Process for the production of virtual three-dimensional patterns in mouldings

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10821640-B2
Application number	US-201616061826-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 15, 2016
Priority date	Dec 15, 2015
Publication date	Nov 3, 2020
Grant date	Nov 3, 2020

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for the production of virtual three-dimensional patterns in mouldings, in particular to an injection-moulding process for the production of mouldings having a virtual three-dimensional pattern which is formed by flake-form effect pigments, to the mouldings produced by means of this process, and to the use thereof, in particular for decorative purposes.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Injection-moulding process for the production of virtual three-dimensional patterns in mouldings, comprising:
providing an injection mould which has injection mould parts A and B which can be separated from one another and which in each case have an inside surface A′ and B′ and together form an internal cavity, and where, with the injection mould opened,
a preform which has a two- or three-dimensional shape and an outside surface which is fixed to the inside surface A′ of injection mould part A in such a way as to occupy part of the cavity where the outside surface of the preform not fixed to the inside surface A′ of injection mould part A faces the part of the cavity not occupied by the preform when the mould is opened, where this outside surface facing the cavity has, at least on a part-area thereof, bumps and/or pits which together form a three-dimensional pattern,

introducing a thermoplastic film which has been mass-coloured with flake-form effect pigments into the internal cavity,
closing the injection mould,
introducing a transparent thermoplastic melt into the internal cavity between the thermoplastic film and the surface B′ of injection mould part B, where the thermoplastic film is three-dimensionally deformed and forms a strongly adherent and positive connection to at least that part-area of the outside surface of the preform that contains the three-dimensional pattern and at the same time to the thermoplastic melt,
where the flake-form effect pigments reorient with their longitudinal axes at the bumps and/or pits and replicate and optically intensify the three-dimensional pattern located on the outside surface of the preform on or in the thermoplastic film,
heating or cooling the injection mould and, subsequently,
demoulding or removing the resultant moulding, which has an outside surface of a transparent thermoplastic and exhibits on at least part of this outside surface a virtual three-dimensional pattern formed by the flake-form effect pigments.

2. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic melt, when injected, has at least a temperature which is at or above the glass transition temperature T G of the thermoplastic film.

3. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional pattern is a macroscopic pattern in the form of a pictorial object, an alphanumeric motif, a line and/or dot pattern, a logo or a code.

4. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the flake-form effect pigments are selected from the group consisting of pearlescent pigments, interference pigments, metal-effect pigments, flake-form functional pigments, flake-form structured pigments, or a mixture thereof.

5. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the flake-form effect pigments have a particle size in the range from 5 to 250 μm and an aspect ratio of at least 2.

6. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the flake-form effect pigments consist of a flake-form substrate and one or more layers on the substrate, where the substrate and the layer located directly on the substrate and/or at least two layers which are in each case adjacent differ from one another in their refractive indices n at least by Δn=0.1.

7. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the flake-form effect pigments are present in the pigmented thermoplastic film in an amount of 0.1 to 20% by weight, based on the total weight of the pigmented film.

8. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the pigmented thermoplastic film, in addition to the flake-form effect pigments, also comprises further organic or inorganic coloured pigments, dyes and/or fillers.

Assignees

• Merck Patent Gmbh

Inventors

• Schum Markus

Classifications

• B29K2995/002

  Coloured · CPC title

• B29L2031/722

  Decorative or ornamental articles · CPC title

• B29C45/14688 Primary

  Coating articles provided with a decoration · CPC title

• B29C2045/1454

  injecting between inserts not being in contact with each other · CPC title

• B44F7/00

  Designs imitating three-dimensional [3D] effects · CPC title