JP7419932B2 - decorative film - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a decorative film that is applied to the body of an automobile.

Patent Document 1 describes a method of manufacturing a composite material by attaching a film to the surface of metal or resin.

JP2016-87960

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In industrial products, especially automobiles, in order to give the car body an attractive body color, light-reflecting pigments are sometimes mixed with paint and used to paint the car body. When applying a body color to a car body by pasting a film on it, a glossy decorative film is similarly formed by mixing pigments with the film material such as acrylic. On the other hand, when a film is attached to a base material such as a car body, the film is fixed in order to suppress wrinkles that may occur on the surface. At this time, in the vicinity of the fixed film, a force is applied to stretch the film, which widens the gaps between the pigments contained in the film, increasing the amount of light transmitted and making it difficult for light to be reflected. Therefore, the reflectance of light changes depending on the location of the film, which may cause color unevenness or decorative unevenness on the film. When applying this film to a vehicle body, there is a risk that the desired body color may not be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a decorative film whose light reflectance is always substantially uniform even when it is attached to an automobile body having many curved surfaces.

In order to achieve this object, a decorative film according to an embodiment of the present invention is a decorative film having a reflective layer formed by applying a paint containing a glittering pigment to the surface of a film base material, and comprising:
The glitter pigment includes a stretchable glitter pigment,
When the decorative film is stretched along the direction in which the surface of the decorative film expands, the stretchable glitter pigment stretches in the direction along with the decorative film,
The glitter pigment includes a non-stretchable glitter pigment,
The stretchable glitter pigment is characterized in that it is formed by processing thin plate-like flakes into a wave shape .

A decorative film according to another embodiment of the present invention is a decorative film having a reflective layer formed by applying a paint containing a glittering pigment to the surface of a film base material,
The glitter pigment includes a stretchable glitter pigment,
When the decorative film is stretched along the direction in which the surface of the decorative film expands, the stretchable glitter pigment stretches in the direction along with the decorative film,
The glitter pigment includes a non-stretchable glitter pigment,
The reflective layer has a first reflective layer closer to the film base material and a second reflective layer farther from the film base material than the first reflective layer,
The first reflective layer includes the stretchable glitter pigment,
The second reflective layer is characterized in that it contains the non-stretchable glitter pigment .

According to these embodiments, when the decorative film stretches, the glitter pigment included in the reflective layer stretches, thereby increasing the surface of the glitter pigment that reflects light. Therefore, regardless of the shape of the surface covered by the decorative film (that is, even if the surface covered by the decorative film is a curved or bent surface), the covered surface exhibits uniform reflectance. Therefore, when the decorative film is applied to, for example, an automobile body with many curved surfaces, a surface without uneven color or decorative unevenness can be obtained.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a decorative film manufacturing apparatus according to first and second embodiments. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a decorative film according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a decorative film according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a glitter pigment manufacturing apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a decorative film according to a second embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a decorative film according to a second embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a decorative film according to another embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a decorative film according to a modification of the first embodiment.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, with reference to an accompanying drawing, the manufacturing method of the decorative film based on embodiment of this invention, and embodiment of the decorative film manufactured by the method are described. In the following description with reference to the drawings, the horizontal direction of the drawing is referred to as the x direction, the front and back direction of the drawing that is orthogonal to the x direction is referred to as the y direction, and the vertical direction of the drawing that is orthogonal to the x and y directions is referred to as the z direction. Further, the size of the illustrated device and the size and shape of each component thereof are exaggerated and differ from the actual size.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a decorative film manufacturing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "film manufacturing apparatus") 100 that manufactures a decorative film 1 according to a first embodiment. In the first embodiment described below, as shown in FIG. The reflective layer 14 includes a colored layer 16 disposed on the surface (upper surface) of the reflective layer 14, and a coating layer 18 disposed on the surface (upper surface) of the colored layer 16.

The film manufacturing device (coating device) 100 includes a lower structure 102 that supports the decorative film 1 to be manufactured, and a reflective layer 14, a colored layer 16, and a coating on the surface of the film base material 12 of the decorative film 1 to be manufactured. It has a superstructure 104 on which a layer 18 is deposited. In the first embodiment, the film manufacturing apparatus 100 is an offset coating apparatus. However, the coating device is not limited to this, and various coating devices having the same configuration as various printing devices such as a gravure printing device and a screen printing device can be used.

