A decorative material and a method of making the same

Abstract

A decorative material and a manufacturing method thereof, the decorative material comprising a microlens array layer, a TPU substrate layer and a micro-pattern layer connected in sequence, the manufacturing method comprising: S1, providing a TPU substrate and a first supporting film, compounding the TPU substrate and the first supporting film to obtain a composite supporting layer; S2, coating a first resin layer on the TPU substrate surface of the composite supporting layer, copying a microlens array microstructure / micro-pattern microstructure on the first resin layer by a first mold and solidifying; S3, retaining the first mold or peeling off the first mold to solidly set a second supporting film on the first resin layer; S4, peeling off the first supporting film; S5, coating a second resin layer on the TPU substrate surface after peeling off the first supporting film, copying a micro-pattern microstructure / microlens array microstructure on the second resin layer by a second mold and solidifying; S6, peeling off the second mold; and S7, peeling off the first mold or the second supporting film.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of materials technology, and in particular to a decorative material and its manufacturing method. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of technology and the improvement of living standards, people have higher requirements for clothing, shoes and other accessories. Existing designs are mostly printed patterns and embroidery, lacking innovation and design highlights.

[0003] A new TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber) decorative material has emerged, offering both excellent decorative properties and anti-counterfeiting features to meet increasing demand. This decorative material uses TPU as its base material. TPU is very soft and prone to significant deformation during processing, making it very difficult to fabricate alignment patterns and other designs on it. Currently, there is no manufacturing method that solves this problem.

[0004] The preceding description is intended to provide general background information and does not necessarily constitute prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a decorative material and its manufacturing method, which can solve the problem of large deformation of TPU substrate and achieve accurate positioning.

[0006] This invention provides a method for manufacturing a decorative material, the decorative material comprising a microlens array layer, a TPU substrate layer, and a micrographic layer connected in sequence. The manufacturing method includes: S1, providing a TPU substrate and a first support film, and composite the TPU substrate and the first support film to obtain a composite support layer; S2, coating a first resin layer on the TPU substrate surface of the composite support layer, and replicating the microlens array microstructure / micrographic microstructure onto the first resin layer using a first mold and then curing it; S3, retaining the first mold or peeling off the first mold and then fixing a second support film onto the first resin layer; S4, peeling off the first support film; S5, coating a second resin layer on the TPU substrate surface after peeling off the first support film, and replicating the micrographic microstructure / microlens array microstructure onto the second resin layer using a second mold and then curing it; S6, peeling off the second mold; S7, peeling off the first mold or the second support film.

[0007] Further, the first mold is a microlens array mold, which has microstructures corresponding to the microlens array; the second mold is a micrographic mold, which has microstructures corresponding to the micrographics; in S2, the microlens array microstructure is copied onto the first resin layer and cured using the first mold; in S3, the first mold is retained; in S5, the micrographic microstructure is copied onto the second resin layer and cured using the second mold; in S7, the first mold is peeled off.

[0008] Furthermore, after S6, it also includes: S8, applying ink to the side of the second resin layer obtained in S5 that has microtextual structures, such that the ink fills the microstructure and there is no ink in the other positions, or depositing a coating on the side of the second resin layer obtained in S5 that has microtextual structures, the coating being shaped.

[0009] Furthermore, after S8, it also includes: S9, where a third resin layer is applied to the surface of the second resin layer obtained in S8 having ink or plating and cured to form a protective layer.

[0010] Furthermore, after S9, it also includes: S10, applying hot melt adhesive to the protective layer, or applying a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and laminating release paper.

[0011] Further, the first mold is a micro-graphic mold, which has microstructures corresponding to the micro-graphics; the second mold is a microlens array mold, which has microstructures corresponding to the microlens array; in S2, the micro-graphic microstructures are copied onto the first resin layer using the first mold and then cured; in S3, the first mold is peeled off and a second support film is fixed onto the first resin layer; in S5, the microlens array microstructures are copied onto the second resin layer using the second mold and then cured; in S7, the second support film is peeled off.

[0012] Further, in step S3, the step of peeling off the first mold and then fixing the second support film on the first resin layer includes: S31, peeling off the first mold; S32, applying ink to the side of the obtained first resin layer with micro-texture and microstructure, such that the ink fills the microstructure and there is no ink in the other positions, or plating a coating on the side of the obtained first resin layer with micro-texture and microstructure, the coating being shaped; S33, coating a third resin layer on the surface of the first resin layer with ink or coating and then attaching the second support film, and curing them together, thereby fixing the second support film on the first resin layer, the third resin layer forming a protective layer.

