Shelf trim, refrigerator and method of making

Abstract

This application provides a shelf trim, a refrigerator, and a preparation method. The method includes: adding 100 parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene, 0.3-0.5 parts by weight of color masterbatch, and 0.5-3 parts by weight of antioxidant to a high-speed mixer and mixing to obtain a base mixture; adding the base mixture to an extruder to obtain a shelf trim with a cross section; making a gravure according to the image size of the pattern on the shelf trim; printing the gravure onto a tin-plated film to obtain a heat transfer film; printing the heat transfer film onto the shelf trim with a cross section to obtain a heat transfer shelf trim; and coating the heat transfer shelf trim to obtain a shelf trim. The heat transfer film obtained by tin plating has stable performance and is not easily migrated into food when printed onto the shelf trim, thus solving the problem of easy food contamination when using shelf trim.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of polymer materials, and more particularly to a shelf trim, a refrigerator, and a method for preparing them. Background Technology

[0002] Refrigerators are food storage containers, so the materials used to make refrigerators have high food-grade requirements. Food is placed on shelves inside the refrigerator. The shelves are made of glass and are surrounded by shelf trims for easy access by users. The shelf trims in the refrigerator have a metallic effect and are hot-stamped on the surface. The hot-stamping film is an aluminum-plated film.

[0003] When food is placed in the refrigerator, the shelf trim will come into contact with the food. After the material of the shelf trim comes into contact with the food, it is necessary to prevent substances in the material from migrating into the food.

[0004] The refrigerator undergoes food-grade testing, which involves immersing it in a 3% acetic acid solution to assess the food-grade risk of the interior materials. During the test, aluminum in the hot-stamped decorative strips reacted with the acetic acid, migrating into the solution and potentially causing food contamination on the glass shelf trim. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a shelf trim, a refrigerator, and a method for preparing the shelf trim to solve the problem that food can easily be contaminated when using shelf trim.

[0006] The first aspect of this application provides a method for preparing shelf trim, comprising:

[0007] 100 parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene, 0.3-0.5 parts by weight of color masterbatch and 0.5-3 parts by weight of antioxidant are added to a high-speed mixer and mixed to obtain a base layer mixture;

[0008] The base mixture is added to an extruder to obtain a shelf trim with a cross section;

[0009] A deboss print is made according to the image size of the pattern on the shelf trim;

[0010] The gravure printing is applied to a tin-plated thin film to obtain a heat transfer film;

[0011] The heat transfer film is printed onto the shelf trim with a cross section to obtain the heat transfer shelf trim;

[0012] The heat transfer shelf trim is coated to obtain the shelf trim.

[0013] Tin-plated film not only has good metallic luster, but also does not affect gas barrier performance. The heat transfer film obtained by tin-plating film has stable performance. When printed onto shelf trims, it is not easy to migrate into food. It is safer than aluminum-plated film and reduces food-grade risks.

[0014] Optionally, the mixing time of the high-speed mixer is 13-15 minutes.

[0015] Optionally, the temperature of the extruder screw is 160-180℃, and the screw speed range of the extruder is 300-500 rpm / min.

[0016] Optionally, adding the base mixture into an extruder to obtain a shelf trim with a cross-section includes:

[0017] The base mixture is added to an extruder to obtain a shelf trim panel;

[0018] The shelf trim panel is cooled so that the surface temperature of the shelf trim panel is less than or equal to 90°C, thus obtaining a cooled shelf trim panel;

[0019] The cooled shelf trim is shaped to obtain a shelf trim with a cross-section.

[0020] After the shelf trim panels are cooled, they are easy to shape, resulting in shelf trim panels of different shapes.

[0021] Optionally, the thickness of the shelf trim with cross-section is 2.5-3.0 mm.

[0022] Since the glass shelves are 2.5-3.0mm thick, the shelf trim is also set to be 2.5-3.0mm thick to match the glass shelves.

[0023] Optionally, the process of coating the heat transfer shelf trim to obtain the shelf trim includes:

[0024] The surface of the heat transfer shelf trim is cleaned with ethanol and / or dichloromethane to obtain the cleaned shelf trim.

