JP7786342B2 - Automotive decorative products - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a decorated product for an automobile in which at least a portion of the surface of a substrate is decorated with a decorative layer.

Automotive decorative products are known in which the framework is made of a substrate, and at least a portion of the substrate's surface is decorated with a decorative layer (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As shown in Figure 4, in this automotive decorative product 50, the surface 53 of the substrate 52 has a first top surface 54 and a second top surface 56 adjacent to the first top surface 54 via a groove 55. The substrate 52 is exposed at the first top surface 54. A coating layer 57, which constitutes at least a portion of the decorative layer DL, is formed on the second top surface 56 and the inner surface of the groove 55 on the second top surface 56 side. Although this automotive decorative product 50 is a single component, it appears as if two components are adjacent to each other via the groove 55.

When manufacturing the above-mentioned automotive decorative product 50, a base material 52 having a first top surface 54, a groove 55, and a second top surface 56 on its surface 53 is resin-molded. A mask member 58 is placed over the first top surface 54, with the edge 58a of the mask member 58 fitting into the groove 55. Then, the second top surface 56 and the inner surface of the groove 55 facing the second top surface 56 are painted, thereby obtaining an automotive decorative product 50 in which a portion of the surface 53 of the base material 52 is decorated with the decorative layer DL, as described above.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-226160

In the above-described conventional automotive decorative product 50, the groove 55 requires a groove width WG of 1 mm or more to fit the edge 58a of the mask member 58. However, a groove width WG of this size is excessive from the perspective of the appearance of the automotive decorative product 50 and can contribute to degrading its appearance. Therefore, conventional automotive decorative products 50 have room for improvement in terms of improving their appearance.

Various aspects of an automotive decorative product and a manufacturing method thereof for solving the above problems will be described below.
[Mode 1] A decorative product for an automobile, in which the skeleton portion is formed of a substrate, the surface of the substrate has a first top surface and a second top surface adjacent to the first top surface via a groove portion, and at least a portion of the surface is decorated with a decorative layer, wherein a printed layer that forms at least a portion of the decorative layer is formed on the second top surface, and the groove portion has a groove width of 0.05 mm to 0.9 mm.

According to the above configuration, the decorative product for automobiles looks as follows.
The first top surface, a groove having a width of 0.05 mm to 0.9 mm, and a printed layer formed on the second top surface adjacent to the first top surface through the groove are visible. The printed layer constitutes at least a part of the decorative layer. The automotive decorative product is a single component, but has the appearance of two components adjacent to each other with the groove interposed between them.

The groove width is narrower than in conventional techniques in which a masking member is used to form a coating layer on the second top surface by painting. As a result, the groove width has less of an effect on the appearance of the automotive decorative product than in the conventional techniques, resulting in an improved appearance.

[Aspect 2] The automotive decorative product described in [Aspect 1], wherein the groove has an inner bottom surface at a location spaced apart from the first and second top surfaces in the depth direction of the groove, and the height of the second top surface from the inner bottom surface is set to be the same as or higher than the height of the first top surface from the inner bottom surface.

According to the above configuration, the decorative product for automobiles looks as follows.
When the height of the second top surface is the same as the height of the first top surface, the printed layer formed on the second top surface appears to be at the same position in the depth direction of the groove portion as the first top surface.

When the height of the second top surface is higher than the height of the first top surface, the printed layer formed on the second top surface appears to be closer than the first top surface. The automotive decorative product will have an appearance in which the printed layer protrudes beyond the first top surface.

[Aspect 3] The groove portion has a second inner surface between the inner bottom surface and the second top surface, the height of the second top surface is set higher than the height of the first top surface, and an auxiliary printing layer that constitutes part of the decorative layer is formed on the second inner surface at least in a location adjacent to the second top surface, in a state connected to the printing layer. This is the automotive decorative product described in [Aspect 2].

