Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser – Synthetic resins – Mixing of two or more solid polymers; mixing of solid...
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-10
2003-12-30
Teskin, Fred (Department: 1713)
Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser
Synthetic resins
Mixing of two or more solid polymers; mixing of solid...
C525S196000, C525S211000, C525S212000, C525S221000, C525S231000, C525S328500, C525S328800, C525S328900, C525S331700, C525S367000, C525S368000, C525S369000, C525S372000, C525S373000, C524S547000, C524S554000, C524S556000, C524S562000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06670426
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an olefin thermoplastic elastomer and a production process thereof, an olefin thermoplastic elastomer composition and a production process thereof, and molded products, and more particularly to an olefin thermoplastic elastomer excellent in rubber elasticity, flexibility, mechanical properties, scratch resistance, wear resistance, molding or forming and processability, heat resistance and weather resistance and a production process thereof, an olefin thermoplastic elastomer composition and a production process thereof, and molded or formed products.
BACKGROUND ART
Those obtained by mixing an olefin resin with an olefin copolymer rubber, those obtained by partially crosslinking an olefin resin and an olefin copolymer rubber with a crosslinking agent, etc. have heretofore been known as olefin thermoplastic elastomers. Such olefin thermoplastic elastomers attract attention, in fields of automotive parts and the like in particular, as substitutive materials for metal parts with the main purpose of lightening the weight, substitutive materials for RIM urethane parts with the main purpose of improving part's life and reducing cost, substitutive materials for vulcanized rubber with the main purpose of simplifying processing steps, improving recycling ability and reducing cost, substitutive materials for soft polyvinyl chloride with the main purpose of improving part's life and protecting a global environment, or the like because they are excellent in heat resistance, weather resistance, cold resistance and molding or forming and processability and comparatively cheap materials, and demand for the olefin thermoplastic elastomers increase year by year.
Since the conventional olefin thermoplastic elastomers are low in resistance to surface scratching (scratch resistance), however, the elastomers involve a problem that they are unsuitable for use as surface materials for molded or formed products of which the scratch resistance is required, for example, inner panels, console boxes or the like.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made on the basis of the foregoing circumstances and has as its object the provision of an olefin thermoplastic elastomer having the same or similar rubber elasticity, flexibility and molding or forming and processability as those of the conventional olefin thermoplastic elastomers, and are good in mechanical properties and wear resistance and excellent in scratch resistance in particular and a production process thereof, a composition containing the olefin thermoplastic elastomer and a production process thereof, and molded or formed products thereof.
According to the present invention, there is thus provided an olefin thermoplastic elastomer comprising an olefin random copolymer formed by copolymerizing ethylene, an &agr;-olefin having 3 to 10 carbon atoms and an unsaturated monomer having a functional group, and optionally a non-conjugated diene, and metal ions crosslinking the olefin random copolymer.
In the olefin thermoplastic elastomer according to the present invention, the functional group in the unsaturated monomer having a functional group may preferably be a carboxyl group, hydroxyl group, epoxy group or sulfonic group.
In the olefin thermoplastic elastomer according to the present invention, the unsaturated monomer having a functional group may preferably be a functional cyclic compound represented by the following general formula (1):
wherein R
1
means a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, Y
1
, Y
2
and Y
3
denote, independently of one another, a hydrogen atom, a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms or —COOH, with the proviso that at least one of Y
1
, Y
2
and Y
3
is —COOH, and when at least two of Y
1
, Y
2
and Y
3
are —COOH, they may be bonded to each other to form an acid anhydride (—CO—(O)—CO—), o is an integer of 0 to 2, and p is an integer of 0 to 5.
In the olefin thermoplastic elastomer according to the present invention, the olefin random copolymer may preferably be formed by copolymerizing 35 to 94.99 mol % of ethylene, 5 to 50 mol % of the &agr;-olefin having 3 to 10 carbon atoms, 0.01 to 5 mol % of the functional cyclic compound represented by the general formula (1) and 0 to 10 mol % of the non-conjugated diene.
In the olefin thermoplastic elastomer according to the present invention, the metal ions may preferably be ions of a metal selected from the group consisting of potassium, sodium, aluminum, magnesium, barium, zinc, iron, calcium, titanium and lead.
The olefin thermoplastic elastomer according to the present invention may preferably have a melt flow rate of at least 0.5 g/10 min as measured under conditions of a temperature of 230° C. and a load of 10 kg, a permanent set of at most 30% and a durometer A hardness of at most 96.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a process for producing an olefin thermoplastic elastomer, which comprises the step of mixing a solution with 100 parts by weight of an olefin random copolymer formed by copolymerizing 35 to 94.99 mol % of ethylene, 5 to 50 mol % of an &agr;-olefin having 3 to 10 carbon atoms, 0.01 to 5 mol % of a functional cyclic compound represented by the general formula (1) and 0 to 10 mol % of a non-conjugated diene dissolved in a solvent with a liquid with 0.1 to 20 parts by weight of a metal compound dissolved or dispersed in a solvent, at a temperature of at least 20° C. and the step of removing the solvent(s) from the resultant liquid mixture.
According to the present invention, there is further provided a process for producing an olefin thermoplastic elastomer, which comprises the step of subjecting 100 parts by weight of an olefin random copolymer formed by copolymerizing 35 to 94.99 mol % of ethylene, 5 to 50 mol % of an &agr;-olefin having 3 to 10 carbon atoms, 0.01 to 5 mol % of a functional cyclic compound represented by the general formula (1) and 0 to 10 mol % of a non-conjugated diene and 0.1 to 20 parts by weight of a metal compound to a dynamic heat treatment under conditions of a temperature of 120 to 350° C. and a shear rate of 10 to 2,000 s
−1
.
According to the present invention, there is still further provided an olefin thermoplastic elastomer composition comprising the olefin thermoplastic elastomer described above, and a polymeric compound selected from a thermoplastic resin and rubber and/or a softening agent, wherein
the polymeric compound and the softening agent are contained in proportions of at most 300 parts by weight and at most 100 parts by weight, respectively, per 100 parts by weight of the olefin random copolymer forming the olefin thermoplastic elastomer.
The olefin thermoplastic elastomer composition according to the present invention may preferably have a melt flow rate of at least 0.5 g/10 min as measured under conditions of a temperature of 230° C. and a load of 10 kg, a permanent set of at most 30% and a durometer A hardness of at most 96.
According to the present invention, there is yet still further provided a process for producing an olefin thermoplastic elastomer composition, which comprises the step of subjecting 100 parts by weight of an olefin random copolymer formed by copolymerizing 35 to 94.99 mol % of ethylene, 5 to 50 mol % of an &agr;-olefin having 3 to 10 carbon atoms, 0.01 to 5 mol % of a functional cyclic compound represented by the general formula (1) and 0 to 10 mol % of a non-conjugated diene, 0.1 to 20 parts by weight of a metal compound, and at most 300 parts by weight of a polymeric compound selected from a thermoplastic resin and rubber and/or at most 100 parts by weight of a softening agent to a dynamic heat treatment under conditions of a temperature of 120 to 350° C. and a shear rate of 10 to 2,000 s
−1
.
According to the present invention, there is yet still further provided a molded or formed product formed of the olefin thermoplastic elastomer or olefin thermoplastic elastomer composition described above.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The embod
Kanae Kentarou
Morikawa Akihiko
Nakanishi Hideo
Tsuji Shoei
JSR Corporation
Teskin Fred
LandOfFree
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