JP7534868B2 - Decorative film manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing decorative films.

Traditionally, decorative films have been used to impart design features to automobiles and other vehicles. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a decorative film with an embossed, uneven surface.

The uneven shape of the surface of such a decorative film is formed, for example, by embossing, and the uneven shape formed on the outer peripheral surface of the roller is transferred to the surface of the decorative film.

JP 2019-202448 A

However, if you try to produce a variety of decorative films using a roller with an uneven outer surface, you will need a variety of rollers to match the decorative films, which could increase costs.

In addition, the rollers need to be changed depending on the decorative film being produced, and in doing so, the rollers must be removed from and reattached to the manufacturing equipment. However, roller replacement work is extensive and time-consuming, which may lead to reduced productivity.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide a decorative film manufacturing method that can produce a wide variety of decorative films with various surface irregularities at reduced cost and that can improve productivity.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the decorative film manufacturing method of the present invention includes an unevenness forming process in which a process paper having an uneven surface formed thereon and a resin material consisting of a single layer that has been softened by heat and that serves as a skin layer are pressed in a thickness direction with the uneven surface facing the resin material, thereby transferring the uneven surface of the process paper to the resin material , and a lamination process in which the skin layer, decorative layer, adhesive layer, and release liner are laminated .

In the decorative film manufacturing method of the present invention, process paper is used to form the uneven shape on the surface of the decorative film, and since process paper is relatively inexpensive, the decorative film can be produced at low cost. In addition, to change the uneven shape formed on the decorative film, the process paper can be changed, which eliminates the need for time-consuming roller replacement and improves productivity.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the decorative film of the embodiment. 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating an outline of a concavo-convex forming step according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a laminate to be processed into a decorative film. 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an outline of a concavo-convex forming step according to a second embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an outline of a concavo-convex forming step according to a third embodiment. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a state before projections and recesses are formed in a projections and recesses forming step according to a fourth embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a state in which projections and recesses are formed in a projection and recess forming step according to a fourth embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings have been exaggerated for the convenience of explanation and differ from the actual ratios.

First Embodiment
As shown in FIG. 1, the decorative film 100 of the first embodiment has a skin layer 110, a decorative layer 120, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 130, and a release liner 140, in this order in the lamination direction.

The decorative film 100 is used to decorate the interior and exterior of a vehicle such as an automobile, but the adherend to be decorated is not particularly limited and may be, for example, a home appliance or miscellaneous goods. The decorative film 100 is used by peeling off the release liner 140, and is attached to the adherend via the adhesive layer 130.

The skin layer 110 is light-transmitting, and the decorative layer 120 is visible through the skin layer 110. As long as the decorative layer 120 is visible, there is no particular limitation on the degree of transmittance of the skin layer 110 in the visible light range.

The material forming the skin layer 110 is, for example, a resin such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), but is not limited to this and may be other resins such as ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE).

The surface layer 110 has an uneven shape 111 on its surface. The uneven shape 111 is provided to impart design to the surface of the decorative film 100, and forms some kind of pattern. The pattern formed by the uneven shape 111 is, for example, a grain pattern that imitates natural leather, but is not limited to this, and may be, for example, cloth grain, stone grain, sand grain, wood grain, lines, hairlines, etc., or may be letters, symbols, geometric figures, designs, etc. Furthermore, the pattern formed by the uneven shape 111 may be regular or irregular.

The decorative layer 120 serves as a base layer and also has design properties. The decorative layer 120 includes, for example, color and patterns, which provide the decorative properties. Materials forming the decorative layer 120 include, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin, acrylic resin, etc., but are not limited to these.

The adhesive layer 130 is formed from an adhesive such as an acrylic adhesive, a urethane adhesive, or a silicone adhesive, but the material from which the adhesive layer 130 is formed is not limited to these.

The release liner 140 is releasably disposed on the surface of the adhesive layer 130. The release liner 140 has a configuration in which a release agent layer is provided on the surface of a film substrate or a paper substrate, for example, but there is no particular limitation on the configuration.