According to the above configuration, the decorative product for automobiles looks as follows.
The printing layer formed on the second top surface is visible closer to the first top surface. In addition, an auxiliary printing layer connected to the printing layer is visible on at least the portion of the second inner surface of the groove adjacent to the second top surface. The decorative layer is expanded by the amount of the auxiliary printing layer. Moreover, the second inner surface and the auxiliary printing layer intersect with the inner bottom surface and the second top surface of the groove. Therefore, the addition of the auxiliary printing layer emphasizes the appearance of the printing layer protruding from the first top surface in the automotive decorative product.

[Aspect 4] A method for manufacturing a decorative automotive product in which at least a portion of the surface of a substrate constituting a framework is decorated with a decorative layer, the substrate having a first top surface and a second top surface adjacent to the first top surface via a groove, and a printed layer constituting at least a portion of the decorative layer is formed on the second top surface. The method comprises: using a pressing jig having a transfer surface and at least a portion including the transfer surface formed from a flexible material, pressing the transfer surface, on which ink has been applied, against the second top surface, and transferring the ink on the transfer surface to the second top surface to form the printed layer.

According to the above manufacturing method, a base material and a pressing jig are used when manufacturing a decorative product for an automobile.
The substrate has a first top surface and a second top surface adjacent to the first top surface with a groove interposed therebetween, and the pressing jig has a transfer surface, and at least a portion including the transfer surface is made of a flexible material.

Ink is applied to the transfer surface of the pressing jig. The ink-coated transfer surface is pressed against the second top surface. The ink on the transfer surface is transferred to the second top surface, forming a printing layer on the second top surface.

During the pressing, the portion of the pressing jig made of a flexible material elastically deforms to conform to the outer shape of the substrate, including the second top surface. As a result, the ink is transferred to conform to the outer shape of the substrate, and the printing layer is formed in close contact with the second top surface.

Therefore, unlike conventional techniques in which a decorative layer is formed by painting a coating layer on the second top surface, it is not necessary to cover the first top surface with a masking member. As a result, it is not necessary to fit the edge of the masking member into the groove. When setting the groove width of the groove, it is not necessary to consider the groove width for fitting the edge of the masking member.

The above manufacturing method, in which a printed layer is formed by transferring ink, makes it possible to make the groove width of the grooves narrower than with the conventional technology. When the groove width is narrowed, the influence of the grooves with that width on the appearance of the automotive decorative product is less than with the conventional technology, improving the appearance of the automotive decorative product.

The above-mentioned automotive decorative product and its manufacturing method can improve the appearance.

1 is a partial cross-sectional view of an automotive decorative product according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a portion X in FIG. 1 . 2 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a decorative layer is formed on a part of the surface of a substrate using a pressing jig during the production of the decorative product for an automobile shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a process of forming a decorative layer on a part of the surface of a substrate using a mask member in the manufacture of a conventional decorative product for an automobile.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an automotive decorative product and a manufacturing method thereof will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, an outline of an automobile decorative product 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The automobile decorative product 10 is embodied as an automobile interior part, an automobile exterior part, etc. Examples of products to which the present invention can be applied include, but are not limited to, the following.

Automotive interior parts: instrument panel ornaments, console box peripheral parts, door trim peripheral parts, etc.
Automotive exterior parts: front grilles, front molding parts, rear molding parts, etc.

The framework of the automotive decorative product 10 is made up of a base material 15 molded from a resin material. The base material 15 is made up of a single part. The surface 16 of the base material 15 has a first top surface 18, a second top surface 22, a groove portion 25, and an outer surface 32. Next, each part of the surface 16 of the base material 15 will be described.

<First top surface 18 and second top surface 22>
The first top surface 18 is not decorated. The base material 15 is exposed at the first top surface 18. The second top surface 22 is adjacent to the first top surface 18 via a groove portion 25. In this embodiment, the first top surface 18 and the second top surface 22 are each formed of a flat surface.

