EP4549168A1 - Feuille décorative et procédé de fabrication - Google Patents

Feuille décorative et procédé de fabrication Download PDF

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Publication number
EP4549168A1
EP4549168A1 EP23207724.8A EP23207724A EP4549168A1 EP 4549168 A1 EP4549168 A1 EP 4549168A1 EP 23207724 A EP23207724 A EP 23207724A EP 4549168 A1 EP4549168 A1 EP 4549168A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
curable
decorative
coating
carrier sheet
curable coating
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP23207724.8A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Stefan Henri Dominique Maria Symkens
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Chiyoda Europa
Original Assignee
Chiyoda Europa
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Chiyoda Europa filed Critical Chiyoda Europa
Priority to EP23207724.8A priority Critical patent/EP4549168A1/fr
Priority to PCT/EP2024/080570 priority patent/WO2025093543A1/fr
Priority to BE20245751A priority patent/BE1032119B1/nl
Publication of EP4549168A1 publication Critical patent/EP4549168A1/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
    • B44C—PRODUCING DECORATIVE EFFECTS; MOSAICS; TARSIA WORK; PAPERHANGING
    • B44C1/00—Processes, not specifically provided for elsewhere, for producing decorative surface effects
    • B44C1/24—Pressing or stamping ornamental designs on surfaces
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
    • B44C—PRODUCING DECORATIVE EFFECTS; MOSAICS; TARSIA WORK; PAPERHANGING
    • B44C5/00—Processes for producing special ornamental bodies
    • B44C5/04—Ornamental plaques, e.g. decorative panels, decorative veneers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing such decorative sheets and panels.
  • Decorative panels such as flooring panels, laminates, furniture panels, wall panels, etc. coated with simulated versions of materials such as wood and natural stone are commonly used today, in particular where a less expensive material is desired. Obviously, these panels have to be sufficiently resistant against abrasion, indentation, chemicals and moisture.
  • Such decorative panels substantially consist of a substrate such as MDF or HDF (Medium or High Density Fiberboard) or particle board and a decorative sheet provided thereon.
  • the decorative sheets bear a printed decorative motif or pattern representing an image of different kinds of wood or natural stone such as marble or granite, and one or more finishing layers (so called top coating) to protect the decorative motif.
  • the top surface usually a condensation resin based top layer
  • a structure i.e. a surface texture, profile, or topography which gives the panel particular aesthetic and haptic characteristics making the decorative panel more realistic.
  • a (printed) decorative paper is impregnated with melamine formaldehyde (subsequently referred to as melamine) dissolved in water. Due to its very good price/performance level melamine is the most widely spread surface material for the medium to high quality surface materials used in the wood-based panel industry for interior applications. Melamine shows both good mechanical resistance (scratch- and wear resistance) and chemical resistance (resistance against common household chemical substances).
  • the impregnated paper is then passed through driers to evaporate the excessive amount of water and create a precuring of the melamine resin, resulting in a dry to the touch, stackable or rewindable impregnated paper with a resin content between 50 and 300% of the dry paper weight.
  • melamine was replaced most commonly by (meth)acrylates or unsaturated polyester-based impregnation resins. Examples thereof are WO2010/104380 and US9033486 using aqueous acrylic impregnation (Trespa).
  • the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a decorative sheet comprising the steps of:
  • a method for manufacturing a decorative panel comprising the step of manufacturing a decorative layer using the above method and adhering said decorative layer as a decorative top layer to a substrate is provided as well.
  • the present invention provides a decorative sheet comprising:
  • the present invention provides a decorative panel comprising a substrate and a decorative top layer comprising a decorative sheet as described throughout this text.
  • FIG 1 schematically illustrates a method of the prior art as described in WO2010/104380 and US9033486 .
  • FIG 2 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a method for manufacturing a decorative sheet in accordance with the present invention.
  • the inventors Upon seeking to reduce the energy consumption of the impregnation step in producing decorative panels, the inventors surprisingly found that, in case a carrier sheet was impregnated with a non-melamine-based curable impregnation resin, then followed by a curable coating on top of the impregnated carrier sheet, finally followed by a traditional hot press cycle, the decorative sheet in many cases showed glossy spots and/or defects in the final cured surface after the hot press cycle.
