JPH0628953B2 - Trim strip without substrate and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a long strip or molding for protection and decoration which is attached to a vehicle body of an automobile and a manufacturing method thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the automotive industry, trim strips of various shapes are used to decorate and protect the surface of the vehicle body, and in particular the sides of the vehicle body. In recent years, trim strips are rapidly replacing chrome-plated metal trim strips with plastic trim strips that are non-corrosive and can be adhesively attached to the body of an automobile without the use of fixtures.

Examples of plastic trims or plastic molding strips include waugh U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,179 and Madonia U.S. Pat. No. 4,20.
6,155, Narita U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,681,
U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,297 to Wenrick, U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,482 to Sawa et al. And Kent (K
ento) U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,425.

Many of these trim strips are formed from a plastic substrate and one or more layers of decorative metal or plastic laminated thereon. Wah
Uugh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,179 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 lens-like coating on the substrate,
It gives a lens effect to the decorative print on the foil.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the need for such a foil-like substrate increases the manufacturing cost of such a trim strip. Furthermore, the thickness of the substrate limits the flexibility of the entire trim strip, making it more difficult to permanently bond the trim strip to a curved surface. Therefore, in the trim strip and its manufacturing method, there is a demand for a trim strip and its manufacturing method which are inexpensive and have the flexibility required for bonding to a curved surface.

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

(Means for Solving the Problem) That is, the present invention relates to a trim strip having no substrate, a release liner, a long layer made of a pressure-sensitive adhesive formed on the release liner, and the adhesive. A non-adhesive surface formed on the upper surface of the agent layer, a decorative display printed on the non-adhesive surface, and a plastic coating formed on the non-adhesive surface including the decorative display. And

Further, the invention of manufacturing a trim strip having no base is
Forming a long pressure-sensitive adhesive layer on a release liner, forming a non-stick surface on the adhesive layer upper surface, printing a decorative display on the non-stick surface,
And a step of coating a plastic layer on the non-adhesive surface including the decorative display.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an adhesive article having a plastic coating is formed by first forming a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive on the surface of a support and then adding a predetermined amount of crosslinkable plastic resin to the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer. It is given to the upper surface. The resin is then crosslinked and cured to form a plastic coating assembly on the adhesive layer. After forming the plastic cover, the individual articles are separated by stamping, stamping or other methods.

A preferred method of forming an article having a plastic coating is to support a 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 by conventional means such as spraying or roll coating. The adhesive may be transparent, but is preferably colored. The plastic covering that is formed has a lens-like or convex meniscus (menisc) because the liquid resin is cast onto the adhesive layer.
us) shape. Alternatively, a liquid resin may be applied to the adhesive by flow coating, spraying or extrusion on the upper surface to form a relatively flat coating. These latter methods are preferred when the supporting release liner used is relatively large. After that, the resin is crosslinked and cured, and then separated into a plurality of articles.

The top surface of the pressure sensitive adhesive, if desired, is substantially tack free prior to applying the plastic coating.
e), and it is in a state suitable for printing a decorative display directly on it. This treatment may be performed on the entire upper surface of the adhesive or only on a predetermined portion if necessary. This is, for example, by applying or spraying a curable or crosslinkable liquid on the upper surface of the adhesive, by applying a particulate material, or by sticking a hot stamping foil, or by It can be made by metal vapor deposition.

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

The top surface of the adhesive thus treated is then printed or selectively decorated, such as by silk screen printing or other known printing techniques. After the plastic coated article is formed, the individual articles having the crosslinked cured plastic coating are separated from the assembly by stamping, stamping or other conventional separation techniques. They are retained on the release liner until they are applied to the desired surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a substrateless trim strip provides a lengthy layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on a substrate surface with a plurality of spaced apart pressure sensitive adhesives on one side. It is created by forming a long, raised boundary. The raised boundaries are spaced to provide at least one open longitudinally extending portion of the pressure sensitive adhesive. This opening corresponds to the outer shape of the final trim strip structure. The opening is then treated so that that portion of the adhesive top surface is non-sticky and that the top surface can be printed directly by silk screen or other means. In another embodiment of the invention, the upper surface of the pressure sensitive adhesive is treated non-tacky and then raised borders are formed, thereby creating at least one enclosed portion to be decorated.

The top surface of the treated adhesive is then provided with the desired decoration by printing a background color and / or indicia thereon by silk screen or other means, and a predetermined amount of crosslinkable liquid plastic resin is applied to the decoration. Cast on the surface.
Then, the resin rises and flows to the edge of the boundary. In this example, the resin forms a convex meniscus that covers the decorative surface without crossing the edges of the raised boundaries. The resin is then crosslinked and cured to form one or more elongated substrate-free trim strips having a plastic lenticular coating. The relatively flat coating may be formed by flow coating, spraying or laminating. After the plastic cover is formed, the individual trim strips are separated from the assembly. Preferably the assembly also has a release liner.