[0025] The cleaned shelf trim strips and protective film are pressed together using a pressure roller to obtain the shelf trim strips.

[0026] After cleaning, it is easier for the shelf trim to adhere to the protective film.

[0027] A second aspect of this application provides a shelf trim, which is prepared using the method described in the first aspect. The shelf trim includes: a trim base layer, a heat transfer film, and a protective film, wherein...

[0028] The base layer of the trim strip is ABS sheet, and the material of the base layer of the trim strip is one or more combinations of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and high-impact polystyrene;

[0029] The ABS sheet is prepared from at least the following raw materials in parts by weight: 100 parts of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene, 0.3-0.5 parts of color masterbatch, and 0.5-3 parts of antioxidant;

[0030] The heat transfer film is a tin-plated thin film;

[0031] The viscosity of the protective film is 25-30 g / 25 mm.

[0032] Optionally, the protective film is made of polyethylene terephthalate.

[0033] A third aspect of this application provides a refrigerator, including a cabinet, a shelf, and the shelf trim described in the second aspect, wherein the shelf is disposed inside the cabinet and the shelf trim wraps around the periphery of the shelf.

[0034] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, this application provides a shelf trim, a refrigerator, and a preparation method. The method includes: adding 100 parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene, 0.3-0.5 parts by weight of color masterbatch, and 0.5-3 parts by weight of antioxidant to a high-speed mixer to mix and obtain a base mixture; adding the base mixture to an extruder to obtain a shelf trim with a cross section; making a gravure according to the image size of the pattern on the shelf trim; printing the gravure onto a tin-plated film to obtain a heat transfer film; printing the heat transfer film onto the shelf trim with a cross section to obtain a heat transfer shelf trim; and coating the heat transfer shelf trim to obtain a shelf trim. The heat transfer film obtained by the tin-plated film has stable performance and is not easily migrated into food when printed onto the shelf trim, thus solving the problem of easy food contamination when using shelf trim. Attached Figure Description

[0035] To more clearly illustrate the technical solution of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the process for preparing shelf trim strips;

[0037] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the shelf trim structure.

[0038] Illustration:

[0039] Among them, 100 is the decorative base layer, 200 is the heat transfer film, and 300 is the protective film. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described below do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. They are merely examples of systems and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the claims.

[0041] Refrigerators are food storage containers, and therefore require high food-grade materials. Food is placed on glass shelves inside the refrigerator, which are surrounded by decorative strips for easy access. These shelf strips have a metallic finish and are hot-stamped with an aluminized film. When food is placed in the refrigerator, the shelf strips come into contact with it. After contact, substances from the shelf strip material must not migrate into the food. Food-grade testing is conducted on the refrigerator, including immersion in a 3% acetic acid solution to assess the food-grade risk of the interior materials. During this test, aluminum from the hot-stamped decorative strips reacted with the acetic acid, migrating into the solution and potentially contaminating the food.

[0042] See Figure 1 This application provides a method for preparing shelf trim strips in some embodiments, including:

[0043] S100: 100 parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene, 0.3-0.5 parts by weight of color masterbatch and 0.5-3 parts by weight of antioxidant are added to a high-speed mixer and mixed to obtain a base layer mixture.

[0044] In some embodiments, 1-3 parts by weight of stearic acid may be added. Stearic acid is a compound, namely octadecanoic acid. Stearic acid is widely used in the manufacture of PVC plastic pipes, sheets, profiles and films. It is a PVC heat stabilizer with good lubricity and good light and heat stabilization.

[0045] The acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene of this application comprise 100 parts by weight, for example: 100 parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, 100 parts by weight of high-impact polystyrene, and the sum of the parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and high-impact polystyrene is 100; the color masterbatch of this application comprises 0.3-0.5 parts by weight, for example: 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 parts by weight of color masterbatch; the antioxidant of this application comprises 0.5-3 parts by weight, for example: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 parts by weight of antioxidant.

[0046] To ensure thorough mixing of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene with masterbatch and antioxidant, in some embodiments, the mixing time of the high-speed mixer is 13-15 minutes to achieve uniform mixing.