[0013] Furthermore, after S7, it also includes: applying hot melt adhesive to the protective layer, or applying a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and laminating release paper.

[0014] The present invention also provides a decorative material comprising a microlens array layer, a TPU substrate layer, and a microtexture layer connected in sequence, wherein the decorative material is prepared by the manufacturing method described above.

[0015] Furthermore, the micro-graphic layer is also provided with an ink layer or a plating layer. In the ink layer, the ink is filled in the microstructure and there is no ink in other positions. The plating layer is set in a contour. The ink layer or plating layer is also provided with a protective layer. The protective layer is also coated with a hot melt adhesive layer, or coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and laminated with release paper.

[0016] 1. The decorative material provided by this invention combines the principle of Moiré amplification to apply dynamic anti-counterfeiting decorative material to the decoration of clothing, shoes or soft materials. It is both decorative and anti-counterfeiting, which can meet the increasing needs for personalization and design requirements.

[0017] 2. The method for manufacturing decorative materials provided by the present invention has a supporting film or a mold to provide support when replicating the microlens array microstructure and micrographic microstructure on the resin layer, thereby solving the problems of large deformation and difficult positioning of TPU substrate during the manufacturing process, ensuring accurate positioning of patterns on the decorative material, suitable for mass production, and highly efficient. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the decorative material according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the first method for manufacturing the decorative material shown.

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of another embodiment of the second mold in the method for making decorative materials shown.

[0021] Figure 4 for Figure 3 The diagram shows the manufacturing method of the second mold.

[0022] Figure 5 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the second method for manufacturing the decorative material shown.

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the decorative material according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0025] First embodiment of the product

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, the decorative material includes a microlens array layer 12, a TPU substrate layer 11, a micrographic layer 13, an ink layer 14, a protective layer 15, and a hot melt adhesive layer 16 connected in sequence. In the ink layer 14, ink fills the microstructures, with no ink in other positions. The TPU substrate layer 11 can be 188µm thick, serving as a supporting substrate. The micrographic layer 13 forms micrographics through microstructures, and the micrographics are located near the focal plane of the microlens array layer 12. In this embodiment, the micrographics are pentagrams, which utilize the moiré magnification principle to present a dynamic effect through the microlenses of the microlens array layer 12. The pentagram dynamically changes with the viewing angle, enabling personalized design and providing anti-counterfeiting features. It can be applied to the decoration of soft materials such as clothing and shoes. In other embodiments, one or more of the ink layer 14, protective layer 15, and hot melt adhesive layer 16 may be omitted as needed.

[0027] The first manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the product

[0028] like Figure 2 As shown, the manufacturing method of this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0029] S1, a TPU substrate 21 and a first support film 28 are provided, and the TPU substrate 21 and the first support film 28 are laminated (e.g., by electrostatic lamination) to obtain a composite support layer. The thickness of the TPU substrate 21 can be 188um, and the first support film 28 can be a PET film (whose hardness is higher than that of TPU) with a thickness of 100um.

[0030] S2, a first resin layer 22 (which may be UV resin) is coated on the TPU substrate surface of the composite support layer. The microlens array microstructure is then replicated onto the first resin layer 22 using a first mold 29 and cured (e.g., by UV curing). In this embodiment, the first mold 29 is a microlens array mold, which has microstructures corresponding to the microlens array. Its material may be a transparent soft film.

[0031] S3, retain the first mold 29, do not peel it off for now.

[0032] S4, peel off the first support membrane 28.

[0033] S5, a second resin layer 23 (which can be UV resin) is coated on the TPU substrate surface after the first support film 28 has been peeled off. The micro-graphic microstructure is then copied onto the second resin layer 23 using a second mold 210 and cured (e.g., by UV curing). The second mold 210 is a micro-graphic mold, which has microstructures 211 corresponding to the micro-graphics. Its material can also be a transparent soft film. In other embodiments, the second mold can also be other molds, such as a micro-graphic mold with a laser effect. Figure 3 As shown, this mold 210' has laser-effect microstructures 211' at the micro-graphic positions corresponding to the product design, while no laser-effect microstructures are provided at other positions.

[0034] S6, peel off the second mold 210.

[0035] S7, peel off the first mold 29.

[0036] S8, ink 24 is applied to one side of the second resin layer 23 obtained in S5 that has a microtextual microstructure, such that ink 24 fills the microstructure and there is no ink in the other positions.

[0037] S9, the third resin layer is coated on the surface of the second resin layer obtained in S8 with ink and cured to form a protective layer 25.

[0038] S10, hot melt adhesive is applied to the protective layer 25 to form a hot melt adhesive layer 26.