Next, we will explain the manufacturing method for decorative film.

The decorative film manufacturing method of this embodiment includes a concave-convex forming process in which the concave-convex shape 111 is formed to produce the skin layer 110, and then a lamination process in which the skin layer 110 is laminated with other layers.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the unevenness forming process, the surface layer 110 is produced using the process paper 10 on which the uneven shape 11 is formed. More specifically, the uneven shape 11 on the surface of the process paper 10 is pressed against a resin material 112 made of the same material as the surface layer 110, and the uneven shape 11 is inverted and transferred to the surface of the resin material 112, resulting in the uneven shape 111 being formed on the surface of the resin material 112, which becomes the surface layer 110.

In this embodiment, the continuous process paper 10 and the continuous resin material 112 are continuously supplied between a pair of rollers R1 and R2 that press them together, and continuous transfer is performed. The process paper 10 has a long shape. The resin material 112 is a long resin film.

The process paper 10 and the resin material 112 are each transported, for example, by a roll-to-roll method, and pass between rollers R1 and R2. At that time, the process paper 10 and the resin material 112 come into contact with each other. Each of the rollers R1 and R2 has an outer peripheral surface that is smoother than the surface of the process paper 10 on which the uneven shape 11 is formed, and is preferably made of metal, but the material is not particularly limited.

As shown by the symbol A in FIG. 2, the resin material 112 is made of a single layer, and before it comes into contact with the process paper 10, it has a smooth surface compared to the surface of the process paper 10 on which the uneven shape 11 is formed.

The process paper 10 has a configuration in which the uneven shape 11 is formed on the surface of a paper base material such as, for example, high-quality paper, medium-quality paper, glassine paper, art paper, coated paper, and cast-coated paper, but is not limited to this. The process paper 10 may have a configuration in which the uneven shape 11 is formed on the surface of a resin film that has good heat resistance, for example. The process paper 10 may also have a release agent layer on the surface on which the uneven shape 11 is formed. The thickness of the process paper 10 is, for example, 5 μm to 300 μm, but is not limited to this.

The uneven shape 11 is an inverted shape of the uneven shape 111, and is formed, for example, by embossing, but there is no particular limitation on how it is formed. For example, the uneven shape 11 may be formed by separately attaching convex portions to the surface of a smooth base material.

When the process paper 10 and the resin material 112 pass between the rollers R1 and R2, they are pressed in the thickness direction by them. At least one of the rollers R1 and R2 has a heat source, such as a heater, inside. The resin material 112 has thermoplastic properties and is softened by the application of heat from at least one of the rollers R1 and R2. On the other hand, the process paper 10 has the strength and heat resistance to maintain the uneven shape 11 against the force and heat applied from the rollers R1 and R2. The heat resistance temperature of the process paper 10 is, for example, 150°C or higher, preferably 170°C or higher, but is not limited thereto.

When the process paper 10 and the softened resin material 112 are pressed in the thickness direction by the rollers R1 and R2 while facing each other, the surface of the resin material 112 is deformed to match the uneven shape 11 of the process paper 10, and the uneven shape 111, which is an inverted and transferred version of the uneven shape 11, is formed on the surface of the resin material 112. The lamination process is then carried out using the prepared skin layer 110.

In the lamination process, the surface layer 110, the decorative layer 120, the adhesive layer 130, and the release liner 140 are laminated to produce the decorative film 100. As long as the laminated structure shown in FIG. 1 is formed, there is no particular limitation on the order in which the layers are laminated.

For example, one laminated piece in which the surface layer 110 and the decorative layer 120 are laminated and another laminated piece in which the adhesive layer 130 and the release liner 140 are laminated may be formed separately, and the laminated pieces may be laminated together to produce the decorative film 100, but there is no particular limitation on how the layers are laminated.

