JPS61290051A - Trim strip with no base body and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a protective and decorative elongated strip or molding that is attached to the body of an automobile, etc., and a method for manufacturing the same.

(Prior Art) In the automobile industry, trim strips of various shapes (
trim 5trip) is used. In recent years, trim strips have rapidly replaced chrome-plated metal trim strips with plastic trim strips that are non-corrosive and can be attached to the vehicle body with adhesives without the use of attachments.

Examples of plastic trim or molding strips include Waugh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,179;
a) U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,155, Na
Rita U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,881; Wenrick U.S. Pat. No. 4.010,2
No. 97, Sawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,
'482 and Kento U.S. Patent No. 3,
There are No. 843, 425, etc.

Many of these trim strips are formed from a plastic base with one or more decorative metal or plastic layers laminated thereon. Wow (w)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,179 to M. augh discloses a trim strip in which a crosslinkable liquid plastic resin is cast onto an adhesive-backed metal or plastic foil substrate. The resin forms a lenticular coating on the substrate, giving a lenticular effect to the decorative print on the foil.

However, the need for such a foil substrate increases the cost of manufacturing such trim strips. Furthermore, the thickness of the substrate limits the overall flexibility of the trim strip, making it more difficult to permanently adhere the trim strip to curved surfaces. Therefore, there is a need for a trim strip and a method for manufacturing the same that are inexpensive and have the necessary flexibility to adhere to curved surfaces.

The present invention provides a trim strip having a plastic covering and a decorative pattern printed directly on the upper surface of an adhesive layer, and a method for manufacturing the trim strip. Thus, the present invention eliminates the need for an intermediate metal, paper, or plastic substrate and produces a beautiful, flexible, elongated trim strip that can be easily adhered to a desired surface, such as the side of an automobile body. There is a particular thing. Therefore, it can be used as an insert in pre-molded trim, bumpers or bumper guards, and can also be used to decorate articles with curved surfaces.

Means for Solving the Problems According to one aspect of the present invention, an adhesive article having a plastic coating is prepared by first forming a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive on the surface of a support and then applying a predetermined amount of crosslinking. A flexible plastic resin is applied to the first surface (top surface) of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer. This resin is then crosslinked and cured to form a plastic sheath assembly on the adhesive layer. After forming the plastic envelope, the individual articles are separated by die-cutting, punching, or other methods.

A preferred method of forming articles with plastic coverings is to support the pressure sensitive adhesive layer on a release liner coated with a release agent. As a result, the release liner is easily released from the adhesive article during use. The adhesive may be applied to the release liner in conventional manner, such as by spraying or roll coating. The adhesive may be transparent, but is preferably colored; the plastic coating formed is a liquid resin. is cast onto the adhesive layer, creating a lenticular or convex meniscus.
iscus) in shape. Instead of this, a liquid resin is flow coated (f
may be applied by spraying or extrusion to form a relatively flat coating; these latter methods are preferred when the supporting release liner used is relatively large. . The resin is then crosslinked and cured and separated into multiple articles.

Optionally, the first surface of the pressure sensitive adhesive is made substantially non-tacky (t) prior to applying the plastic coating.
ack free), and is in a state suitable for directly printing a decorative display thereon. This treatment is the first step in the adhesive process.
This may be applied to the entire surface of the adhesive or, if necessary, only to predetermined areas, for example by applying or spraying a curable or crosslinking liquid onto the first surface of the adhesive, or by applying a granular This can be done by applying a material, by pasting a hot stamping foil, or by depositing metal on the surface.

These non-adhesive treatments may make the surface transparent, colored and transparent, or opaque. This method determines the color of the final article,
The color will be the color of the pressure-sensitive adhesive, the color of the detackifying treatment, or a combination of both.

The first surface (upper surface) of the adhesive thus treated is then printed or selectively decorated, such as by silk screen printing or other conventional printing techniques. After the plastic coated articles are formed, the individual articles with their cross-linked cured plastic coatings are separated from the assembly by die-cutting, stamping, or other conventional separation techniques. They are retained on the release liner until they are affixed to the desired surface.

