Coating material coating substrate of fishing member and method of forming the coating material

Abstract

The invention provides a coating material which has high brightness and a stable metal style appearance with few bad phenomena and comprises a metal layer with an indium particle structure, a fishing reel or a fishing rod with the coating material, and a method for forming the coating material. Specifically, the coating object according to one embodiment of the present invention is directly or indirectly arranged on the surface of a base material of a fishing member and comprises a metal layer having a plurality of indium particle structures, the indium particle structures comprise a plurality of indium sheets, the particle size of each indium sheet is less than 1 [mu] m when the cumulative median value is 50%, and the particle size of each indium sheet is less than 1 [mu] m when the cumulative median value is 50%. The particle diameter of the indium particle structure is in the range of 40 [mu] m to 300 [mu] m.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross-reference This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-207306 (filed on December 23, 2022), the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. The present invention relates to a coating applied to a base material such as a fishing component and a method for forming the coating. Further, the present invention relates to a fishing reel or a fishing rod having such a coating. Further, the present invention can also be applied to sports goods such as golf clubs and tennis rackets and a method for forming a coating on them. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a configuration capable of improving the appearance quality, indium evaporation coating has been known to be used.

[0003] As such a surface decoration structure, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a grille cover structure that is provided on a front end opening of a vehicle and is mounted on a radiator grille formed in a lattice shape by lattice portions. A black layer is formed on a part of the back side of the front surface portion of the grille cover formed of a transparent flat base material, and a grille color layer having substantially the same color as the lattice portions of the radiator grille is provided thereon. The grille color layer is formed by indium evaporation coating after forming a thickness that can form a smooth surface on the back side.

[0004] Patent Document Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-344032 Summary of the Invention

[0005] However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem as follows: it is difficult to form a coating having a stable appearance (metallic tone) with high brightness and few defects on a fishing component.

[0006] One of the technical problems to be solved by the present invention is to provide a coating having a stable metallic-style appearance with high brightness and few defects and including a metal layer having an indium particle structure, a fishing reel or a fishing rod having the coating, and a method for forming the coating. The above-mentioned objects of the present invention other than the above can be understood by referring to the entire specification.

[0007] The coating according to one embodiment of the present invention is directly or indirectly provided on the surface of a base material of a fishing component and includes a metal layer having many indium particle structures. The metal layer includes many indium flakes, and the particle sizes of the indium flakes are such that the cumulative median value of the particle sizes is 1 μm or less, and the particle size of the indium particle structure is in the range of 40 μm to 300 μm.

[0008] On the coating involved in one embodiment of the present invention, the proportion of the indium particle structure in the coating surface per unit area is 25% or more, more preferably 50% or more, and less than 100%, more preferably in the range of 90% or less.

[0009] On the coating involved in one embodiment of the present invention, the height of the indium particle structure is in the range of 0.1 μm to 10 μm.

[0010] On the coating involved in one embodiment of the present invention, an undercoat is formed between the substrate and the metal layer.

[0011] On the coating involved in one embodiment of the present invention, a topcoat is formed on the surface of the metal layer.

[0012] The coating method for forming the coating involved in one embodiment of the present invention includes: a step of dispersing a plurality of indium flakes in a solvent and performing spraying by spray injection; and a step of drying the solvent, and the coating is formed by repeatedly performing the above steps. It is characterized in that the particle size of each of the indium flakes is such that the particle size at the cumulative median value of 50% is 1 μm or less, and the particle size of the indium particle structure is in the range of 40 μm to 300 μm.

[0013] In the coating involved in one embodiment of the present invention, the solvent is any one or any combination of two or more of a ketone solvent, an ether solvent, or an ester solvent.

[0014] The fishing reel involved in one embodiment of the present invention includes: a reel body; and any one of the above coatings formed on at least a part of the surface of the reel body.

[0015] The fishing rod involved in one embodiment of the present invention includes: a rod body; and any one of the above coatings formed on at least a part of the surface of the rod body.