The skin layer 110 and the decorative layer 120 are inseparably bonded to each other, for example, by an adhesive, but this is not limited thereto, and the skin layer 110 and the decorative layer 120 may be directly bonded to each other, for example, by heat fusion. The adhesive layer 130 is formed, for example, by applying an adhesive to one side of the release liner 140 and curing it, but this is not limited thereto, and for example, a form in which the adhesive layer 130 is formed on the surface of the decorative layer 120 and the release liner 140 is placed thereon is also included in the scope of the present invention.

Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, a relatively inexpensive process paper 10 is used as the processing means for forming the uneven shape 111 on the surface of the decorative film 100. This eliminates the need for expensive processing means such as a metal roller with an uneven shape formed on its outer periphery. This allows the decorative film 100 to be produced at low cost.

In addition, when using a roller with an uneven shape formed on its outer circumferential surface as described above, the roller must be changed in order to change the uneven shape 111 formed on the decorative film 100. In doing so, the roller must be removed from and reattached to the manufacturing device, and this replacement work is extensive and time-consuming.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, to change the uneven shape 111 formed on the decorative film 100, it is sufficient to change the process paper 10, and there is no need to replace the rollers, which is time-consuming, and therefore productivity can be improved.

In this embodiment, the continuous process paper 10 and the continuous resin material 112 are continuously supplied between the rollers R1 and R2, and the transfer of the uneven shape 11 is performed continuously. This allows the transfer to be performed in large quantities, thereby increasing the productivity of the decorative film 100.

In this embodiment, a concave-convex forming process is performed to transfer the concave-convex shape 11 to the resin material 112 consisting of a single layer, and then a lamination process is performed to laminate the prepared skin layer 110 and other layers. In this way, if the concave-convex forming process is performed before the lamination process and the skin layer 110 is prepared as a single item, it is easy to change the combination of the skin layer 110 and other layers, making it easy to respond to multi-product production.

Second Embodiment
In the decorative film manufacturing method of the second embodiment, the lamination step is carried out first, and then the projection-recess forming step is carried out, which is the opposite to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the lamination process of the second embodiment, the resin material 112 is laminated with other layers to form the laminate 101. The configuration of each layer is the same as that of the first embodiment. As long as the laminate 101 has the laminate structure shown in FIG. 3, there is no particular limitation on the order in which the layers are laminated. In addition, the resin material 112 and the decorative layer 120 may be bonded via an adhesive, or may be bonded directly by, for example, heat fusion.

As shown in FIG. 4, the unevenness forming process of this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a laminate 101 is supplied instead of the resin material 112 used in the unevenness forming process of the first embodiment. In other respects, the unevenness forming process of the second embodiment is substantially similar to that of the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the uneven shape 11 of the process paper 10 is transferred to the resin material 112 on the surface of the laminate 101. This forms a skin layer 110 having the uneven shape 111, and the decorative film 100 is produced.

As in this embodiment, if the lamination process is performed before the unevenness forming process and the laminate 101 is prepared in advance, the laminate 101 can be used in the production of various decorative films 100 in which the configuration of each layer other than the unevenness shape 111 is the same, and the production of the decorative film 100 can be made more efficient.

Third Embodiment
5, the third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a resin material 113 having a different form from the resin material 112 of the first embodiment is used. Other configurations of the present embodiment are substantially similar to those of the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the resin material 113 is supplied from a T-die E2 provided in the extrusion molding machine E1. The material itself that forms the resin material 113 is the same as the resin material 112 in the first embodiment. When the resin material 113 leaves the T-die E2, it is in a state that has been softened by heat, and in this state it comes into contact with the process paper 10, and the uneven shape 11 on its surface is transferred to it.

The rollers R3 and R4 in this embodiment are cooling rollers, unlike the rollers R1 and R2 in the first embodiment, and cool the resin material 113. As the uneven shape 11 of the process paper 10 is transferred to the softened resin material 113, the uneven shape 111 is formed on the surface, and the softened resin material 113 hardens, becoming the skin layer 110.

In this way, after the unevenness forming process is performed to transfer the uneven shape 11 of the process paper 10 to the resin material 113, the lamination process is performed using the prepared skin layer 110, as in the first embodiment, to produce the decorative film 100.