According to another aspect of the invention, a trim strip without a substrate is provided with an elongated layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive on a support surface, and on one side of the pressure-sensitive adhesive, a plurality of spaced apart trim strips. Created by forming a long raised boundary. The raised borders are spaced apart to provide at least one longitudinally extending opening of the pressure sensitive adhesive. This opening corresponds to the contour of the final trim strip structure. This opening is then treated so that that portion of the adhesive top surface is non-tacky and allows direct printing on the top surface by silkscreening or other means. In another embodiment of the invention, after the top surface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive is treated to be non-tacky, a raised border is formed, thereby creating at least one enclosed area to be decorated.

The top surface of the treated adhesive is then provided with the desired decoration by printing a base color and/or indicia thereon by silk-screening or other means, and a predetermined amount of a crosslinkable liquid plastic resin is applied to the decoration. Cast on the surface.

The resin then rises and flows to the edge of the boundary. In this embodiment, the resin is crosslinked to form a convex meniscus that covers the decorative surface without exceeding the edges of the raised border.The resin is then cross-cured to form one or more lengths with a plastic lenticular covering. A trim strip is formed that does not have an elongated substrate.

It should be noted that the relatively flat cladding may be applied by flow coating, spraying or lamination; after the plastic cladding is applied, the lateral trim strips are separated from the assembly.

Preferably the assembly also has a release liner.

Thus, the preferred method of forming the trim strip of this embodiment includes forming an elongated layer of pressure sensitive adhesive supported on a release liner. The raised border is provided by laminating cover strips to the surface of the adhesive spaced to form at least one elongated opening. The opening is then treated to be non-adhesive, decorated and has a plastic covering cast thereon as described above.

After the trim strips are formed, the plastic coating is crosslinked and cured so that the individual trim strips can be easily peeled from the release liner. The raised border formed by the cut edge of the cover strip
When the trim strip is separated from the assembly, it acts like a knife, causing the underlying adhesive to break sharply at that point, thereby giving the trim strip a distinct edge. Alternatively, a cutting operation may be used to separate individual release lined trim strips from the entire assembly.

Thus, the present invention provides a trim strip that does not require an intermediate substrate layer such as metal, paper, or plastic that is required in conventional trim strips.The trim strip of the present invention is extremely flexible. It is a rich material, and its production is relatively easy.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a trim strip without a substrate and a method of manufacturing the same. This and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, accompanying drawings, and appended claims.

(Example) Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a trim strip showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the decorative layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive together with the cover strip, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a trim strip showing an embodiment of the present invention. Cross-sectional view of the trim strip structure before casting the plastic resin,
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the trim strip structure after the plastic resin has been cast; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an adhesive article having a plastic coating made in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an adhesive article having a plastic coating with a non-adhesive layer obtained according to another embodiment of the invention, and FIG. It is.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-section of a trim strip without a substrate made according to the method of the invention.

Trim strip IO has a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 12 having a top surface and a bottom surface. Pressure sensitive adhesive 12 may be any of a number of commercially available adhesives, examples of which include acrylic pressure sensitive adhesives.

The top surface 13 of the adhesive 12 is treated to be tacky as described in detail below, and the non-tacky surface 16 as shown.
covers the upper surface 13 of the adhesive 12. Non-stick surface 1
6 is preferably a layer of transparent lacquer, but may also contain particulate matter, such as talc or mica (1c
It may be the layer a).

Instead of this, approximately 0.0025 mso (0,0001
A thin, shiny, metallic-like layer having a thickness of less than 1 inch) is applied by hot stamping or metal vapor deposition, marking 1
The 0 indicator 18, which may be a bright or colored substrate for printing the 8, may be any decoration desired, including words, numbers, symbols, pictures, or combinations thereof.

The adhesive 12, by any means, may itself be colored to act as a substrate for the indicia 18, or as other examples, to eliminate the need to detackify its surface and to eliminate any markings. Optionally, the trim strip will simply be the color of the adhesive itself.

