Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Composite – Of addition polymer from unsaturated monomers
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-19
2001-12-04
Copenheaver, Blaine (Department: 1773)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Composite
Of addition polymer from unsaturated monomers
C428S500000, C428S515000, C428S519000, C428S520000, C428S522000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06326086
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a foil-decorating sheet, which is used for decorating at the same time as molding, for use in decorating the surface of molded articles of three-dimensional shape including interior automotive trims, such as console box, center cluster, and switch base, and exterior automotive trims, such as side mudguard, bumper, wheel cover, and molding, and a method of producing a foil-decorated resin article using such a sheet.
BACKGROUND ART
Foil-decorating sheets for use in decorating interior automotive trims and exterior automotive trims are strictly required to have good weathering characteristic, good three-dimensional formability, and good transparency.
Hitherto, a foil-decorating sheet having such characteristics has been known such that a decorative layer is formed on an acrylic film. For production of a foil-decorated resin article using such a sheet, the following method has been known. The method comprises setting a foil-decorating sheet in an injection mold, clamping the mold, injecting a molding resin mass into a cavity, and allowing the molding resin to set, whereby simultaneously with the formation of a resin molded article, the foil-decorating sheet is integrally bonded to the surface of the resin molded article. In the case of interior automotive trims or exterior automotive trims, polypropylene resin or acrylonitrile butadiene-styrene resin is generally used as the molding resin.
Usually, however, the acrylic film which constitutes the foil-decorating sheet and the polypropylene resin which constitutes the molding resin are considerably different from each other in shrinkage factor; and therefore, their relative adhesion behavior is unsatisfactory. This poses an issue that, in the resulting foil-decorated resin article, the acrylic film will become peeled from the polypropylene resin molded article.
Another issue is that since an acrylic film is brittle and liable to break, the film may be damaged when the film is three-dimensionally preformed or set in a mold.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a foil-decorating sheet which can exhibit high adhesion to a molding resin, is not liable to become peeled from the molding resin, and is applicable to a three-dimensionally configured molded article and, in particular, to a deep-drawn molded article, and a method of producing a foil-decorated resin article using such a sheet.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
In order to accomplish above mentioned object, the present invention may be constructed below.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet comprised of a laminate of two or more kinds of films which is to be set in an injection mold for being integrally bonded to a surface of a molding resin, wherein after foil-decorating is made, a surface film of the laminated film which is bonded to the molding resin has a peel strength of not less than 1 kgf/inch width at least at the interface between the surface film of the laminated film bonded to the molding resin and the molding resin, and wherein at least a transparent acrylic film is laminated on the surface film bonded to the molding resin, with a decorative layer formed between the surface film bonded to the molding resin and the acrylic film.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in the first aspect, wherein when a tensile test is carried out with a test specimen, 80 mm wide, of the foil-decorating sheet held between a pair of chucks fixed at a distance of 100 mm between opposite chuck end edges, by applying a load at constant rate of 100 mm/min to the test specimen at 20 one end thereof under an ambient temperature condition of 110° C., the test specimen exhibits a tensile elongation at break of not less than 150%.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in the second aspect, wherein within a range of up to an upper limit of tensile elongation at break of the laminated film, constituent films of the laminated film have an applied load difference within a range of up to 5.0 kg maximum in their respective elongation values.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in the second or third aspect, wherein the sheet has a portion which can be elongated more than 200% in unit area to preform a three-dimensional configuration.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in any one of the first through fourth aspects, wherein the surface film of the laminated film which is bonded to the molding resin is a polypropylene film.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in the fifth aspect, wherein the polypropylene film is formed of a non-crystalline or low-crystalline polypropylene resin.
According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in the fifth or sixth aspect, wherein the polypropylene film is comprised of a polypropylene resin loaded with a styrene elastomer resin.
According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in any one of the fifth through seventh aspects, wherein the polypropylene film is comprised of a soft propylene resin polymerized by a metallocene catalyst.
According to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in any one of the first through fourth aspects, wherein the surface film of the laminated film which is bonded to the molding resin is an acrylonitrile butadiene-styrene film.
According to a tenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in the ninth aspect, wherein the proportion of the butadiene content in the copolymerization ratio of the acrylonitrile butadiene-styrene film is 20 to 50% by weight.
According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in any one of the first through tenth aspects, wherein a colored layer or a colored film is provided under the decorative layer, and wherein a color of a base layer which constitutes the decorative layer and a color of the colored layer or the colored film are isochromatic.
According to a twelfth aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in any one of the first through tenth aspects, wherein the surface film of the laminated film which is bonded to the molding resin is a colored film, and wherein a color of a base layer of the decorative layer and a color of the colored film are isochromatic.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a foil-decorating sheet as defined in any one of the eleventh and twelfth aspects, wherein there is a chromaticity difference between the color of the base layer for the decorative layer and the color of the colored layer or the colored film, the chromaticity difference being a value expressed by the following relation:
4.0≦{square root over ((&Dgr;a*)
2
+L +(&Dgr;b*)
2
+L )}≦45.0
(where, a*, b* denotes specification units in the L* a* b* calorimetric system having perceptibly substantially equal chromaticness, as recommended by International Commission on Illumination in 1976, in which a*=500 [(X/X
0
)
⅓
−(Y/Y
0
)
⅓
−], b*=200 [(Y/Y
0
)/
⅓
−(Z/Z
0
) ], wherein L* denotes lightness index defined as L*=116 (Y/Y
0
)
⅓
−16; X, Y, Z denotes stimulus values felt by three chromatic characteristics of luminosity respectively at the sight of the color of an object with human eyes, X
0
, Y
0
, Z
0
denotes stimulus values felt by three chromatic characteristics of luminosity respectively at the sight of the illumination source with human eyes; in the case of the standard illuminant C, X
0
=98.072, Y
0
=100, and Z
0
=118.225, and in the case of the standard illuminant D
65
, X
Mori Fujio
Shibata Takuji
Yamanaka Tsuneyuki
Copenheaver Blaine
Nissha Printing Co. Ltd.
Paulraj Christopher
Wenderoth Lind & Ponack LLP
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