[0047] It is understandable that the resulting base mixture can be in the form of solid particles or powder.

[0048] S200: The base mixture is added to the extruder to obtain a shelf trim with a cross section.

[0049] The extruder in this embodiment is a single-screw extruder. The single-screw extruder heats, mixes, and pressurizes the base mixture to form it in a flow form through a die.

[0050] For example, if the base mixture consists of solid particles, the solid particles are fed into the feed trough of a single-screw extruder. The base mixture is gradually compacted. Under the action of external heat on the barrel and the screw and barrel on the base mixture, the temperature of the solid particles gradually increases until the melting stage. As the amount of molten solid particles gradually increases, all the solid particles are transformed into a viscous flow state. The temperature is then uniformly processed through a homogenization section. Finally, the molten material is conveyed to the extruder head through the screw. After cooling and molding, a shelf trim panel is obtained. In some embodiments, the die head of some extruders has the function of obtaining a certain cross-sectional shape, and shelf trim panels with cross-sections can be directly obtained.

[0051] To facilitate the molding of the base mixture, in some embodiments, the temperature of the extruder screw is 160-180℃, and the screw speed range of the extruder is 300-500 rpm / min.

[0052] However, some extruder heads cannot perform the forming process, or the structure of some shelf trims is too special to be obtained directly from the die head. In some embodiments, the step of adding the base mixture to the extruder to obtain shelf trims with cross-sections further includes: adding the base mixture to the extruder to obtain a shelf trim sheet; cooling the shelf trim sheet to make its surface temperature less than or equal to 90°C to obtain a cooled shelf trim sheet; and shaping the cooled shelf trim sheet to obtain a shelf trim with cross-sections. In other words, after obtaining the shelf trim sheet from the extruder, a shaping machine is used to shape the shelf trim sheet into the desired shape.

[0053] In some embodiments, the thickness of the shelf trim with cross-section is 2.5-3.0 mm. The thickness of the shelf trim with cross-section can be controlled by a shaping machine to meet the requirements. The width of the shelf trim with cross-section can be set according to the width of the glass shelf to make the shelf trim better fit the glass shelf.

[0054] S300: Create an intaglio print based on the image size of the pattern on the shelf trim.

[0055] Among them, the intaglio plate is a printing plate in which the text and image areas are significantly lower than the blank areas. Before making the intaglio plate, it is necessary to select the pattern on the shelf trim. For example, the shelf trim is silver with a metallic luster, that is, the pattern is a solid color. The intaglio electro-engraving plate is made according to the size of the solid color image.

[0056] If the pattern of the shelf trim is a solid color image, the color of the shelf trim can be the same as that of the color masterbatch. For example, if both the color of the shelf trim and the color masterbatch are white, the shelf trim can blend well with the color of the heat transfer film 200, making it more aesthetically pleasing.

[0057] S400: Gravure printing is applied to a tin-plated film to obtain a heat transfer film 200.

[0058] In the food packaging industry, metal-coated packaging films, namely aluminized film and tin-plated film, are used. These two types of packaging films have good metallic luster and do not affect gas barrier performance. They are used in packaging films for drying and puffing foods. However, in the food-grade testing of refrigerators, aluminized film reacts with acetic acid, and aluminum migrates into the acetic acid solution, causing the glass shelf trim to fail the food-grade test and affecting the production efficiency of refrigerators.

[0059] After the gravure plate is made, it is installed on the printing equipment, and the pattern of the gravure plate is printed onto the tin-plated film to form a heat transfer film 200.

[0060] When using tin-plated film, it will not react with acetic acid solution in food-grade testing. This ensures that the shelf trim passes food-grade testing while increasing refrigerator production efficiency, preventing the shelf trim from affecting refrigerator production.

[0061] S500: The heat transfer film 200 is printed onto the shelf trim with a cross section to obtain the heat transfer shelf trim.

[0062] The heat transfer film 200 is installed on the heat transfer hot stamping machine to print the shelf trim with a cross section. The pattern on the heat transfer film 200 can be printed. For example, if the pattern is silver with a metallic luster, the resulting heat transfer shelf trim will be silver with a metallic luster.