In the preferred embodiment, a cross-linked transparent plastic lenticular covering 20 covers and encloses the display 18. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the edges of the lenticular covering 20 contact the layer of adhesive 12 to form a convex meniscus. This meniscus contributes to the lens effect of the covering 20, enhancing the aesthetic appearance of the printed display 18 while providing a robust, weather-resistant protective covering. Covering 20 may be formed from any type of castable plastic resin that can be crosslinked to a transparent and robust compound, preferably a two-component polyurethane resin is used. However, other castable plastics may also be used.
Such resins can be crosslinked by exposure to heat or ultraviolet or other radiation.

Now, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the non-substrate trim strip of the present invention is preferably manufactured by the following steps.

First, a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 120 is provided on the release liner 14. The adhesive is applied to the release liner 1 by appropriate means.
For example, it can be applied by spraying, coating, dipping, or the like.

Adhesive layer 12 is preferably formed to a thickness between about 0.002 inches (0.002 inches) and 0.010 inches (0.24 mm).

A plurality of elongated raised boundaries are then formed at predetermined intervals on the top surface 13 of the adhesive 12, forming at least one longitudinally extending opening, as will be described in detail below. It is treated to be non-adhesive so that it can be printed directly onto the treated surface.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the raised border is formed by laminating cover strips 22, 24 onto the adhesive 12 surface, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. The ends of the cover strips 22,24 are connected by terminating strips 26 to form a structure or combination 30 laminated to the adhesive 12. As shown, one or more regions of the assembly 30 may be removed, such as by die cutting, leaving a corresponding exposed area of adhesive, the periphery of which is the final trim strip 10 produced. Corresponds to shape. The cover strips 22, 24, 26 and the assembly 30 are made of metal, cardboard, paper or plastic. However, they preferably consist of non-absorbable materials or are treated to be non-absorbable, with suitable plastics containing approximately 0.1 to 0.2 ply (0.1 ply (0,004 inches)) Styrene resins or polyester resins having a hardness of (o, ooa inch) are included. In a continuous process, cover strips 22,24 are alternatively unwound from a supply roll and laminated onto web-like release liner 14 having adhesive 12 thereon. In this case, the terminal strip 26 is not used.

In a preferred embodiment, the cover strip is treated to render its surface substantially impermeable to the liquid plastic resin being poured.

Suitable treating agents that may be applied to the cover strips 22, 24, 26 before or after the extraction areas are removed include, for example, fluorinated hydrocarbons such as polytetrafluoroethylene and silicone.

A preferred treatment agent for polyester cover strips consists of a mixture of polytetrafluoroethylene and Hypalon (trademark of DuPont). Hypalon, a chlorinated rubber, improves the adhesion of the treatment agent to polyester and increases the extensibility of the coating. This treatment agent may be applied by any suitable method, such as screen printing, spraying, or roll coating.

The surface of the exposed portion of adhesive 12 is then treated to be non-tacky so that indicia 18 can be printed directly thereon. Adhesive 1
The underside of 2 is left sticky, allowing the product to stick to a given surface. There are various ways to make the top surface 13 of the adhesive 12 non-tacky, but one preferred example is to overcoat the top surface 13 with a clear or colored lacquer forming the non-tacky layer 16, and then to make the top surface 13 of the adhesive 12 non-tacky. It is to seal it. Alternatively, the upper surface 13 may be dusted with fine powder of inert particles such as mica.

In addition, as an alternative method, a bright metallic surface material may be applied to the upper surface 13. This is done by applying a bright metal foil for hot stamping to the upper surface 13 by means of a pressure roll or the like.
This can be done by granting . The foil is affixed with a supporting film which, when removed, leaves behind a bright metal, non-tacky surface 16. Bright metallic surface material 1, the metallic non-adhesive surface may be silver, gold or any other desired color.
The overall thickness of 6 is 0.025 mm (0,001 inch)
The following is preferable.

Once surface 13 of adhesive 12 is made non-tacky,
A suitable indicia 18 can be printed directly thereon. This representation includes letters, numbers, words, symbols, drawings, and other elements. Printing can be done by various techniques known in the art including silk screen printing.

