JPH07137501A - Wheel cap and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve adhesion strength and adhesion workability by laminating a colored layer, an adhesive layer, a white colored layer, and the second transparent sheet on the first transparent sheet one after another and thermally fusing the second transparent sheet to a wheel cap main body. CONSTITUTION:A colored film 9 adhered to the surface of a wheel cap main body 5 is laminatedly composed of five layers of the first transparent sheet 10, a colored layer 11, an adhesive layer 12, a white colored layer 13, and the second transparent sheet 14. The first and second transparent sheets 10, 14 are formed from the same polycarbonate resin as the wheel cap main body 5, the colored layer 11 is formed in patterns of such as prescribed color, latter, sign, design, etc., and the second transparent sheet 14 is thermally fused to the wheel cap main body 5. Therefore adhesion to the wheel cap main body 5 of colored film is so strong that manufacturing work can be simplified, cost can be reduced, and durability can be improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a decorative wheel cap mounted on the center of a wheel of an automobile tire and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A technique of using a transfer film for printing the surface of a wheel cap is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-63701.
It is described in Japanese Patent Publication No.

In the method described in this publication, a transfer film having a release layer, a coloring layer and an adhesive layer formed on a base film is placed in a mold, and the adhesive layer of the transfer film is formed on the surface of the molded body simultaneously with injection molding. It is to adhere.

[0004]

This method uses an adhesive layer which is not affected by the injection molding temperature of the resin, and adheres this to the injection-injected resin. Has a problem of peeling due to insufficient strength under severe use conditions such as a wheel cap where a stone or the like hits, depending on the adhesive strength of the adhesive layer.

Further, in the above-mentioned method, the colored transfer film must be integrally molded and adhered to the wheel cap body and then the base film must be peeled off, which is troublesome.

Incidentally, although coating is conventionally used for the surface printing of this kind of wheel cap, the coating requires complicated steps such as a degreasing step, a static elimination blow step, a top coating step and a clear coating processing step, resulting in a high cost. There is a problem that
In practice, the cost of this painting is about half the cost of the entire wheel cap.

The present invention provides a wheel cap and a manufacturing method thereof which solves the above problems, further improves the adhesive strength, and simplifies the bonding work.

[0008]

A wheel cap according to the present invention comprises a wheel cap body made of a polycarbonate resin and a first polycarbonate resin.
Transparent sheet, colored layer having predetermined color, characters, symbols or patterns formed on the first transparent sheet, adhesive layer formed on the colored layer, white colored layer formed on the adhesive layer And a second transparent sheet made of a polycarbonate resin formed on the white colored layer, which is composed of five layers, and the second transparent sheet is a heat-bonded colored film to the wheel cap body. It is a thing.

In the present invention, a concavo-convex pattern corresponding to characters, symbols, patterns and the like can be provided on the surface of the wheel cap on which the colored film is heat-sealed.

In the wheel cap manufacturing method according to the present invention, the first transparent sheet made of a polycarbonate resin is provided at an appropriate position on the wall surface of the mold cavity, and a predetermined color, character, symbol or pattern is formed on the first transparent sheet. And the like, a colored layer having an adhesive layer, an adhesive layer formed on the colored layer, and a polycarbonate resin formed on the white colored layer.
A colored film composed of five layers of transparent sheets is provided, and a polycarbonate resin that has been heated and melted is injected into the cavity, and the resin and the second transparent sheet are heat-sealed together to form the wheel cap. The main body and the colored film are integrally molded.

[0011]

The second transparent sheet made of the polycarbonate resin is brought into contact with the molten polycarbonate resin injected by injection molding to heat and melt its surface, and the two are fused. As a result, the colored film is integrally formed with the wheel cap body at the time of molding.

The first transparent sheet located on the surface serves to protect the underlying colored layer.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a wheel cap, which is a center hole 4 of a wheel 3 to be mounted on an automobile tire 2.
It is fitted and fixed to and improves the decorative property of the tire.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 5 denotes a wheel cap body made of polycarbonate resin, having a diameter of about 5c.
It is composed of a disk-shaped portion 6 having a thickness of m and a thickness of about 2.5 mm, and three locking pieces 7 integrally formed on the edge thereof. The locking piece 7 is fitted and locked in the hole 4 of the wheel cover 3 described above. Reference numeral 8 is a convex portion formed in a character pattern on the surface of the wheel cap 1. This convex portion can be formed in a pattern such as a symbol or a pattern in addition to a character pattern, and enhances the decorative property of the wheel cap 1. The pattern of characters and the like can be a concave portion in addition to a convex portion or a simple flat surface, but if a concave portion is formed, dust and the like will adhere to the inside of the concave portion, and it will be easily soiled, and if it is a flat surface, the display will be inconspicuous. It is desirable to have a convex pattern.

Polycarbonate resin is used as the material of the wheel cap body 5. Wheel cap 1
Since the heat generated in the tire brake is applied to, the material must have heat resistance. The heat generated by the brake may exceed about 100 ° C, so about 150 ° C
A polycarbonate resin having a heat resistance of ℃ or more is suitable.