[0063] This printing method allows for one-time pattern creation. Even if the pattern is not a solid color but has different colors and patterns, it can be created in one go without the need for color matching. Furthermore, the printing efficiency is high, and the production efficiency of the shelf trim will not affect the assembly of the refrigerator, thus improving production efficiency.

[0064] In other embodiments, the desired pattern can be directly printed onto heat transfer paper using a heat transfer printer, and then printed onto the shelf trim using a hot stamping machine or other printing equipment. This printing method can also be used to form the pattern in one step without the need for color matching, but the efficiency is lower than the above printing method. Different printing methods can be selected according to the production quantity.

[0065] S600: The heat transfer shelf trim is coated to obtain the shelf trim.

[0066] In this step, the coating is a protective film 300 for the heat transfer shelf trim. After obtaining the heat transfer shelf trim, since the pattern is printed on the shelf trim through heat transfer, and because refrigerators have a long service life, in order to reduce the fading of the pattern due to time or wear during long-term use and wear, a protective film 300 can be added to the outside of the heat transfer shelf trim. The protective film 300 can make the shelf trim glossy and protect the pattern, reducing the probability of the pattern being damaged due to wear or the increase of time.

[0067] After heat transfer printing, the heat transfer shelf trim needs to be cooled and placed to allow the pattern to blend better with the shelf trim. During the cooling process, impurities may accumulate on the heat transfer shelf trim. To increase the efficiency of the lamination process, the heat transfer shelf trim needs to be treated first to remove these impurities. In some embodiments, the lamination treatment of the heat transfer shelf trim to obtain the shelf trim includes: cleaning the surface of the heat transfer shelf trim with ethanol and / or dichloromethane to obtain a cleaned shelf trim; and pressing the cleaned shelf trim with a protective film 300 using a pressure roller to obtain the shelf trim.

[0068] Cleaning heat transfer shelf trims with ethanol and / or dichloromethane not only avoids damaging the pattern on the trims but also effectively removes impurities.

[0069] The shelf trim prepared by the shelf trim preparation method provided in this embodiment has stable performance of the heat transfer film 200 obtained by tin plating. When printed onto the shelf trim, it is not easy to migrate into food, thus solving the problem of food-grade risks associated with using shelf trim.

[0070] See Figure 2 Based on the above-mentioned method for preparing shelf trim, some embodiments of this application also provide a shelf trim, which includes: a trim base layer 100, a heat transfer film 200, and a protective film 300. The trim base layer 100 is an ABS sheet, and its material is one or more combinations of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and high-impact polystyrene. The ABS sheet is prepared from at least the following raw materials in parts by weight: 100 parts acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene, 0.3-0.5 parts color masterbatch, and 0.5-3 parts antioxidant. The heat transfer film 200 is a tin-plated film. The protective film 300 has a viscosity of 25-30 g / 25 mm.

[0071] The acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene of this application comprise 100 parts by weight, for example: 100 parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, 100 parts by weight of high-impact polystyrene, and the sum of the parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and high-impact polystyrene is 100; the color masterbatch of this application comprises 0.3-0.5 parts by weight, for example: 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 parts by weight of color masterbatch; the antioxidant of this application comprises 0.5-3 parts by weight, for example: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 parts by weight of antioxidant.

[0072] The viscosity of the protective film 300 is divided into ultra-low adhesion protective film, light adhesion protective film, medium adhesion protective film, and high adhesion protective film. In some embodiments, the protective film 300 can be a light viscosity protective film. The light viscosity protective film has stable adhesion, good adhesion, and good re-peeling performance, and is suitable for glossy plastic sheets.

[0073] In some embodiments, the protective film 300 is made of polyethylene terephthalate, i.e., PET protective film. PET protective film has the advantages of being lightweight, high-strength, transparent, and having good gas barrier properties. It is also non-toxic and odorless, making it suitable for use on refrigerator shelf trims. It is non-toxic, odorless, and will not react with food.

[0074] In some other embodiments, the protective film 300 may also be a PE protective film, which can protect the shelf assembly from contamination, corrosion and scratches during transportation, and can also maintain a glossy surface during long-term use, further protecting the pattern of the heat transfer film 200 and reducing the possibility of fading.