The adhesive 12 may itself be colored by adding a suitable pigment or paint to its composition. If the adhesive 12 is colored, there is no need to print a base color, and in that case, the need to provide a non-adhesive layer can also be omitted.

After printing, a liquid plastic resin is cast onto the decorative surface and it is cast to the edges of the cover strip 22,24. A preferred embodiment is that the amount of liquid resin applied is controlled so that the resin does not overflow beyond the cover strip 2224 to form a convex meniscus. Similarly, a relatively thin coating may be controlled to produce a relatively thin coating if lenticularity is not required, and preferably a pre-applied non-wetting fluorocarbon coating. is to help control the flow of plastic resin. The preferred equipment for performing the casting operation is the WOW (
US Pat. No. 4,100,010 to Waugh), which is incorporated herein by reference.

The plastic resin used is preferably an abrasion-resistant, impact-resistant, transparent thermosetting material; many plastics can be used for this purpose, but impact-resistant polyurethanes are particularly advantageous. The polyurethane useful for carrying out is 1
For example, it is a two-component composition which is the reaction product of a gelcol, such as a polyether glycol or polyester glycol, and an aliphatic diisocyanate.

The cast plastic resin is crosslinked and further cured to form a lens-shaped covering 20. Preferably, the resin is crosslinked by heating or by ultraviolet radiation, although depending on the composition used, other methods such as radiofrequency heating,
Hot air drying or even the heat of an exothermic crosslinking reaction can be used.

In this preferred method, the cover strip 22.
The edge of 24 acts like a knife edge to sharply cut through the adhesive layer, separating the trim strip with a covering as shown in FIG. 1 from the release liner. The polyurethane coating is firmly bonded to the adhesive layer on which the indicia is formed, allowing clean separation of the trim strips.

In other embodiments, the trim strips are separated by cutting. In that case cover strip 22.24
There is no need to use other methods to form a raised border.

These methods are described in Reed U.S. Pat.
No. 59.388, Gillo (7) U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,264, which is incorporated herein by reference. Further raised borders may be formed by embossing, in which case it is preferable to render the top surface of the adhesive non-tacky before forming the raised border, the remaining steps being the same as above. .

5 and 6 show cross-sectional views of adhesive articles having plastic coatings made in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention. Article 40 has a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 42 having a first upper surface 43 and a second lower surface. The lower surface of adhesive 42 is affixed to a release liner 44 or other release support surface.

The adhesive 42 is then rendered non-tacky on its upper surface 43;
As described above, appropriate processing is performed so that the display 48 is directly printed. The underside of adhesive 42 remains tacky so that the final fabricated article can be adhered to the desired surface. Once the top surface 43 has been treated and rendered substantially non-stick, it becomes a printable surface 46 and the appropriate indicia 48 can be printed directly thereon.

The adhesive 42 may itself be colored by adding a suitable pigment or dye to its composition.
If the adhesive layer 42 is colored, the need to print over a colored substrate and/or to render the top surface 43 of the adhesive 42 substantially non-tacky can be eliminated. Moreover, if the adhesive layer 42 is transparent, the display 4 is displayed on its upper surface.
A portion is left undecorated by 8 so that the color or glitter of the substrate can be revealed through that portion when the article is applied to the substrate.

7 After forming a layer of adhesive 42 as shown in FIG.
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, after printing, a crosslinkable liquid plastic resin is applied onto the structure. When individual articles are formed in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the liquid resin poured onto the structure flows to the edges of the structure to form a convex meniscus. This meniscus is a plastic covering 5 formed when the resin is crosslinked.
It contributes to a lens effect of 0.

On the other hand, relatively flat coatings, such as those shown in FIG. 6, may be applied by flow coating, spraying or extruding a liquid resin onto the top surface of the structure. These latter methods are preferred when each article is supported by a plurality of large sheets, rolls, or webs of release liner 44. After crosslinking to form the plastic envelope 50, the individual articles are separated from the support sheet by die cutting, punching, or other means. In some embodiments, 4M articles are kiss-cut, ie, scored all the way to the release liner 44, and left on the release liner in sheet or roll form. In this state, the article is shipped to the end user. A user can easily peel individual articles from the release liner 44 for application to a predetermined substrate.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, article 60 has a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 62 with upper and lower surfaces.