[0039] The steps described above are not required to be in any particular order. Except for steps that must appear sequentially, the other steps do not have a fixed order. For example, S6 and S7, or S7 and S8.

[0040] In other embodiments, if one or more of the ink layer, protective layer, and hot melt adhesive layer are not required, the corresponding steps can be omitted. For example, if the ink layer, protective layer, and hot melt adhesive layer are not provided, only steps S1 to S7 are needed.

[0041] like Figure 4 As shown, Figure 3 The method for manufacturing the micro-graphic mold with laser effect shown includes the following steps.

[0042] S1, a substrate 1 is provided, and a resin layer 2 is coated on the first surface of the substrate 1. A microstructure with a laser effect is formed on the resin layer, thus forming a laser-effect microstructure. Specifically, this may include: S11, providing a first mold 3, which has a laser-effect microstructure; imprinting the laser-effect microstructure onto the resin layer 2 using the first mold 3, thus replicating the laser-effect microstructure onto the resin layer 2; S13, curing, and peeling off the first mold 3, thus forming a laser-effect microstructure on the first surface of the resin layer 2. The depth of the microstructure can be 0.1~1µm. In other embodiments, other methods (such as chemical etching) can also be used to form a laser-effect microstructure on the resin layer, but this embodiment uses a mold imprinting method, which is simple to operate, efficient, and low in cost. The resin layer 2 is UV resin cured by ultraviolet light.

[0043] S2, further process the first surface of substrate 1, remove the laser effect microstructures other than the micro-graphics positions corresponding to the product design, retain the laser effect microstructures corresponding to the micro-graphics positions corresponding to the product design, and obtain a template with laser effect microstructures corresponding to the micro-graphics positions corresponding to the product design. Specifically, it may include: S21, providing a second mold 4, the second mold 4 having a contact surface 411 and a groove structure 412 formed by the recess of the contact surface 411, the groove structure 412 forming a pattern of micro-text 5 corresponding to the product design, the micro-text 5 corresponding to the product design can be micro-text, micro-letter, micro-number, etc., such as triangle, five-pointed star, OK, √, pattern, etc. In this embodiment, a triangular pattern is used, and the depth of the groove structure is greater than the depth of the laser effect microstructure, which can be 1~10um; S22, bonding the second mold 4 with the resin layer 2 and hot pressing it, the laser effect microstructure of the resin layer 2 in contact with the contact surface 41 is flattened and disappears, losing the laser effect, while the laser effect microstructure of the resin layer 2 corresponding to the position of the groove structure 42 is still retained; S23, peeling off the second mold 4, thereby obtaining a template with a laser effect microstructure corresponding to the micro-text of the product design. In other embodiments, other methods (such as chemical etching) can also be used to remove the laser effect microstructures outside the micro-graphic positions corresponding to the product design, while retaining the laser effect microstructures at the micro-graphic positions corresponding to the product design. However, this embodiment uses a mold hot pressing method, which is simple to operate, highly efficient, and low in cost.

[0044] S3. The template obtained through the above steps is used to make a master mold, which can then be used to make a mold for mass production. In this embodiment, the template is subjected to a silver mirror reaction and electroforming to obtain the master mold, which is then used to create a mold for mass production through a copying process. Of course, molds can also be made from templates in other ways.

[0045] The mold obtained by the above method is a micro-graphic mold with laser effect, which can be used as the second mold in this embodiment.

[0046] In this embodiment, during the manufacturing process of the decorative material, when the microlens array microstructure is copied onto the resin layer, a first support film provides support, and when the micrographic microstructure is copied onto the resin layer, a first mold provides support. This solves the problem of large deformation of the TPU substrate during the printing process and ensures accurate positioning of the pattern on the decorative material.

[0047] The second manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the product

[0048] like Figure 5 As shown, the manufacturing method of this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0049] S1, a TPU substrate 31 and a first support film 38 are provided, and the TPU substrate 31 and the first support film 38 are laminated (e.g., by electrostatic lamination) to obtain a composite support layer. The thickness of the TPU substrate 31 can be 188um, and the first support film 38 can be a PET film (whose hardness is higher than that of TPU) with a thickness of 100um.

[0050] S2, a first resin layer 33 (which can be UV resin) is coated on the TPU substrate surface of the composite support layer. The micro-graphics and microstructures are then copied onto the first resin layer 33 using a first mold 310 and cured (e.g., by UV curing). In this embodiment, the first mold 310 is a micro-graphic mold, which has microstructures corresponding to the micro-graphics. Its material can be a transparent soft film. Alternatively, the first mold can be a laser-effect micro-graphic mold as described in the first manufacturing method, which has laser-effect microstructures at the positions corresponding to the micro-graphics in the product design, while other positions do not have laser-effect microstructures.