Reference numeral 9 is a colored film adhered to the surface of the disk-shaped portion 6 of the wheel cap body 5, and includes a first transparent sheet 10, a colored layer 11, an adhesive layer 12, and a white colored layer 13.
And a laminated structure of five layers of the second transparent sheet 14. Here, the first and second transparent sheets 10 and 14 are formed of the same polycarbonate resin as the wheel cap body 5. Here, the colored film 9 is the first transparent sheet 10
And a film composed of the colored layer 11 (thickness: about 0.5 mm),
It is possible to use a film (thickness of about 0.1 mm) formed of the second transparent sheet 14 and the white colored layer 13 and adhered with an adhesive layer 12 (thickness of about 0.1 mm). Note that, in FIG. 3, the sectional size of the colored film 9 is drawn larger than that of the wheel cap body 5 for convenience of description.

The first transparent sheet 10 is provided to protect the colored layer 11. The colored layer 11 is a part in which a predetermined character, a symbol, a pattern such as a pattern is formed in a single color or a plurality of colors and exhibits a decorative function. The above-mentioned convex portion 8 is made to match the pattern of this character or the like. As the colored layer 11, ordinary printing ink or the like can be used. The white colored layer 13 forms the background color of the colored layer 11, and is bonded to the colored layer 11 by the adhesive layer 12 located in the middle.

The colored film 9 is formed by printing the colored layer 11 on the surface of the first transparent sheet 10 by a silk printing method, and similarly forming the white colored layer 13 on the surface of the second transparent sheet 14 by a silk printing method. Then, they are formed by adhering the both with an adhesive layer 12. As the adhesive layer 12, a heat sensitive hot melt adhesive or a heat resistant double-sided adhesive tape can be used.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, the wheel cap 1
The manufacturing method of will be described. Reference numeral 15 denotes an injection molding die, which is composed of an upper die 16 and a lower die 17, both of which form a wheel cap-shaped cavity 18. Reference numeral 19 is a gate for injecting resin into the cavity 18. Upper and lower mold 1
In the opened state of Nos. 6 and 17, the colored film 9 cut into a predetermined shape, in this case a circular shape, on the bottom surface of the lower mold 17 is
The transparent sheet 14 (FIG. 3) side is arranged so as to be located above in the figure. After that, the molds 16 and 17 are clamped, and the polycarbonate resin heated and melted at about 280 ° C. is injected and injected into the cavity 18 through the gate 19. By injecting the resin, the surface of the second transparent sheet 14 in contact with the high-heat resin is instantaneously heated and melted, and both are fused and integrally joined. When the concave portion 20 is formed on the surface of the cavity 18 of the lower mold 17 (the surface on which the colored film is arranged), the resin flows into the concave portion due to its injection pressure to form the convex portion on the wheel cap main body 5 and at the same time. The colored film 9 is fused in conformity with the surface shape.

[0020]

According to the present invention, since the second transparent sheet of the colored film is formed of the same polycarbonate resin as the wheel cap body, when the wheel cap body is molded, the heated resin makes contact with the wheel cap body. This melts momentarily, and the two are united by fusion. Therefore, the adhesive strength of the colored film to the wheel cap body is extremely strong, and the colored film will not be peeled off even if pebbles, sand or the like collide with the wheel cap when the vehicle is running.

Further, according to the present invention, since the surface layer of the colored film is covered with the first transparent sheet made of a polycarbonate resin, the colored layer is strong against an external impact and the colored layer is hardly damaged. Therefore, a high decorative function can be maintained for a long period of time.

Further, according to the present invention, since the first transparent sheet of the colored film is used as it is as a protective sheet for the colored film after the molding, the base film peeling step in the method using the conventional transfer film becomes unnecessary. The manufacturing work can be simplified. Further, since the steps are simplified as compared with the conventional coating method, the cost can be remarkably reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, the conventional injection mold can be used without any modification. That is,
By simply disposing a colored film having a predetermined shape on the cavity wall surface of a conventional mold, it is possible to apply the same coloring as the printing to the surface of the wheel cap body.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a wheel cap, a wheel, and a tire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a wheel cap.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a mold for molding a wheel cap.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Wheel Cap 5 Wheel Cap Main Body 8 Projection 9 Coloring Film 10 First Transparent Sheet 11 Coloring Layer 12 Adhesive Layer 13 White Coloring Layer 14 Second Transparent Sheet 15 Mold 18 Cavity

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A wheel cap body made of a polycarbonate resin, a first transparent sheet made of a polycarbonate resin, and a colored layer having a predetermined color, characters, symbols or patterns formed on the first transparent sheet. An adhesive layer formed on the colored layer, a white colored layer formed on the adhesive layer, and a second transparent sheet composed of a polycarbonate resin formed on the white colored layer.
A wheel cap comprising a colored film formed by heat-sealing the second transparent sheet to the wheel cap body. 2. The wheel cap according to claim 1, wherein a concavo-convex pattern corresponding to characters, symbols, patterns, etc. on which the colored film of the wheel cap is heat-sealed is provided. 3. A first transparent sheet made of a polycarbonate resin, a colored layer having a predetermined color, characters, symbols or patterns formed on the first transparent sheet, and a colored layer formed on the colored layer, in a proper place on the wall surface of the mold cavity. A colored film composed of five layers of an adhesive layer formed on the white colored layer and a second transparent sheet made of a polycarbonate resin formed on the white colored layer is disposed, and the heat-melted polycarbonate resin is mixed with the above-mentioned cavity. The method of manufacturing a wheel cap, characterized in that the resin and the second transparent sheet are heat-sealed together and the wheel cap body and the colored film are integrally molded.