  • the inventors now found that, by partially curing the curable coating and structuring its top surface before the press-cycle while leaving the non-melamine-based impregnation resin underneath the partially cured coating at least partially uncured, decorative sheets are produced which, in subsequent hot press processing, appear not to lead to glossy spots and/or defects in the final cured top surface after such press cycle regardless of the texture imparted during the pressing step.
  • the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a decorative sheet comprising the steps of:
  • the cause of the glossy spots/defects in the cured surface seems to lie in air entrapment during the hot press processing.
  • air entrapment between the top coating and the mold should be avoided.
  • avoiding this air entrapment appears to be difficult as soon as the mold exhibits a more pronounced depth of its structures.
  • the direction of the structures and especially the combination of different directions of the structures in the mold play a significant role.
  • the inventors found that the above-described problem can be avoided if the surface of the partially cured curable coating is sufficiently structured.
  • structuring potentially creates channels for the air to escape during the pressure build-up while pressing the decorative sheet against the mold.
  • the impregnation resin may be any of type of resin suitable for impregnation of a carrier sheet in the context of the present invention, in particular free-radical polymerization-based resins, preferably acrylate- or methacrylate-based resins, and even more preferably acrylic or methacrylic resins of the following groups: epoxy (meth)acrylates, silicone (meth)acrylates, polyether (meth)acrylates, polyester (meth)acrylate, urethane (meth)acrylates, and amino (meth)acrylates.
  • free-radical polymerization-based resins preferably acrylate- or methacrylate-based resins, and even more preferably acrylic or methacrylic resins of the following groups: epoxy (meth)acrylates, silicone (meth)acrylates, polyether (meth)acrylates, polyester (meth)acrylate, urethane (meth)acrylates, and amino (meth)acrylates.
  • Dual-cure resins can be used as well, e.g. blends of free-radical resins with other types of resins, such as condensation curing resins (e.g amino resins), isocyanate/polyol- based (i.e. polyurethane) resins, or epoxy resins.
  • condensation curing resins e.g amino resins
  • isocyanate/polyol- based resins i.e. polyurethane
  • impregnation resin may applied at the bottom or at the top surface of the carrier sheet, or both.
  • the curable impregnation resin may applied by any suitable technique.
  • the curable impregnation resin is applied by a coating process or a printing process, such as for example rotogravure coating, screen-printing, roller coating, or slot- die coating.
  • a coating process or a printing process such as for example rotogravure coating, screen-printing, roller coating, or slot- die coating.
  • the advantage thereof is reduced energy consumption compared to conventional impregnation which includes evaporation of water.
  • Another advantage is that same coating and printing technology as used for coating can be used.
  • the impregnation resin is in a liquid stage during the process of complete impregnation of the carrier sheet, which can vary from a few seconds till several days, depending on the viscosity and type of the resin and carrier sheet used, and more preferably during the process of partial curing and structuring of the curable coating.
  • the final for its use intended level and evenness of impregnation throughout the carrier sheet is not necessarily obtained in-line with the machine used for impregnation, but can be achieved afterwards while wound on the roll.
  • liquid stage is understood as uncured, or at least partially uncured whereby a portion of the reactive double bonds have reacted, but the resin is still able to flow, either at room temperature or at a specific (process) temperature.
  • the impregnation resin remains in its uncured stage after the full impregnation cycle as described above, or even more preferably after the partial curing and structuring of the curable coating, is completed, such that crosslinking is initiated by downstream processing (eg. The press cycle).
  • Coating the carrier sheet with curable coating may be done by any known coating technique known in the art, such as roll, rotogravure, slotdie, commabar, screen printing, or curtain coating.