[0016] According to the above embodiments of the present invention, a coating including a metal layer having an indium particle structure, a fishing reel or a fishing rod having the coating formed thereon, and a method for forming the coating, which have a stable metallic style appearance with high brightness and few defects, can be provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a diagram schematically showing the coating involved in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 It is a diagram schematically showing the coating involved in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3This is a diagram schematically showing a coating related to an embodiment of the present invention. Symbol Explanation 1 - Coating; 1a - Metal layer; 2 - Substrate; 3 - Primer coat; 4 - Top coat. Detailed Embodiment

[0018] Next, the embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the multiple drawings, the same reference signs are assigned to the common components in all of these multiple drawings. For ease of explanation, it should be noted that the respective drawings are not necessarily described at an accurate scale.

[0019] Refer to Figure 1 A coating related to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As Figure 1 shown, the coating 1 related to an embodiment of the present invention is directly or indirectly provided on the surface of the substrate 2 of the fishing component, and includes a metal layer 1a having many indium particle structures, the indium particle structures including many indium flakes, each of the indium flakes having a particle size such that the cumulative median particle size of 50% is 1 μm or less, and the particle size of the indium particle structures being in the range of 40 μm to 300 μm. Here, the fishing component refers to a fishing reel, a fishing rod, a reel seat, a lure, or a grip. In addition, the indium flake refers to, for example, a vapor-deposited indium particle obtained by forming a metal layer having indium on a peelable substrate by vacuum evaporation and then peeling, crushing, and dispersing the metal layer. The indium particle structure refers to an aggregate of many (usually 10,000 to 10 billion particles) indium flakes. In addition, in other words, the coating can also be referred to as a coating film or a coating layer including the metal layer.

[0020] According to the coating related to an embodiment of the present invention, a stable metallic-style appearance with high brightness and few defects can be provided, which is a coating including a metal layer having indium particle structures. More specifically, a stable metallic-style coating film structure with high brightness and few defects can be formed.

[0021] On the coating related to an embodiment of the present invention, the proportion of the indium particle structures per unit area on the surface of the coating is 25% or more, more preferably 50% or more, and less than 100%, more preferably 90% or less. In this way, a high-brightness appearance can be formed.

[0022] On the coating related to an embodiment of the present invention, the height of the indium particle structures is in the range of 0.1 μm to 10 μm. In this way, a good appearance without shadows can be formed.

[0023] Next, as Figure 2As shown, on the coating 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, an undercoat 3 is formed between the substrate 2 and the metal layer 1a. Thus, a high-brightness appearance with high smoothness can be formed.

[0024] Next, as Figure 3 shown, on the coating 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, a topcoat 4 is formed on the surface of the metal layer 1a. Thus, the metal layer can be fixed.

[0025] The coating method for forming the coating according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a step of dispersing a plurality of indium flakes in a solvent and performing spraying by spray injection; and a step of drying the solvent, and the above steps are repeatedly performed multiple times to form a coating. The particle size of each of the indium flakes is such that the particle size at the cumulative median value of 50% is 1 μm or less, and the particle size of the indium particle structure is in the range of 40 μm to 300 μm.

[0026] According to the method for forming a coating according to an embodiment of the present invention, a coating having a stable metallic style appearance with high brightness and few defects, including a metal layer having an indium particle structure, can be provided.

[0027] The method for forming a coating according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. First, a fishing component (step 1) to be the object of forming a coating is prepared. Then, an undercoat is applied to the raw material (substrate) of the fishing component as needed to form a smooth layer (undercoat) (step 1.2). When the smoothness of the surface of the raw material (substrate) is relatively high, it is not necessarily required to provide such an undercoat on the raw material (base).