In this embodiment, the shape of the resin material 113 is different from that of the first embodiment, but the other essential features are the same as those of the first embodiment, and therefore, this embodiment also provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

Fourth Embodiment
As shown in FIG. 6, the fourth embodiment differs from the other embodiments in that a sheet-shaped process paper 20 and a resin material 212 are used.

The process paper 20 has a different shape from the process paper 10 of the other embodiments, but the material itself is the same as in the other embodiments. In addition, the uneven shape 11 formed on the surface of the process paper 20 is also the same as the process paper 10 of the other embodiments.

The resin material 212 has a different shape from the resin material 112 in the first and second embodiments, but is a resin film made of the same material. The resin material 212 has a smooth surface shape compared to the surface of the process paper 20 on which the uneven shape 11 is formed.

In this embodiment, a concave-convex forming process is carried out to transfer the concave-convex shape 11 of the process paper 20 onto the surface of the resin material 212, and then a lamination process is carried out.

In the unevenness forming process, the process paper 20 and the resin material 212 are placed between an upper mold P1 and a lower mold P2 that are relatively close to each other. At least one of the upper mold P1 and the lower mold P2 has a heat source, such as a heater, inside.

The process paper 20 and the resin material 212 are placed between the upper mold P1 and the lower mold P2 with the uneven shape 11 facing the resin material 212, and are then pressed by them in the thickness direction. At this time, the resin material 212 is softened by the heat from at least one of the upper mold P1 and the lower mold P2, and the surface of the resin material 212 deforms to match the uneven shape 11 of the process paper 20.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the uneven shape 11 of the process paper 20 is transferred to form the uneven shape 111, and the resin material 212 becomes the skin layer 210. The skin layer 210 thus produced is then laminated with other layers in the lamination process.

In the lamination process, the skin layer 210 is laminated with the decorative layer 120, the adhesive layer 130, and the release liner 140 in the same manner as in the other embodiments to produce the decorative film 100, but in this embodiment, the layers other than the skin layer 210 are also in the form of sheets of paper to match the shape of the skin layer 210.

In other embodiments, the transfer is performed continuously using a continuous process paper 10, but in this embodiment, the transfer is performed for each sheet of process paper 20 and resin material 212. This allows the transfer to be performed in small quantities depending on the type of decorative film 100 required, making it possible to produce a wide variety of products in small quantities.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, the decorative film may further include layers other than those shown in FIG. 1.

The scope of the present invention also includes the above-mentioned first and second embodiments in which the process paper 10 is wrapped around the outer periphery of the roller R1, and the above-mentioned third embodiment in which the process paper 10 is wrapped around the outer periphery of the roller R3.

10, 20 Process paper,
11 uneven shape,
100 Decorative film,
101 laminate,
110, 210 epidermal layer,
111 uneven shape,
112, 113, 212 resin material,
120 decorative layer,
130 adhesive layer,
140 Release liner,
R1, R2, R3, R4 rollers,
E1 extrusion molding machine,
E2 T-die,
P1 Upper mold,
P2 lower mold.

Claims (4)

a projection-recess forming process in which a process paper having a projection-recess shape formed on its surface and a resin material which is a single layer and which is softened by heat and serves as a surface layer are pressed in a thickness direction with the projection-recess shape facing the resin material, thereby transferring the projection-recess shape of the process paper to the resin material;
a lamination step of laminating the surface layer, the decorative layer, the adhesive layer, and the release liner . a lamination step of laminating a resin material that is a single layer and serves as a surface layer, a decorative layer, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, and a release liner;
A decorative film manufacturing method comprising: a step of pressing a process paper having a concave-convex shape formed on its surface and the resin material softened by heat from a thickness direction with the concave-convex shape facing the resin material, thereby transferring the concave-convex shape of the process paper to the resin material. 3. The decorative film manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in the unevenness forming step, the continuous process paper and the continuous resin material are continuously supplied between a pair of rollers that press them, and the transfer is performed continuously. The decorative film manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein in the unevenness forming step, the transfer is performed for each of the process paper and the resin material in the form of a sheet.