The lower structure 102 has first to third backup rollers 110A, 110B, and 110C each having a substantially cylindrical shape and rotatable around a central axis extending in the y direction. The first to third backup rollers 110A, 110B, and 110C are arranged in order from the left side to the right side in the figure. Although the first to third backup rollers 110A, 110B, and 110C are arranged close to each other in the drawing, the spacing between them can be arbitrarily determined.

The upper structure 104 has first to third coating rollers 112A, 112B, and 112C each having a substantially cylindrical shape and rotatable around a central axis extending in the y direction. The first to third application rollers 112A, 112B, and 112C are arranged in parallel above the first to third backup rollers 110A, 110B, and 110C, respectively. Although not shown, first to third paint supply rollers are arranged near the first to third application rollers 112A, 112B, and 112C, respectively. The first to third backup rollers 110A, 110B, 110C, the first to third application rollers 112A, 112B, 112C, and the first to third paint supply rollers are drivingly connected to a drive system 120 including a motor. The rollers are configured to rotate at a predetermined speed in the directions shown in the figure (the backup roller and paint supply roller are clockwise, and the coating roller is counterclockwise).

These first to third backup rollers 110A, 110B, 110C are combined with corresponding first to third application rollers 112A, 112B, 112C and first to third paint supply rollers, and the reflective layer 14 is , the colored layer 16, and the coating layer 18.

As shown in FIG. 2, reflective layer 14, colored layer 16, and coating layer 18 generally have different thicknesses. Therefore, the contact pressure or interval (gap) between the first to third coating rollers 112A, 112B, 112C and the corresponding first to third paint supply rollers, and the first to third coating rollers 112A , 112B, 112C and the corresponding first to third backup rollers 110A, 110B, 110C, depending on the thickness of the layer to be printed and the properties (for example, viscosity) of the material to be printed. It can be decided as appropriate.

The materials of the film base material 12 and the reflective layer 14, colored layer 16, and coating layer 18 printed thereon will be explained.

The film base material 12 is a flat film having a predetermined length in the x direction and the y direction, as shown in the figure. The film base material 12 may be a film made of metal (for example, aluminum, copper, stainless steel, nickel, titanium, platinum), or a film made of plastic [for example, polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), polyurethane (PU)]. , polyacetal (POM), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), glass fiber reinforced polyethylene phthalate (GF-PET), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)], or other engineering plastics [ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), thermoplastic polyester elastomer ( TPEE)], or a composite film made by laminating metal and plastic.

The paint constituting the reflective layer 14 is a reflective paint (hereinafter referred to as "first paint" as appropriate), which is a paint base material made of acrylic resin or urethane resin mixed with a glittering pigment. In this specification, the glitter pigment refers to a substance that reflects light incident on a coating film, such as a filler or a general pigment. In embodiments, the reflective layer 14 includes both two types of glitter pigments, for example, a first glitter pigment 20a and a second glitter pigment 20b.

The first glittering pigment 20a is, for example, but not limited to, a pigment having stretchable flakes made of acrylic resin or urethane resin and plated with metal particles on the surface of the flakes. A method for manufacturing this stretchable flake will be described later.

The second bright pigment 20b is not limited to, for example, a pigment that has non-stretchable flakes made of aluminum, the surface of the flakes is coated with a silica layer, and further plated with metal particles is used.

The stretchable first luster pigment 20a has an average particle size of, for example, about 10 micrometers to about 20 micrometers in a normal state where no tensile force is applied, and a maximum particle size of about 20 micrometers when a tensile force is applied. It can extend up to 40 micrometers. The non-stretchable second glitter pigment 20b has, for example, an average particle size of about 10 micrometers to about 20 micrometers. The average particle size of the pigment is the longitudinal size of the flakes.

The colored layer 16 is a paint containing a colorant of a desired color (hereinafter appropriately referred to as "second paint"). For example, when a decorative film is used as an exterior material for the surface of an automobile body, urethane paint or acrylic paint is used as the paint.

The coating layer 18 is a layer formed by applying and drying a transparent or translucent paint (hereinafter referred to as "third paint" as appropriate) made of glass, for example.

The production of a decorative film using the above-mentioned film production apparatus will be explained.

In the state shown in FIG. 1, backup rollers 110A, 110B, 110C, coating rollers 112A, 112B, 112C, and paint supply rollers rotate in predetermined directions, respectively, based on the drive of drive system 120. As a result, the first to third paints are supplied from the adjacent first to third paint supply rollers to the outer circumferential surfaces of the first to third application rollers 112A, 112B, and 112C, respectively, to achieve the desired thickness. A coating film is formed. Further, the coating films of the first to third coating rollers 112A, 112B, 112C are conveyed from the left side to the right side in the figure between the backup rollers 110A, 110B, 110C and the coating rollers 112A, 112B, 112C. The reflective layer 14, the colored layer 16, and the coating layer 18 of a predetermined thickness are sequentially laminated on the surface of the film base 12, and have the layer structure shown in FIG. 2. Decorative film 1 is manufactured.