<Groove portion 25>
The groove 25 is formed at the boundary between the first top surface 18 and the second top surface 22. The groove 25 extends in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the groove portion 25 has an inner bottom surface 26, a first inner side surface 27, and a second inner side surface 28, each of which is a flat surface. The inner bottom surface 26 is spaced from the first top surface 18 and the second top surface 22 in the depth direction of the groove portion 25 (the vertical direction in FIG. 2 ). The first inner side surface 27 is located between the inner bottom surface 26 and the first top surface 18. The second inner side surface 28 is located between the inner bottom surface 26 and the second top surface 22. The first inner side surface 27 intersects the inner bottom surface 26 and the first top surface 18 perpendicularly or nearly perpendicularly. The second inner side surface 28 intersects the inner bottom surface 26 and the second top surface 22 perpendicularly or nearly perpendicularly. In this embodiment, the first inner side surface 27 and the second inner side surface 28 are inclined relative to the inner bottom surface 26, etc., so that the distance between them becomes narrower as they approach the inner bottom surface 26.

Here, the distance between the first inner surface 27 and the second inner surface 28 in the direction perpendicular to the depth direction of the groove portion 25 at the opening of the groove portion 25 is defined as the groove width WG. The groove width WG is set to 0.05 mm to 0.9 mm. A groove width WG of 0.05 mm or more is preferable because it results in a smooth appearance at the boundary between the first top surface 18 and the second top surface 22. From the perspective of improving the appearance of the surface 16 including the groove portion 25, it is more preferable that the groove width WG be set to 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm.

<Outer surface 32>
1, the outer surface 32 is located on the opposite side of the groove portion 25 (the right side in FIG. 1) across the second top surface 22. In this embodiment, the outer surface 32 is inclined with respect to the depth direction of the groove portion 25 so that the deeper (lower) the outer surface 32 is in the depth direction of the groove portion 25, the farther it is from the groove portion 25 (the lower side in FIG. 1).

<Regarding the height of the first top surface 18 and the second top surface 22>
As shown in FIG. 2, the height H2 of the second top surface 22 from the inner bottom surface 26 is set to be the same as or higher than the height H1 of the first top surface 18 from the inner bottom surface 26. In this embodiment, the height H2 is set to be higher than the height H1. The deviation ΔH between the heights H1 and H2 is desirably set to be 0 mm to 25 mm. If the deviation ΔH falls within the above range, the printing layer 23 and the auxiliary printing layers 29 and 33 can be preferably formed by using a pressing jig 40 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later.

<Decorative layer DL>
1 and 2, a decorative layer DL is formed on the base material 15 in order to decorate at least a part of the surface 16 of the base material 15. Next, the decorative layer DL will be described.

A printed layer 23 is formed on the second top surface 22. An auxiliary printed layer 29 is formed on the second inner surface 28 of the groove portion 25 at least in a location adjacent to the second top surface 22. In this embodiment, the auxiliary printed layer 29 is formed on the second inner surface 28 at a portion higher than the first top surface 18, but this is not limited to this. Furthermore, an auxiliary printed layer 33 is formed on the outer surface 32 at least in a portion adjacent to the second top surface 22. In this embodiment, the auxiliary printed layer 33 is formed on the outer surface 32 at a portion higher than the first top surface 18, but this is not limited to this. Both auxiliary printed layers 29, 33 are connected to the printed layer 23. The printed layer 23 and both auxiliary printed layers 29, 33 form the decorative layer DL.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as above will be described.
First, a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned automotive decorative product 10 will be described.
In this manufacturing process, a substrate 15 and a pressing jig 40 are used, as shown in Fig. 3. The substrate 15 is made of resin, and has a first top surface 18 and a second top surface 22 adjacent to each other with a groove 25 interposed therebetween, and has an uneven surface 16. The groove 25 is formed so that the groove width WG is 0.05 mm to 0.9 mm (see Fig. 2).

