and Cu in their respectively specific amounts in a temperature range of 500 to 900° C.
Besides them, JP-A-10 259,456 discloses a method in which stainless steel sheet and plate having excellent antibacterial property are obtained by incorporating 0.05 to 1.0 wt % of Ag in the stainless steel and dispersing Ag phases having minor axes of not more than 10 &mgr;m in a plane fractional percentage of not less than 0.03% in a matrix.
However, in the case of the antibacterial stainless steel sheet and plate disclosed in JP-A-8 49,085, the layer containing the antibacterial metal is peeled or removed by drawing or surface-processing, so that there is a problem that an effect thereof will not be expected.
Furthermore, in this method, since the metallic layer or the alloy layer is formed on the surface of the stainless sheet or plate, there is problems that the number of producing steps increases as compared with the conventional process, and that the surface characteristics of the stainless steel sheet or plate, for example, the tune of color is changed.
Meanwhile, in the Austenitic stainless steel disclosed in JP-A-9-176,800 and stainless steel sheet and plate disclosed in JP-A-10-259,456, the antibacterial ingredient is present uniformly up to an inner portion of the steel sheet. However, such stainless steel sheet and plate have a problem that since the antibacterial ingredient deeply existing inside the stainless steel sheet or plate does not exert any effective action upon the bacteria, mold and algae attached to the surface thereof, which is uneconomical.
2. Disclosure of the Invention
The present invention, which has been developed based on the above-mentioned present circumstances, is to solve the above economical problems by concentratedly distributing the antibacterial ingredient in the surface layer portion of the metallic article only. The present invention is aimed at proposing a method for advantageously producing the antibacterial metallic article in which the antibacterial property is not lost in a short time through penetrating the antibacterial ingredient into the metallic article by pressing, rubbing or the like, while no adverse effect is given upon the surface property thereof. The invention is also aimed at proposing the antibacterial metallic article obtained by this producing method.
That is, the gist and the construction of the present invention is as follows.
1. Method for producing the antibacterial metallic article, characterized in that a dispersion liquid or a solution of fine particles of the antibacterial ingredient is coated upon the surface of the metallic article, and the resulting coated surface is pressed under non-heated condition (First Invention).
2. Method for producing the antibacterial metallic article, characterized in that a dispersion liquid or a solution of fine particles of the antibacterial ingredient is coated upon the surface of the metallic article, and the resulting coated surface is rubbed (Second Invention).
3. The antibacterial metallic article-producing method in the above 1 or 2, wherein the antibacterial metallic article-producing method is characterized in that the antibacterial ingredient is at least one selected from the group consisting of silver, copper, a silver-copper alloy, silver chloride, silver sulfide, silver oxide, silver sulfate, silver phosphate, a silver salt of an organic acid, copper (I) chloride, copper (II) chloride, copper (I) sulfide, copper (II) sulfide, copper (I) oxide, copper (II) oxide, copper (I) sulfate, copper (II) sulfate, copper phosphate and a copper salt of an organic acid.
4. The antibacterial metallic article-producing method set forth in the above 1 or 2, wherein the concentration of the antibacterial ingredient in the dispersion liquid or the solution is 0.01 to 10 wt %.
5. The antibacterial metallic article-producing method set forth in the above 1 or 2, wherein particle diameters of the fine particles of the antibacterial ingredient are not more than 10 &mgr;m.
6. The antibacterial metallic article-producing method set forth in the above 1, wherein pressing means is rolling, hydrostatic pressing or pressing.
7. The antibacterial metallic article-producing method set forth in the above 1, wherein a pressing pressure is not less than 1 kg/mm
2
.
8. The antibacterial metallic article-producing method set forth in the above 2, wherein rubbing means is coated surface-rubbing, grinding or polishing.
9. Antibacterial metallic article produced by the producing method set forth in above 1 or 2.
In the following, embodiments according to the present invention in more detail.
This embodiment is given to concretely illustrate the present invention so that the invention will be more understood, but the invention is not limited thereto unless otherwise specified.
In the antibacterial metallic article according to this embodiment, the antibacterial component is penetrated directly from the surface of the metal to a portion underneath the metal surface layer under the non-heated condition.
In this case, in order to penetrate the bacterial ingredient into the metallic article under the non-heated condition, it is preferable that dirt is removed from the antibacterially treated surface of the metallic article by fully washing it, coating the resulting metallic surface is coated with the dispersion liquid or the solution of the fine particles of the antibacterial ingredient (hereinafter referred to as “coating liquid”), and the antibacterial ingredient is impregnated into a portion underneath of the surface layer portion from the metallic surface by pressing the coated metallic surface upon application of pressure under the non-heated condition or by the rubbing treatment of the coated surface.
In view of the oligodynamic effect, the penetration readiness of the antibacterial ingredient into the metallic article underneath the surface layer portion, the safety and freedom from the surface characteristics of the metallic article such as the tune of color, as the antibacterial ingredient are particularly suitable silver, copper, a silver-copper alloy, silver chloride, silver sulfide, silver oxide, silver sulfate, silver phosphate, a silver salt of an organic acid, copper (I) chloride, copper (II) chloride, copper (I) sulfide, copper (II) sulfide, copper (I) oxide,
Inoue Yoshitomo
Satoh Susumu
Shigeru Keijiro
Tochihara Misako
Yokota Takeshi
Beck Shrive
Kolb Jennifer
Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co. Ltd.
Young & Thompson
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