  • partially curing the curable coating comprises curing the curable coating to a precured stage adapted to enable the precured coating to flow during a subsequent pressing step, i.e. the precured coating is in a solid state at room temperature, (e.g. to enable it to withstand winding and unwinding) but is still able to flow under suitable process conditions such as applied in the press-cycle, i.e. at elevated temperature and elevated pressure, typically between 100°C and 230°C, more typically between 120°C and 210°C, and between 5 bar and 100 bar, more typically between 20 bar and 70 bar.
  • partially curing and structuring the curable coating comprises curing against a textured precuring mold, optionally under elevated pressure and/or temperature.
  • a typical pressure applied may be between 2-100 kg/cm 2 .
  • a typical temperature applied may be between 20 and 180°C.
  • partially curing and structuring the curable coating comprises irradiating by ultraviolet (UV) light.
  • UV ultraviolet
  • the curable coating may be exposed to a curing wavelength range from at least part of the UV spectrum between 150nm and 450nm.
  • multi-step irradiation is applied wherein in a first irradiation step a wavelength between 150 and 250 nm is applied, preferably by excimer irradiation, and wherein in a second step a wavelength between 250 and 450 nm is applied, or optionally by electron beam irradiation.
  • irradiation steps can be applied, as curing is dependent on a combination of a number of variables, including but not limited to substrate (type and/or thickness); coating formulation (photoinitiator type and/or concentration, additives, pigments etc); coating thickness; ink formulation (pigment type and/or concentration); ink thickness; lamp (type, age, dosage); distance between lamp and coating; exposure time (line speed, number of lamps).
  • substrate type and/or thickness
  • coating formulation photoinitiator type and/or concentration, additives, pigments etc
  • coating thickness ink formulation (pigment type and/or concentration); ink thickness
  • lamp type, age, dosage
  • distance between lamp and coating exposure time (line speed, number of lamps).
  • the method may comprise printing a decorative ink (pattern or plain color) on at least part of the carrier sheet,
  • printing a decorative ink pattern or plain color may be done by any technique including, but not limited to analogue printing, rotogravure printing or screen printing, or by digital printing methods as well, such as inkjet printing.
  • the carrier sheet is at least partially UV light irradiation transparent, in which case optionally the curable coating may be precured by irradiation through the carrier sheet.
  • the method may further comprise providing a core layer at the bottom surface of the impregnated carrier sheet, curing the curable impregnation resin and further curing the partially cured coating by pressing in a textured mold at elevated temperature, thereby altering the coating's partially cured surface structure into a final surface texture.
  • the coating's partially cured surface texture and its final surface texture differ from each other in surface roughness and/or in specular reflection or gloss, and/or in top coating thickness, and/or in haptic properties, and/or in surface tension. More specifically, the textures may differ in shallowness or deepness, in higher gloss vs matt surfaces, in the presence of functional features such as light management structures, privacy film, optical gratings, antireflection surfaces, holographic surfaces, micro-fluidic devices, antimicrobial surfaces, brand protection, noise-absorbing/reducing, protective coatings. Optionally, one or more of these functional features may be aligned with the decorative motif as well.
  • the presses mainly used are discontinuous HPL, with a warm-up and cool-down cycle; continuous HPL/CPL presses, with or without cool down; and discontinuous hot short-cycle press, without warm-up or cool down.
  • the present invention provides a decorative sheet comprising:
  • a decorative ink is located between the carrier sheet and the curable coating.
  • the decorative ink may be located at the rear side of the carrier sheet.
  • the partially cured coating is in a precured stage adapted to enable the precured coating to flow during a subsequent pressing step, i.e. the precured coating is in a solid state at room temperature, (e.g. to withstand winding and unwinding) but is still able to flow under suitable process conditions applied in the press-cycle.
  • the top surface of the partially cured coating is structured.
  • structured is understood as the top surface of the partially cured curable coating being sufficiently textured to provide channels through which the majority of, or substantially all, air that is trapped between the partially cured curable coating and the mold can escape to the edges of the decorative sheet during a subsequent press cycle.