The substrate 15 is placed on a receiving jig or the like (not shown) at a position below the pressing jig 40 and is held in that position.
The pressing jig 40 has a transfer surface 41 on its lower surface, and at least a portion including the transfer surface 41 is made of a flexible material. Ink 42 is applied to the areas of the transfer surface 41 of the pressing jig 40 that correspond to the printing layer 23 and auxiliary printing layers 29, 33. As shown by the two-dot chain arrow in Figure 3, the pressing jig 40 is lowered, and the transfer surface 41 with the ink 42 applied thereto is pressed against the second top surface 22. At this time, the transfer surface 41 of the pressing jig 40 is not pressed against the first top surface 18. A portion of the ink 42 on the transfer surface 41 adheres to the second top surface 22. The ink 42 does not adhere to the first top surface 18.

When pressing, the portion of the pressing jig 40 made of a flexible material elastically deforms along the outer shape of the substrate 15, in this case, the second top surface 22, second inner surface 28, and outer surface 32. The second inner surface 28 and outer surface 32 both intersect with the second top surface 22. However, the pressing jig 40 elastically deforms to wrap around the second inner surface 28 and outer surface 32. As a result, the ink 42 adheres not only to the second top surface 22, but also to part of the second inner surface 28 and part of the outer surface 32 in a tightly contacting state.

Then, when the pressing jig 40 is raised, the ink 42 separates from the transfer surface 41. As shown by the two-dot chain lines in Figure 3, the ink 42 remains attached to the second top surface 22, a portion of the second inner surface 28, and a portion of the outer surface 32.

In this manner, the ink 42 is transferred to match the outer shape of the substrate 15. A portion of the ink 42 is transferred to the second top surface 22 to form the printed layer 23. A portion of the ink 42 is transferred to at least a portion of the second inner surface 28 adjacent to the second top surface 22 to form the auxiliary printed layer 29. A portion of the ink 42 is transferred to at least a portion of the outer surface 32 adjacent to the second top surface 22 to form the auxiliary printed layer 33. As shown in FIG. 1, a decorative layer DL consisting of the printed layer 23 and the auxiliary printed layers 29 and 33 connected to the printed layer 23 is formed on a portion of the surface 16. Note that the first top surface 18 is not decorated by transferring the ink 42. The substrate 15 is exposed at the first top surface 18. In this manner, a decorated automotive product 10 is obtained.

When the above-mentioned automotive decorative product 10 is viewed alone, what is visible are the first top surface 18 where the substrate 15 is exposed, the groove 25 with a groove width WG of 0.05 mm to 0.9 mm, and the printed layer 23 formed on the second top surface 22 adjacent to the first top surface 18 across the groove 25. In other words, the printed layer 23 is visible on the opposite side of the groove 25 from the first top surface 18. The same is true when viewing the automotive decorative product 10 when it is attached to a vehicle. Although the automotive decorative product 10 is a single part, it has the appearance of two parts adjacent to each other with the groove 25 in between.

As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the height H2 of the second top surface 22 is higher than the height H1 of the first top surface 18, so the automotive decorative product 10 looks as follows.
1 and 2, the printed layer 23 appears to be in front of the first top surface 18. The automotive decorative product 10 has an appearance in which the printed layer 23 protrudes from the first top surface 18.

In addition, an auxiliary printing layer 29 connected to the printing layer 23 is visible on the second inner surface 28 of the groove portion 25 at least in a location adjacent to the second top surface 22. Furthermore, an auxiliary printing layer 33 connected to the printing layer 23 is visible on the outer surface 32 of the substrate 15 at least in a location adjacent to the second top surface 22.

The decorative layer DL is expanded by the amount of the auxiliary printing layers 29, 33. Furthermore, the second inner surface 28 intersects with the inner bottom surface 26 of the groove portion 25 and the second top surface 22. The outer surface 32 intersects with the second top surface 22. Therefore, the addition of the auxiliary printing layers 29, 33 further emphasizes the appearance of the printing layer 23 protruding from the first top surface 18 in the automotive decorative product 10.

Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.
(1) As shown in FIG. 3 , in this embodiment, a pressing jig 40 having a transfer surface 41 and at least a portion including the transfer surface 41 is used to manufacture the automotive decorative product 10. The transfer surface 41, to which ink 42 is applied, is pressed against a region of the surface 16 of the substrate 15, excluding the first top surface 18 and including at least the second top surface 22. This pressing is performed while the flexible material portion is elastically deformed to conform to the shapes of the second top surface 22, the second inner surface 28, and the outer surface 32 of the substrate 15. The ink 42 on the transfer surface 41 is then transferred to the entire second top surface 22, a portion of the second inner surface 28, and a portion of the outer surface 32, respectively, to form the printing layer 23 and the auxiliary printing layers 29 and 33. Decoration by transferring the ink 42 to the first top surface 18 is not performed.

(1-1) Therefore, although the automotive decorative product 10 is a single component, it presents an appearance as if two components, one with the exposed base material 15 and the other with the decorative layer DL, were adjacent to each other with the groove 25 interposed between them. In other words, the same appearance as when two components are used can be achieved. In other words, the appearance quality of the boundary (partition) between the components can be maintained at the same level as when two components are used, while achieving that appearance with a single component.

(1-2) Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, unlike conventional techniques in which a decorative layer DL is formed by forming a coating film layer 57 on the second top surface 56 by painting, in this embodiment, the first top surface 18 does not need to be covered by a mask member 58. As a result, the edge portion 58a of the mask member 58 does not need to be fitted into the groove portion 25. When setting the groove width WG of the groove portion 25, the groove width WG for fitting the edge portion 58a does not need to be taken into consideration.

In this embodiment, in which the printing layer 23 is formed by transferring the ink 42, it is possible to narrow the groove width WG of the groove portion 25 compared to conventional technology in which a coating layer 57 is formed by painting on the second top surface 56, etc., using a mask member 58. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, even though the groove width WG is set to 0.05 mm to 0.9 mm, the decorative layer DL can be formed on the second top surface 22, second inner surface 28, and outer surface 32.

As described above, the groove portion 25 with a narrower groove width WG has a smaller effect on the appearance of the automotive decorative product 10 than in the prior art (see Figure 4), thereby improving the appearance of the automotive decorative product 10.

(2) In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the height H2 of the second top surface 22 is set higher than the height H1 of the first top surface 18. Therefore, when viewing the automotive decorative product 10, the printed layer 23 formed on the second top surface 22 appears to protrude further than the first top surface 18. This further enhances the appearance (sense of separateness) of the first top surface 18 and the printed layer 23 as if they were separate components. This therefore further improves the appearance of the automotive decorative product 10.

(3) In this embodiment, an auxiliary printing layer 29 is formed on the second inner surface 28 at a location at least adjacent to the second top surface 22, connected to the printing layer 23. Furthermore, an auxiliary printing layer 33 is formed on the outer surface 32 at a location at least adjacent to the second top surface 22, connected to the printing layer 23. Therefore, the addition of the auxiliary printing layers 29, 33 emphasizes the appearance of the printing layer 23 protruding from the first top surface 18 in the automotive decorative product 10. This further improves the appearance of the automotive decorative product 10.

The above embodiment can also be implemented as a modified example with the following changes. The above embodiment and the following modified example can be implemented in combination with each other to the extent that no technical contradiction occurs.

<About Automotive Decorative Product 10>
The height H2 of the second top surface 22 may be set to be the same as the height H1 of the first top surface 18. In this case, the printed layer 23 formed on the second top surface 22 appears to be at the same position in the depth direction of the groove portion 25 as the first top surface 18.

The first top surface 18 may be decorated. For example, a coating layer or a print layer may be formed on the first top surface 18.
One or both of the auxiliary printed layer 29 on the second inner surface 28 and the auxiliary printed layer 33 on the outer surface 32 may be omitted.