[0075] Based on the aforementioned shelf trim, some embodiments of this application also provide a refrigerator, including a cabinet, a shelf, and the aforementioned shelf trim. The shelf is disposed inside the cabinet, and the shelf trim wraps around the perimeter of the shelf.

[0076] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the embodiments of this application provide a shelf trim, a refrigerator, and a preparation method. The method includes: adding 100 parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene, 0.3-0.5 parts by weight of color masterbatch, and 0.5-3 parts by weight of antioxidant to a high-speed mixer to mix and obtain a base mixture; adding the base mixture to an extruder to obtain a shelf trim with a cross section; making a gravure according to the image size of the pattern on the shelf trim; printing the gravure onto a tin-plated film to obtain a heat transfer film 200; printing the heat transfer film 200 onto the shelf trim with a cross section to obtain a heat transfer shelf trim; and coating the heat transfer shelf trim to obtain a shelf trim. The heat transfer film 200 obtained by the tin-plated film has stable performance and is not easily migrated into food when printed onto the shelf trim, thus solving the problem of easy food contamination when using shelf trim.

[0077] Similar parts between the embodiments provided in this application can be referred to mutually. The specific implementation methods provided above are only a few examples under the overall concept of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application. For those skilled in the art, any other implementation methods extended from the solution of this application without creative effort shall fall within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A method for preparing shelf trim strips, characterized in that, include: 100 parts by weight of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene, 0.3-0.5 parts by weight of color masterbatch and 0.5-3 parts by weight of antioxidant are added to a high-speed mixer and mixed to obtain a base layer mixture; The base mixture is added to an extruder to obtain a shelf trim with a cross section; Create an intaglio print based on the image size of the desired pattern for the shelf trim; The gravure printing is applied to a tin-plated film to obtain a heat transfer film (200). The heat transfer film (200) is printed onto the shelf trim with cross section to obtain the heat transfer shelf trim; The heat transfer shelf trim is coated to obtain the shelf trim; The step of adding the base mixture into an extruder to obtain a shelf trim strip with a cross-section includes: The base mixture is added to an extruder to obtain a shelf trim panel; The shelf trim panel is cooled so that the surface temperature of the shelf trim panel is less than or equal to 90°C, thus obtaining a cooled shelf trim panel; The cooled shelf trim panel is shaped to obtain a shelf trim with a cross section; The process of coating the heat transfer shelf trim to obtain the shelf trim includes: The surface of the heat transfer shelf trim is cleaned with ethanol and / or dichloromethane to obtain the cleaned shelf trim. The cleaned shelf trim strips and protective film are pressed together using a pressure roller to obtain the shelf trim strips.

2. The method for preparing shelf trim according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mixing time of the high-speed mixer is 13-15 minutes.

3. The method for preparing shelf trim according to claim 1, characterized in that, The temperature of the extruder screw is 160-180℃, and the screw speed range of the extruder is 300-500 rpm / min.

4. The method for preparing shelf trim according to claim 1, characterized in that, The thickness of the shelf trim with the cross section is 2.5-3.0 mm.

5. A shelf trim, characterized in that, The shelf trim is prepared using the method described in any one of claims 1-4, and the shelf trim comprises: a trim base layer (100), a heat transfer film (200), and a protective film (300), wherein, The base layer (100) of the trim strip is an ABS sheet, and the material of the base layer (100) of the trim strip is one or more combinations of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and high-impact polystyrene; The ABS sheet is prepared from at least the following raw materials in parts by weight: 100 parts of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer and / or high-impact polystyrene, 0.3-0.5 parts of color masterbatch, and 0.5-3 parts of antioxidant; The heat transfer film (200) is a tin-plated film; The viscosity of the protective film (300) is 25-30 g / 25 mm.

6. The shelf trim according to claim 5, characterized in that, The protective film (300) is made of polyethylene terephthalate.

7. A refrigerator, characterized in that, It includes a housing, a shelf, and a shelf trim as described in any one of claims 5-6, wherein the shelf is disposed inside the housing and the shelf trim wraps around the periphery of the shelf.

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