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

After the trim strips are formed, the plastic coating is cross-linked and the individual trim strips are easily stripped from the release liner. The raised border formed by the cutting edges of the cover strip acts like a kind of knife edge when the trim strip separates from the assembly, causing the underlying adhesive to break sharply in that part, thereby causing the trim strip to break. Shall have a clear edge. Alternatively, a cutting operation may be used to separate the individual release liner trim strips from the overall assembly.

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

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a trim strip without a substrate and a method of making the same. This and other objects, as well as advantages of the present invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

(Embodiment) 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 a decorative layer of a pressure-sensitive adhesive together with a cover strip, and FIG. A 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 manufactured according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Is a cross-sectional view of an adhesive article having a plastic coating with a non-stick layer obtained according to another embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an article made according to yet another embodiment of the invention. Is.

FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a trim strip body without a substrate manufactured in accordance with the method of the present invention.

The trim strip body 10 has a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 12 having an upper surface and a lower surface. The pressure sensitive adhesive 12 may be any of a number of commercially available adhesives,
An example thereof is an acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive.

The upper surface 13 of the adhesive 12 is treated non-tacky as described in detail below. Non-stick surface 1 as shown
6 covers the upper surface 13 of the adhesive 12. The non-stick surface 16 is preferably a layer of clear lacquer, but may also be a layer of particles such as talc or mica. Instead of this approximately 0.0025
A thin light-volatile metallized layer having a thickness of less than or equal to mm (0.0001 inches) may be applied by hot stamping or metal deposition to provide a light-colored or colored substrate for printing the indicia 18. The indicia 18 may be any desired decoration, including words, numbers, symbols, pictures or combinations thereof.

The adhesive 12 may be by any means, but may be colored on itself to act as a substrate for the indicia 18 or, as another example, to eliminate the need for detackification and patterning of its surface. May be. In that case, the trim strip is simply the color of the adhesive itself.

In the preferred embodiment, a cross-linked transparent plastic lenticular covering 20 covers and incorporates the indicia 18. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the edge of the lens-shaped covering 20 contacts the layer of the adhesive 12 to form a convex meniscus. This meniscus contributes to the lens effect of the cover 20 and enhances the aesthetics of the printed display 18 while at the same time providing a robust weatherproof protective cover. The coating 20 may be formed of any type of castable plastic resin, provided that it crosslinks into a transparent and robust compound, preferably a two-component polyurethane resin is used. However, other castable plastics may be used.
Such resins can be crosslinked by exposure to heat or ultraviolet light or other radiation.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the substrateless trim strip of the present invention is preferably manufactured by the following steps.

First, a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 12 is provided on release liner 14. The adhesive is a release liner 1 by appropriate means.
4 may be provided and can be provided by, for example, spraying, roll coating or dipping. Adhesive layer 12 is preferably formed to a thickness of between about 0.05 mm (0.002 inch) and 0.24 mm (0.010 inch).

Next, a plurality of elongated raised boundaries are formed at predetermined intervals on the upper surface 13 of the adhesive 12, and at least one opening extending in the longitudinal direction is formed. The upper surface 13 is then treated non-tacky, as described in more detail below, allowing printing directly on the treated surface.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, raised boundaries are formed by laminating the cover strips 22, 24 onto the surface of the adhesive 12 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The ends of the cover strips 22 and 24 are connected by a terminal strip 26 to form a structure or combination 30 laminated to the adhesive 12. As shown, one or more areas of the combination 30 may be removed by stamping or the like, leaving the corresponding exposed areas of adhesive. The perimeter of this removed area corresponds to the final shape of the trim strip 10 to be manufactured. The cover strips 22, 24, 26 and the combination 30 are made of metal, cardboard, paper or plastic. However, it is preferred that they consist of non-absorbent materials or have been treated non-absorbently. Approximately 0.1 mm (0.004 inch) to 0.
Includes styrene or polyester resins having a thickness of 2 mm (0.008 inch). In the continuous process, instead, cover strips 22, 24 are unwound from a supply roll and laminated onto a 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 so that its surface is not substantially wetted by the liquid plastic resin to which it is poured. Cover strips 22, 24, 2 before or after the removal area is removed
Suitable treating agents applied to 6 include, for example, fluorocarbons such as polytetrafluoroethylene and silicon. The preferred treating agent for polyester cover strips is a mixture of polytetrafluoroethylene and Hypalon (a trademark of DuPont). Chlorinated rubber, Hypalon, improves the adhesion of the treating agent to polyester and increases the extensibility of the coating. This treatment agent may be applied by an appropriate method, for example, screen printing, spraying or roll coating.