[0051] S3, peel off the first mold 310 and then fix the second support film 311 on the first resin layer 33. Specifically, it includes the following steps: S31, peel off the first mold 310; S32, apply ink 34 to the side of the obtained first resin layer 33 with micro-texture microstructure, so that the ink 34 fills the microstructure and there is no ink in the other positions; S33, coat the surface of the first resin layer 33 with ink with a third resin layer and then attach the second support film 311, and cure them together, so that the second support film 311 is fixed on the first resin layer 33 and the third resin layer forms a protective layer 35.

[0052] S4, peel off the first support membrane 38.

[0053] S5, a second resin layer 32 (which may be UV resin) is coated on the TPU substrate surface after the first support film 38 has been peeled off. The microlens array is then replicated onto the second resin layer 32 using a second mold 39 and cured (e.g., by UV curing). The second mold 39 is a microlens array mold, which has microstructures corresponding to the microlens array. Its material may also be a transparent soft film.

[0054] S6, peel off the second mold 39.

[0055] S7, peel off the second support membrane 311.

[0056] S8, hot melt adhesive is applied to the protective layer to form a hot melt adhesive layer 36.

[0057] The steps described above are not required to be in any particular order. Except for steps that must appear sequentially, the other steps do not have a fixed order. For example, S6 and S7, or S6 and S8.

[0058] In other embodiments, if a hot melt adhesive layer is not required, the corresponding step S8 can be omitted.

[0059] In this embodiment, during the manufacturing process of the decorative material, when the micro-text and microstructure are copied onto the resin layer, a first support film provides support, and when the microlens array microstructure is copied onto the resin layer, a second support film provides support. This solves the problem of large deformation of the TPU substrate during the printing process and ensures accurate positioning of the pattern on the decorative material.

[0060] Of course, the above two manufacturing methods are only two implementations of the manufacturing method of the first embodiment of this product. There are many alternative solutions to the manufacturing method of the first embodiment of this product. These alternative solutions can be easily derived by those skilled in the art after understanding the above content, and will not be listed here one by one. Those skilled in the art will understand that as long as there is a supporting film or mold to provide support when replicating the microlens array microstructure and micrographic microstructure on the resin layer, the problem of large deformation of the TPU substrate during printing can be solved, and the accurate positioning of the pattern on the decorative material can be guaranteed.

[0061] Second embodiment of the product

[0062] like Figure 6 As shown, in this embodiment, the decorative material includes a microlens array layer 42, a TPU substrate layer 41, a micrographic layer 43, a plating layer 44, a protective layer 45, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 46, and a release paper 47 connected in sequence. In this embodiment, the plating layer 44 is used instead of the ink layer of the first embodiment, and the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 46 and the release paper 47 are used instead of the hot melt adhesive layer of the first embodiment, thus achieving the same function as the product in the first embodiment.

[0063] The manufacturing method of this embodiment can be based on the manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the product described above, by replacing the corresponding steps. For example, if the first manufacturing method is used, step S8 is replaced by: depositing a coating layer 44 on the side of the second resin layer 43 obtained in S5 that has micro-textual microstructures, with the coating layer 44 being shaped accordingly; S10 is replaced by: coating a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 46 on the protective layer 45 and laminating a release paper 47.

[0064] In the accompanying drawings, the dimensions and relative dimensions of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. It should be understood that when an element, such as a layer, region, or substrate, is referred to as "formed on," "disposed on," or "located on" another element, the element may be directly disposed on said other element, or there may be intermediate elements present. Conversely, when an element is referred to as "directly formed on" or "directly disposed on" another element, there are no intermediate elements.

[0065] In this article, the sequential adjectives "first," "second," etc., used to describe elements are merely to distinguish elements with similar attributes and do not imply that the elements described in this way must follow a given order, or be subject to time, space, hierarchy, or other restrictions.

[0066] In this document, unless otherwise stated, “multiple” or “several” means two or more.

[0067] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the above method embodiments can be implemented by hardware related to program instructions. The aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, the program performs the steps of the above method embodiments. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0068] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0069] In this document, the terms “comprising,” “including,” or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, which includes not only the elements listed but also other elements not expressly listed.