- The first top surface 18, the second top surface 22, and the respective surfaces of the groove portion 25 (the inner bottom surface 26, the first inner side surface 27, and the second inner side surface 28) do not necessarily have to be flat surfaces. At least one of the first top surface 18, the second top surface 22, and the inner bottom surface 26 may be formed, for example, by a convexly or concavely curved surface. Furthermore, one of the first inner side surface 27 and the second inner side surface 28 may be formed by a convexly curved surface, and the other by a concavely curved surface.

- The auxiliary printing layer 29 may be formed not only in the area of the second inner surface 28 adjacent to the second top surface 22, but also in an area wider than that area. The same applies to the auxiliary printing layer 33. For example, the auxiliary printing layer 29 may be formed over the entire surface of the second inner surface 28.

- The printing layer 23 and auxiliary printing layers 29, 33 may be formed by transferring ink 42 once. Alternatively, the printing layer 23 and auxiliary printing layers 29, 33 may be formed by using multiple types of ink 42 of different colors, with transfer performed for each color. In the latter case, transfer is performed multiple times.

- The substrate 15 may be formed using a binder resin material. A binder resin material is a material in which the resin itself is colored by mixing a coloring material such as a pigment into the resin material, or by mixing a luster material and a coloring material into the resin material. The substrate 15 may be exposed at the first top surface 18.

The surface 16 of the substrate 15 may have only one combination of the first top surface 18, the groove portion 25, and the second top surface 22, or may have multiple combinations.
<Method of manufacturing the automotive decorative product 10>
Unlike the above embodiment, the pressing jig 40 may not be raised or lowered (kept stationary), and the receiving jig holding the substrate 15 may be raised or lowered, thereby transferring the ink 42 on the transfer surface 41 of the pressing jig 40 to the surface 16 (second top surface 22, etc.) of the substrate 15. In short, it is sufficient that one of the pressing jig 40 and the receiving jig holding the substrate 15 can be moved closer to or farther away from the other in the vertical direction.

- Either the pressing jig 40 or the receiving jig holding the substrate 15 may be moved toward or away from the other by moving it in a direction other than the vertical direction, for example, horizontally.

- Only the portion of the pressing jig 40 near the transfer surface 41 may be made of a flexible material, or other portions, for example, the entire pressing jig 40, may be made of a flexible material.

- In the above embodiment and various modified examples, a pressing jig 40 was used that moves linearly (up and down, etc.) to press the transfer surface 41 against the second top surface 22, etc. Alternatively, a pressing jig 40 that rotates to press the transfer surface against the second top surface 22, etc. may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...Automotive decorative product 15...Substrate 16...Surface 18...First top surface 22...Second top surface 23...Printed layer 25...Groove portion 26...Inner bottom surface 28...Second inner surface 29, 33...Auxiliary printed layer 40...Pressing jig 41...Transfer surface 42...Ink DL...Decorative layer H1, H2...Height WG...Groove width

Claims (2)

A decorative product for an automobile, wherein a skeleton portion is constituted by a substrate, and a surface of the substrate has a first top surface and a second top surface adjacent to the first top surface via a groove portion, and further, at least a part of the surface is decorated with a decorative layer,
a printed layer that constitutes at least a part of the decorative layer is formed on the second top surface;
The groove portion has a groove width of 0.05 mm to 0.9 mm,
the groove has an inner bottom surface at a position spaced apart from the first top surface and the second top surface in a depth direction of the groove,
a height of the second top surface from the inner bottom surface is set to be equal to or higher than a height of the first top surface from the inner bottom surface;
The automotive decorative product has the surface exposed at the inner bottom surface . the groove portion has a second inner side surface between the inner bottom surface and the second top surface,
The height of the second top surface is set to be higher than the height of the first top surface,
2. The automotive decorative product according to claim 1, wherein an auxiliary printing layer constituting part of the decorative layer is formed in a state connected to the printing layer at least in a portion of the second inner surface adjacent to the second top surface.