The exposed surface of the adhesive 12 is then treated non-tacky and the indicia 18 can be printed directly thereon. The lower surface of the adhesive 12 remains tacky so that the product can be adhered to a given surface. There are various methods for making the upper surface 13 of the adhesive 12 non-tacky, but a preferred example is to coat the upper surface 13 with a transparent or colored lacquer that forms the non-tacky layer 16 to coat the upper surface of the adhesive. It is to seal. Instead of this, the upper surface 13
It may be sprinkled with a fine powder of inert particles such as mica.

As an alternative method, a glittering metallic surface material may be applied to the upper surface 13. This is done by applying bright metal foil for hot stamping to the upper surface 13 by means such as pressure bonding
Can be made by adding to. A supporting film is attached to the foil, and the non-adhesive surface 16 of the bright metal is left by peeling off the film. The metallic, non-stick surface may be silver, gold or any other desired color. Bright metallic surface material 1
The total thickness of 6 is preferably 0.025 mm (0.001 inch) or less.

Once the surface 13 of the adhesive 12 is made non-tacky,
The appropriate indicia 18 may be printed directly thereon. This display includes letters, numbers, words, symbols, pictures and other decorations. Printing can be done by a variety of techniques known in the art including silk screen printing.

The adhesive 12 may itself be colored by adding an appropriate pigment or paint to the composition. If the adhesive 12 is already colored, there is no need to print a base color, in which case the need for a non-stick layer may be omitted.

After printing, a liquid plastic is cast on the decorative surface, which is cast to the edges of the cover strips 22,24. The preferred embodiment is to control the amount of liquid resin applied so that the resin forms a convex meniscus without spilling over the cover strips 22,24. Similarly, it may be controlled to produce a relatively thin covering if it does not have to be lenticular. It is also preferred that the application of a previously applied nonwetting fluorohydrocarbon helps control the flow of the plastic resin. A suitable device for performing casting operations is described in more detail in US Patent No. 4,100,010 to waugh,
It is included here as a reference.

The plastic resin used is preferably a transparent thermosetting material having abrasion resistance and impact resistance. Although many plastics can be used for this purpose, impact resistant polyurethanes are particularly advantageous. Polyurethanes useful in the practice of the present invention include
For example, it is a two-component composition which is the reaction product of a glycol such as polyether glycol or polyester glycol and an aliphatic diisocyanate.

The cast plastic resin is cross-linked and then cured to form a lens-shaped cover 20. The resin is preferably crosslinked by heating or ultraviolet light. However, depending on the composition used, other methods such as high frequency heating,
Even the heat of crosslinking reaction with hot air drying or exotherm can be utilized.

In this preferred method, the cover strip 22,
The edges of 24 act like a kind of knife edge to sharply cut the adhesive layer and the trim strip with the coating as shown in FIG. 1 is separated from the release liner. The polyurethane coating is firmly bonded to the adhesive layer on which the indicia is formed, which results in a clean separation of the trim strip.

In another embodiment, the trim strips are separated by cutting. In that case the cover strips 22, 24
Need not be used and other methods are used to form the raised boundaries. Those methods are Reed (Ree
U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,388 of d) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,264 of Gillo, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Further raised boundaries may be formed by embossing. In that case, it is desirable to make the upper surface of the adhesive non-tacky before forming the raised border. The remaining steps are the same as above.

5 and 6 show cross-sectional views of an adhesive article with a plastic coating, made according to another embodiment of the present invention. Article 40 has a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 42 having an upper surface 43 and a lower surface. The lower surface of the adhesive 42 is attached to a release liner 44 or other releasable support surface.

The adhesive 42 is then made non-tacky on its upper surface 43,
As described above, appropriate processing is performed so that the display 48 can be directly printed on it. The lower surface of the adhesive 42 remains tacky so that the final processed article can be attached to a given surface. Once the top surface 43 has been treated and made substantially non-tacky, it becomes the printable surface 46 on which the appropriate indicia 48 is printed directly.

The adhesive 42 may itself be colored by adding an appropriate pigment or dye to the composition.
If the adhesive layer 42 is colored, the need to print over a colored substrate and / or the process of rendering the upper surface 43 of the adhesive 42 substantially non-tacky can be omitted. Also, if the adhesive layer 42 is transparent, display 4 on its upper surface.
The part which is not decorated by 8 is left so that when the article is applied to the substrate, the color or glitter of the substrate can be expressed through that part.

After forming the layer of adhesive 42 as shown in FIG. 5 or after printing as shown in FIG. 6, 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 on the structure is cast to the edge of the structure to form a convex meniscus. This meniscus is a plastic covering 50 formed when the resin is crosslinked.
Contribute to the lens effect of.