In the decorative film 1 manufactured in this way, for example, when the decorative film 1 is attached to a convex curved surface or a vehicle body surface having a convex curved surface while applying force in the surface direction, the convex curved surface Alternatively, the reflective layer 14 extends in the film portion covering the convex curved surface. At this time, the stretchable first glitter pigment 20a expands along the surface direction according to the expansion of the reflective layer 14 (see FIG. 3). Therefore, in the film portion that covers the convex curved surface or the convex curved surface, the distance between the glitter pigments 20a and 20b in the reflective layer 14 increases, while the stretchable first glitter pigment 20a extends in the stretching direction and The area of the first glittering pigment 20a when viewed from the direction becomes larger. Therefore, the light incident from the coating layer 18 becomes difficult to pass between the glitter pigments 20a and 20b, and the portion of the film that covers the convex curved surface or the convex curved surface is equivalent to the portion of the film that covers other flat surfaces. Reflects light and provides a reflective surface with no uneven color.

[Second embodiment]
FIG. 5 shows a decorative film according to the second embodiment. The decorative film 201 shown in this figure is a modification of the decorative film 1 of the first embodiment, and the stretchable first glitter pigment 220a contained therein has a wave-like shape. The other configurations are the same as the first embodiment. Therefore, the layers that are the same as or correspond to the layers in the first embodiment are given the reference numerals with "200" added to the reference numerals in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The stretchable first glitter pigment 20a is manufactured, for example, by a glitter pigment manufacturing apparatus (pulverizer, sizing machine, or roll granulator) 300 shown in FIG. The bright pigment manufacturing apparatus 300 includes an upper structure 302 for forming granular flakes 230, which are the base material of the first bright pigment 220a, from a rod 240, and a wavy shape in the flakes 230 formed in the upper structure 302. It has a lower structure 304 that provides.

The upper structure 302 has first and second upper toothed rolls 312A and 312B each having a substantially cylindrical shape and rotatable around a central axis extending in the y direction. The first and second upper toothed rolls 312A and 312B are arranged symmetrically adjacent to each other with respect to the vertical axis, and have a high density of small, sharp protrusions (teeth) on their respective outer peripheral surfaces. is formed. Therefore, when a bar 240, which is a workpiece material, is supplied to the region closest to the first and second upper toothed rolls 312A, 312B, this bar 240 is sandwiched between the upper toothed rolls 312A, 312B. It is then finely cut into thin plate-like flakes 230.

The lower structure 304 has first and second lower toothed rolls 314A and 314B each having a substantially cylindrical shape and rotatable around a central axis extending in the y direction. The first and second lower toothed rolls 314A, 314B are arranged adjacently below the upper toothed rolls 312A, 312B, respectively, and have a high density of small, sharp protrusions (teeth) on their outer peripheral surfaces. is formed. The projections of the upper toothed rolls 312A, 312B have a shape and size suitable for forming the bar 240 into fine flakes 230, whereas the lower toothed rolls 314A, 314B form the fine flakes 230. It has a shape and size suitable for processing into waveforms.

The first and second upper toothed rolls 312A, 312B and the first and second lower toothed rolls 314A, 314B are drivingly connected to a drive system 320 including a motor, and are driven at a predetermined speed. (The first upper toothed roll 312A and the first lower toothed roll 314A are clockwise, and the second upper toothed roll 312B and the second lower toothed roll 314B are clockwise.) It is configured to rotate in a clockwise direction.

Therefore, the bar material 240 supplied between the upper toothed rolls 312A and 312B is formed into fine flakes 230 by the projections of the upper toothed rolls 312A and 312B. Next, the flakes 230 that have fallen from between the upper toothed rolls 312A and 312B are supplied to the nearest region 316 of the lower toothed rolls 314A and 314B, where they are fed by the protrusions of the lower toothed rolls 314A and 314B. Processed into a waveform. Wrinkled flakes or corrugated flakes have the property of elongating in the direction when a tensile force is applied to them.

The base material of the first glitter pigment 220a may be aluminum. In this case, corrugated aluminum flakes are formed from the aluminum bar 240 using the bright pigment manufacturing apparatus 300 described above. The corrugated aluminum flakes are coated with a silica layer on the surface of the flakes and further plated with metal particles to become metallic pigments.