  • Said channels may comprise all types of topography allowing air to flow towards the edges of the decorative sheet.
  • the curable coating has at least a sufficiently structured top surface to decrease its glossiness compared to a non-structured top surface towards matte.
  • the partially cured curable coating may be any type of known curable coating suitable for finishing decorative sheets or panels.
  • the partially cured coating is selected for being curable by electron beam (EB), ultraviolet (UV) or visible light, as well as by heat pressing.
  • EB electron beam
  • UV ultraviolet
  • visible light as well as by heat pressing.
  • the curable coating materials may be a mix of components with different curing mechanisms, such as free-radical polymerization-based resins similar to the impregnation resins mentioned above, thermally reactive coatings, or reactive poly-urethane based coating combined with UV curable acrylate-based components as main coating resin to achieve flow and curing in the hot press cycle.
  • curing mechanisms such as free-radical polymerization-based resins similar to the impregnation resins mentioned above, thermally reactive coatings, or reactive poly-urethane based coating combined with UV curable acrylate-based components as main coating resin to achieve flow and curing in the hot press cycle.
  • the coating can also contain solvents, pigments, fillers and additives (eg. photo and thermal initiators, light stabilizers, matting agents).
  • solvents eg. photo and thermal initiators, light stabilizers, matting agents.
  • the curable coating materials may comprise non-reactive components as well, such as dissolved acrylics and fillers.
  • the decorative sheet may further comprise a core layer at the bottom surface of the impregnated carrier sheet.
  • the carrier sheet may be selected from paper based (impregnated or not impregnated) materials film, foil or panel based materials, acrylic plastic based materials including PMMA/ABS, thermoplastic based materials including PP, PE, PVC, PET and the like, non-woven based materials, or glass fiber based materials, or any combination thereof.
  • the carrier sheet may bear a decorative ink (pattern or plain color).
  • the decorative sheet of the present invention may be applied as a final product.
  • Final products may be, but not limited to wall paper, packaging or wrapping paper, nonwoven or plastic or glass fiber based fabrics, or any other type of decorative sheet.
  • the decorative sheet may also be a panel. This panel may be glass or polymer based, and may be self-supporting.
  • the decorative sheet of the present invention may be applied as an intermediate product for being adhered as a decorative top layer to any type of substrate for forming a final product.
  • Such final product may be any type of panel such as flooring panels, wall panels, advertising panels, etc, or panels for assembling any type of furniture such as tables, kitchens, office desks, closets and the like.
  • the substrate of any such final product may be wood based, glass based, stone based, carbon based, plastic based, metal based, mineral (eg. Gyproc) based, etc.
  • Specific applications may be wooden plank look-alikes (flooring / sidings / decking / skirting boards /%), exterior furniture, high level finish foil, technical foil, acrylic décor, release film for texturing other surfaces (including recreational vehicles/caravan applications and textiles in the fashion industry), auto-motive parts for interior and exterior, molded parts or panels in general.
  • a 80 g/m 2 black pigmented alpha-cellulose paper, often referred to as décor-paper was used as carrier sheet and impregnated using a gravure roller top and bottom side, resulting in a total resin weight of 30 g/m 2 .
  • the impregnation resin consists of
  • the thus impregnated roll was wound and left to rest for 24 hours to allow full and uniform impregnation of the carrier sheet while being wound on a roll.
  • Said coating was applied with a meyer bar or slot-die on the impregnated paper with a weight ranging from 50 till 150 g/m 2 .
  • the liquid coating layer was irradiated with the UV-light from an 172 nm Excimer lamp while under nitrogen inert atmosphere, thereby creating a wrinkled surface topography with an average roughness of 8 micron, followed by partially curing with a LED-UV-light with a peak output of 16 Watt/cm at 395 nm at a speed of 20 m/min.
  • the thus impregnated, coated and pre-cured decorative sheet was then pressed against a matt-gloss structured press plate onto a MDF panel, incorporating a melamine impregnated sheet in-between the pre-cured decorative sheet and the MDF panel (for achieving adhesion) in a short-cycle press at a temperature of 180-200 C, pressure of 30-50 kg/cm 2 for 40-50 seconds, thereby obtaining a decorative panel having a decorative top surface with the structure and gloss level as defined by the press plate.