On the other hand, for example, a relatively flat coating as shown in FIG. 6 is applied by flow coating, spraying or extruding a liquid resin on the upper surface of the structure. These latter methods are suitable when each article is supported by a plurality of large sheet-shaped, roll-shaped or web-shaped release liners 44. After being crosslinked to form the plastic cover 50, the individual articles are separated from the support sheet by stamping, stamping or other means. In one embodiment, the individual articles are kiss-cut, that is, cut into the release liner 44 and left on the sheet or roll release liner. In this state, the goods are shipped to the final user. The user can easily peel individual items from the release liner 44 for use in attaching to a given substrate.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the article 60 has a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 62 having upper and lower surfaces. The lower surface of the adhesive 62 is attached to the release liner 64. The upper surface 63 of the adhesive 62 has been treated as detailed above to render it substantially non-tacky. Non-stick surface 66 as shown
Covers the upper surface of the adhesive 62. The upper surface of the adhesive layer 62 is substantially non-adhesive. An appropriate display 68 is directly printed on it. After printing, a clear or colored plastic sheet 70 is laminated to the assembly.

Various plastics are utilized depending on the desired effect on the article, the intended appearance. For example, in the case where articles are flooded outdoors, a robust weather-resistant plastic such as polyurethane or polycarbonate is used, and when flexibility is required, polyester or polyolefin-based plastic is used. It An adhesive may be applied to the lower surface of the plastic layer 70 to permanently bond the plastic layer to the decorative assembly. In the method of manufacturing the embodiment product of FIG. 7, a plurality of decorative articles are supported by a sheet-shaped or web-shaped release liner, and then the liquid plastic resin covers the entire surface of the sheet-shaped or web-shaped release liner. It is applied by casting, coating, spraying, extrusion, or other methods. In this way, a relatively flat plastic covering is formed on the entire surface of the sheet. The individual articles are then separated from the sheet by stamping, stamping or other methods. A preferred method is to kiss cut the individual articles, i.e., cut into the release liner and leave them on the sheet. In this state they are shipped and sold to the end user. Therefore, the user needs to release the release liner 64 to attach it to a predetermined substrate.
The individual articles can be easily peeled off and used.

(Effects) By carrying out the present invention, a trim strip without a novel substrate, that is, a product that does not require a self-supporting paper, cardboard or plastic substrate, is obtained as a trim strip for a vehicle body. Alternatively, it is useful as an insert for bumpers and bumper guards, or as a decoration or reflector for tail lights, side walls, doors, protective caps and the like.

Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to characteristic embodiments, it will be apparent that many variations are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

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 a decorative layer of a pressure sensitive adhesive together with a cover strip, and FIG. Cross-sectional view of the trim strip structure before molding,
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 manufactured according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an adhesive article having a plastic coating with an adhered layer obtained according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an article manufactured according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Is. 10,40,60 ... Trim strips, 12,42,
62 ... Pressure-sensitive adhesive, 14, 44, 64 ... Release liner, 16, 46, 66 ... Non-adhesive surface, 18, 4
8,68 ... Display, 20 ... Lens-like cover, 22,2
4, 26 ... Cover strip, 30 ... Cover strip assembly, 50 ... Plastic covering, 70 ...
Plastic sheet.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ——————————————————————————————————— Inventor Clyde Earl Rockwood 43220, Columbus Woodhall Road, Ohio 43220, USA 4631

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A release liner, a long layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive formed on the release liner, a non-stick surface formed on the upper surface of the adhesive layer, and a non-stick surface on the non-stick surface. A trim strip having no substrate, which comprises a decorative indicia printed on the surface and a plastic coating formed on a non-adhesive surface containing the decorative indicia. 2. A step of forming a long pressure-sensitive adhesive layer on a release liner, a step of forming a non-stick surface on the upper surface of the adhesive layer, and a decorative display on the non-stick surface. A method for producing a trim strip having no substrate, which comprises a step of printing and a step of coating a plastic layer on the non-adhesive surface including the decorative display. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of coating the plastic layer comprises casting a crosslinkable liquid plastic resin on the non-adhesive surface containing the decorative marking and crosslinking and curing the resin. A method for producing a trim strip having no substrate as described. 4. A method of manufacturing a substrateless trim strip according to claim 2, wherein the step of coating the plastic layer comprises laminating a transparent plastic layer on the non-stick surface containing the decorative indicia. . 5. A method of making a substrateless trim strip according to claim 2 wherein the step of coating the plastic layer comprises extruding a transparent plastic layer onto the non-stick surface containing the decorative indicia. 6. A plurality of long, raised boundaries spaced apart prior to the plastic layer coating step are formed on the upper surface of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer, and at least one longitudinally extending opening is provided for the pressure sensitive adhesive. The substrate according to claim 3, further comprising: providing on the adhesive layer, then casting a liquid plastic resin, casting the resin to the edges of a plurality of boundaries, and filling the open portion. A method of manufacturing a trim strip having no.