[0070] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a decorative material, the decorative material comprising a microlens array layer, a TPU substrate layer, and a micro-pattern layer connected in sequence, characterized in that, The manufacturing method comprises: S1, providing a TPU substrate and a first supporting film, compounding the TPU substrate and the first supporting film to obtain a composite supporting layer; S2, coating a first resin layer on the TPU substrate surface of the composite supporting layer, copying a microlens array microstructure / microtext microstructure on the first resin layer by a first mold and solidifying; S3, retaining the first mold or peeling off the first mold to solidly arrange a second supporting film on the first resin layer; S4, peeling off the first supporting film; S5, coating a second resin layer on the TPU substrate surface after peeling off the first supporting film, copying a microtext microstructure / microlens array microstructure on the second resin layer by a second mold and solidifying; S6, peeling off the second mold; S7, peeling off the first mold or the second supporting film. In S3, the peeling off the first mold and the solidly arranging the second supporting film on the first resin layer comprise: S31, peeling off the first mold; S32, printing ink on the side of the obtained first resin layer with the microtext microstructure, so that the ink fills in the microstructure, and the rest position is without ink, or plating a plating layer on the side of the obtained first resin layer with the microtext microstructure, and the plating layer is profiled; S33, coating a third resin layer on the surface of the first resin layer with the ink or the plating layer and attaching a second supporting film, and solidifying together, so that the second supporting film is solidly arranged on the first resin layer, and the third resin layer forms a protective layer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein The first mold is a microlens array mold, and the microlens array mold has a microstructure corresponding to a microlens array; the second mold is a microtext mold, and the microtext mold has a microstructure corresponding to a microtext; in S2, the microlens array microstructure is copied on the first resin layer by the first mold and solidified; in S3, the first mold is retained; in S5, the microtext microstructure is copied on the second resin layer by the second mold and solidified; and in S7, the first mold is peeled off.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein In S5, the second mold is a microtext mold with a laser effect, and the microtext mold with the laser effect has a laser effect microstructure at a position corresponding to a microtext in product design, and does not have a laser effect microstructure at a position other than the position corresponding to the microtext in product design.

4. The manufacturing method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, After S6, there further comprises: S8, printing ink on the side of the second resin layer obtained in S5 with the microtext microstructure, so that the ink fills in the microstructure, and the rest position is without ink, or plating a plating layer on the side of the second resin layer obtained in S5 with the microtext microstructure, and the plating layer is profiled.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein After S8, there further comprises: S9, coating a third resin layer on the surface of the second resin layer obtained in S8 with the ink or the plating layer and solidifying, to form a protective layer; and after S9, there further comprises: S10, coating hot melt glue on the protective layer, or coating a pressure sensitive adhesive layer and compounding a release paper.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein The first mold is a micro-pattern mold, and the micro-pattern mold has a microstructure corresponding to a micro-pattern; the second mold is a microlens array mold, and the microlens array mold has a microstructure corresponding to a microlens array; in S2, the micro-pattern microstructure is copied on the first resin layer by the first mold and is solidified; in S5, the microlens array microstructure is copied on the second resin layer by the second mold and is solidified; and in S7, the second support film is peeled off.

7. The manufacturing method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, After S7, the method further comprises: coating a hot melt adhesive on the protective layer, or coating a pressure sensitive adhesive layer and compounding a release paper.

8. The manufacturing method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The first mold is a micro-pattern mold with a laser effect, and the micro-pattern mold with the laser effect is provided with a microstructure with the laser effect at a position corresponding to a micro-pattern in product design, and is not provided with the microstructure with the laser effect at positions other than the position corresponding to the micro-pattern in product design.

9. A decorative material comprising a microlens array layer, a TPU substrate layer, a micro-pattern layer connected in sequence, characterized in that, The decorative material is prepared by the preparation method of claim 1.

10. The decorative material according to claim 9, wherein The micro-pattern layer is further provided with an ink layer or a plating layer, in the ink layer, ink is filled in the microstructure, and the rest positions are free of ink, the plating layer is profiled, the ink layer or the plating layer is further provided with a protective layer, the protective layer is further coated with a hot melt adhesive layer, or a pressure sensitive adhesive layer is coated and a release paper is compounded. The first mold is a micro-pattern mold with a laser effect, and the micro-pattern mold with the laser effect is provided with a microstructure with the laser effect at a position corresponding to a micro-pattern in product design, and is not provided with the microstructure with the laser effect at positions other than the position corresponding to the micro-pattern in product design. The decorative material is prepared by the preparation method of claim 1. The micro-pattern layer is further provided with an ink layer or a plating layer, in the ink layer, ink is filled in the microstructure, and the rest positions are free of ink, the plating layer is profiled, the ink layer or the plating layer is further provided with a protective layer, the protective layer is further coated with a hot melt adhesive layer, or a pressure sensitive adhesive layer is coated and a release paper is compounded.

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