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  • Laminated Bodies (AREA)
EP23207724.8A 2023-11-03 2023-11-03 Feuille décorative et procédé de fabrication Pending EP4549168A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP23207724.8A EP4549168A1 (fr) 2023-11-03 2023-11-03 Feuille décorative et procédé de fabrication
PCT/EP2024/080570 WO2025093543A1 (fr) 2023-11-03 2024-10-29 Feuille décorative et son procédé de fabrication
BE20245751A BE1032119B1 (nl) 2023-11-03 2024-10-31 Decoratief vel en vervaardigingswerkwijze

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP23207724.8A EP4549168A1 (fr) 2023-11-03 2023-11-03 Feuille décorative et procédé de fabrication

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP4549168A1 true EP4549168A1 (fr) 2025-05-07

Family

ID=88689438

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP23207724.8A Pending EP4549168A1 (fr) 2023-11-03 2023-11-03 Feuille décorative et procédé de fabrication

Country Status (3)

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EP (1) EP4549168A1 (fr)
BE (1) BE1032119B1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2025093543A1 (fr)

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2010104380A1 (fr) 2009-03-13 2010-09-16 Trespa International B.V. Procédé de fabrication d'un papier décoratif imprégné de résine, et panneau décoratif associé
US9033486B2 (en) 2011-09-28 2015-05-19 Trespa International B.V. Method for producing a decorative film, as well as a decorative panel
WO2020190744A1 (fr) * 2019-03-15 2020-09-24 Wilsonart Llc Stratifié décoratif haute pression ayant une couche supérieure de polymère d'uréthane acrylé durci par énergie
EP3882041A1 (fr) * 2020-03-20 2021-09-22 Swiss Krono TEC AG Matière de revêtement pour surfaces de panneaux
EP4129711A1 (fr) * 2021-08-05 2023-02-08 Flooring Industries Limited, SARL Procédé de fabrication d'un produit comprenant une couche de surface décorative
EP4190583A1 (fr) * 2021-12-06 2023-06-07 Chiyoda Europa Feuille décorative et son procédé de fabrication

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2010104380A1 (fr) 2009-03-13 2010-09-16 Trespa International B.V. Procédé de fabrication d'un papier décoratif imprégné de résine, et panneau décoratif associé
US9033486B2 (en) 2011-09-28 2015-05-19 Trespa International B.V. Method for producing a decorative film, as well as a decorative panel
WO2020190744A1 (fr) * 2019-03-15 2020-09-24 Wilsonart Llc Stratifié décoratif haute pression ayant une couche supérieure de polymère d'uréthane acrylé durci par énergie
EP3882041A1 (fr) * 2020-03-20 2021-09-22 Swiss Krono TEC AG Matière de revêtement pour surfaces de panneaux
EP4129711A1 (fr) * 2021-08-05 2023-02-08 Flooring Industries Limited, SARL Procédé de fabrication d'un produit comprenant une couche de surface décorative
EP4190583A1 (fr) * 2021-12-06 2023-06-07 Chiyoda Europa Feuille décorative et son procédé de fabrication

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
BE1032119A1 (nl) 2025-06-02
WO2025093543A1 (fr) 2025-05-08
BE1032119B1 (nl) 2025-06-10

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