The lower surface of the adhesive 62 is attached to a release liner 64. The top surface 63 of adhesive 62 has been treated to be substantially non-tacky as detailed above.

A non-stick surface 66 covers the top surface of adhesive 62 as shown. The upper surface of adhesive layer 62 is substantially non-tacky, and appropriate indicia 68 is printed directly thereon. After printing, a clear or colored plastic sheet 70 is laminated to the assembly.

Different plastics may be used depending on the desired effect on the article, the intended appearance.8 For example, if the article is to be exposed outdoors, plastics with robust weather resistance, such as polyurethane or Bolligerponate, may be used, with flexible When this is required, polyester or polyolefin plastics are used. An adhesive may be applied to the underside of the plastic fi 70 to permanently adhere the plastic layer to the decorative assembly. In the manufacturing method of the example product shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of decorative articles are supported by one sheet-like or web-like release liner, and then a liquid plastic resin is applied so as to cover the entire surface of the sheet-like or web-like release liner. It can be applied by casting, painting, spraying, extrusion, or other methods. In this way, a relatively flat plastic covering is formed over the sheet. Thereafter, the article is separated from the sheet by die-cutting, punching, or other methods. A preferred method is to kiss-cut the individual articles, ie, cut through the release liner and leave them on the sheet. In this state they are shipped and sold to end users. Accordingly, the user can easily peel individual articles from the release liner 64 for application to a predetermined substrate.

Effects By implementing the present invention, a novel substrate-free trim strip, i.e., a product that does not require a self-retaining paper, cardboard or plastic substrate, is obtained, which can be used as a trim strip for car bodies or It is useful as an insert for bumpers and bumper guards, or as a decoration or reflector for tail lights, side walls, doors, hard hats, and the like.

Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to specific embodiments, it will be obvious that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a trim strip showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the WI layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive along with a cover strip, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a trim strip showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the trim strip structure before casting, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the trim strip structure after the plastic resin has been cast, and FIG. 5 is a plastic manufactured according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an adhesive article having a plastic coating with a adhered layer obtained according to another embodiment of the invention; FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an article manufactured according to yet another example. to, 40, 60. ... trim strip, 12.4
2.62...Pressure sensitive adhesive, 14°44.64...
Release liner, 16,46°66...non-adhesive surface,
18,48.68...Display, 20...Lenticular covering, 22,24.26...Cover strip, 30...
... combination of cover strips, 50 ... plastic covering body, 70 ... plastic sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A long layer made of a pressure-sensitive adhesive, an upper surface of said layer treated to be non-adhesive, and a layer formed directly on the upper surface of said adhesive layer treated to be non-adhesive. 1. A trim strip without a substrate comprising a decorative indicia and a plastic covering formed over the decorative indicia. 2. forming a long pressure-sensitive adhesive layer; treating the upper surface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer to make it non-adhesive and to allow direct printing; A method for manufacturing a trim strip without a substrate, comprising the steps of: a decoration step of directly printing an indicia on the surface; and a step of coating the treated surface with a plastic layer to form the trim strip. 3. The trim strip without a substrate according to claim 2, wherein the step of coating the plastic layer comprises casting a crosslinkable liquid plastic resin on the treated surface, crosslinking and curing the resin. Production method. 4. The method of manufacturing a trim strip without a substrate according to claim 2, wherein the step of coating the plastic layer comprises laminating a transparent plastic layer to the treated surface. 5. The method of manufacturing a trim strip without a substrate according to claim 2, wherein the step of applying a plastic layer comprises extruding a transparent plastic layer onto the treated surface. 6. Forming a plurality of spaced apart elongated raised boundaries on the top surface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer before the plastic layer coating step, and forming at least one longitudinally extending opening on the top surface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer. and then casting a liquid plastic resin and casting the resin up to the edges of the plurality of boundaries to fill the openings. How to make trim strips.