According to the decorative film 201 containing stretchable wave-shaped flakes manufactured in this way, for example, the decorative film 201 is applied onto a vehicle body surface having a convex curved surface or a convex bent surface while applying force in the surface direction. When attached, the reflective layer 214 stretches in the portion of the film that covers the convex curved surface or the convex curved surface. At this time, the first glitter pigment 220a having a wavy shape extends along the surface direction of the reflective layer 214 in accordance with the extension of the reflective layer 214 (see FIG. 6). Therefore, in the film portion that covers the convex curved surface or the convex curved surface, the distance between the glitter pigments 220a and 220b in the reflective layer 214 increases, and the area of the first glitter pigment 220a when viewed from above and below increases. Therefore, the light incident from the coating layer 218 becomes difficult to pass between the glitter pigments 220a and 220b, and the portion of the film that covers the convex curved surface or the convex curved surface is equivalent to the portion of the film that covers other flat surfaces. Reflects light and provides a reflective surface with no uneven color.

[Other embodiments]
In the embodiments described above, each of the reflective layers 14 and 214 is composed of one layer, but each of the reflective layers 14 and 214 may be composed of a plurality of layers. As shown in FIG. 7, for example, the reflective layer may be composed of three layers. In this case, the reflective layer 414 includes three layers: a lower reflective layer 414a, a middle reflective layer 414b, and an upper reflective layer 414c. In particular, the lower reflective layer 414a preferably includes an extensible glitter pigment, for example, a glitter pigment 420a configured similarly to the first glitter pigment 20a in the first embodiment. Therefore, when the decorative film 401 is attached, for example, to a vehicle body surface having a convex curved surface or a convex curved surface while applying force in the surface direction, light transmitted through the upper reflective layer 414c and the intermediate reflective layer 414b is reflected by the elongated first glitter pigment 420a in the lower reflective layer 414a, so the portion of the film covering the convex curved surface or the convex curved surface receives the same amount of light as the portion of the film covering other flat surfaces. , resulting in a clean painted surface with no uneven color.

In the above-described embodiment, the reflective layer 14, 214, the colored layer 16, 216, and the coating layer 18, 218 having a predetermined thickness are sequentially laminated on the surface of the base material 12, 212 to form the decorative film 1, 201. However, a decorative film may be manufactured by sequentially laminating a colored layer 516 of a predetermined thickness and a reflective layer 514 on the back surface of a transparent or translucent base material 518 (see FIG. 8).

In the above-described embodiment, an offset-type coating device is used as the coating device, but other coating devices, such as a coating device using a die coater, may be used.

In the embodiment described above, the first to third painting steps are arranged at regular intervals, but the intervals between adjacent painting steps may be determined as appropriate, and a drying step may be performed as appropriate between adjacent painting steps. It may be provided. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the coating roller is placed on top of the backup roller, but conversely, the backup roller may be placed on top of the coating roller to apply the paint to the lower surface of the base material.

In the embodiments described above, the base material and the colored layer are formed as a single layer, but they may be formed as a plurality of layers.

1: Decorative film, 12: Film base material, 14: Reflective layer, 20a, 20b: Glitter pigment.

Claims (3)

A decorative film having a reflective layer formed by applying a paint containing a glittering pigment to the surface of a film base material,
The glitter pigment includes a stretchable glitter pigment,
When the decorative film is stretched along the direction in which the surface of the decorative film expands, the stretchable glitter pigment stretches in the direction along with the decorative film,
The glitter pigment includes a non-stretchable glitter pigment,
A decorative film characterized in that the stretchable glitter pigment is formed by processing a thin plate-like flake into a corrugated shape . The reflective layer has a first reflective layer closer to the film base material and a second reflective layer farther from the film base material than the first reflective layer,
The first reflective layer includes the stretchable glitter pigment,
The decorative film according to claim 1, wherein the second reflective layer contains the non-stretchable glitter pigment. A decorative film having a reflective layer formed by applying a paint containing a glittering pigment to the surface of a film base material,
The glitter pigment includes a stretchable glitter pigment,
When the decorative film is stretched along the direction in which the surface of the decorative film expands, the stretchable glitter pigment stretches in the direction along with the decorative film,
The glitter pigment includes a non-stretchable glitter pigment,
The reflective layer has a first reflective layer closer to the film base material and a second reflective layer farther from the film base material than the first reflective layer,
The first reflective layer includes the stretchable glitter pigment,
A decorative film characterized in that the second reflective layer contains the non-stretchable glitter pigment.

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