[0028] Next, a plurality of indium flakes are dispersed in a solvent and applied to the raw material (substrate) using spray injection (e.g., a spray gun) (step 2). At this time, after the atomized indium particles adhere to the raw material (substrate), an indium particle structure is formed. By controlling the particle size of the indium particle structure (in the state after solvent evaporation) to be in the range of 40 μm or more and 300 μm or less, overlapping of the indium particle structures after adhesion can be suppressed.

[0029] Here, when the expansion after the attachment of the indium particle structure is less than 40 μm, the solvent evaporates quickly. As a result, the indium flakes cannot expand sufficiently, and they aggregate and turn white. On the other hand, when the particle size (state after solvent evaporation) of the indium particle structure after formation is greater than 300 μm, the expansion of the indium particle structure after attachment is large. Therefore, adjacent indium particle structures merge with each other and form large island portions. Since the size of the island portions is a size that can be visually confirmed, a uniform mirror-like appearance cannot be obtained. In addition, since the solvent evaporates slowly, it is not suitable for recoating. Here, attachment means that, for example, when spray spraying, the solvent containing atomized indium flakes reaches the substrate (the same throughout this specification). In addition, for example, for coating using a spray gun, by adjusting the pattern pressure, atomizing pressure, discharge amount, spray gun distance, spray gun moving speed, and number of coating passes, the expansion of the indium particle structure can be controlled after attachment. Next, the solvent of the coated indium particle structure is dried (Step 3). The above steps (recoating) are repeated several times as needed to obtain a more uniform product. In addition, as this solvent, any one or any combination of two or more of ketone solvents, ether solvents, or ester solvents can be used.

[0030] Next, the influence of the difference in the particle size (state after solvent evaporation) of the indium particle structure formed by the attachment of indium particles on the appearance will be described. First, it is known that when the particle size (state after solvent evaporation) of the indium particle structure formed by the attachment of indium particles is from 20 μm to less than 120 μm and its thickness (height) is greater than 10 μm, when observed with a microscope magnified 200 times, as shown in Table 1, since the particle size of the coating during coating is small, it dries immediately after attachment, the indium particle structure cannot expand sufficiently, the indium flakes aggregate, and then the thicker parts turn locally white, looking dull overall, and the appearance is poor. In addition, it is known that when the thickness (height) is less than 0.1 μm while the size is from 20 μm to less than 120 μm, although it is too thin to turn white, it is dull without luster, so a metallic appearance is not formed either.

[0031] (Table 1)

[0032] In contrast, it is known that when the particle diameter (state after solvent evaporation) of the indium particle structure formed by the attachment of indium particles is in the range of 40 μm to 300 μm (for example, when it is 50 μm to 260 μm) and the thickness (height) is in the range of 0.1 μm to 10 μm, when observed with a microscope magnified 200 times, as shown in Table 2, the atomized size of the coating during coating becomes appropriate, and the overlapping of the indium particle structure after attachment can be suppressed, thus bringing a good appearance. In particular, since the solvent dries within about 10 seconds after the formation of the indium particle structure, it is known that a stable metallic style will also be exhibited during recoating.

[0033] (Table 2)

[0034] Next, it is known that when the particle diameter (state after solvent evaporation) of the indium particle structure formed by the attachment of indium particles is in a range greater than 300 μm (for example, 330 μm or more), when observed with a microscope magnified 200 times, as shown in Table 3, it can be seen that since the indium particle structure after attachment is large (the atomized size of the coating during coating is large), the indium particle structure after attachment will overlap during the expansion process and be divided into a larger island part and a larger sea part, so that an island pattern and color spots will be seen, and a uniform mirror-like appearance cannot be obtained. In addition, since it takes more than 1 minute for the solvent to dry, it will pose an obstacle to recoating after drying.

[0035] (Table 3)

[0036] As described above, it is known that when the particle diameter (state after solvent evaporation) of the indium particle structure formed by the attachment of indium particles is in the range of 40 μm to 300 μm and the thickness (height) is in the range of 0.1 μm to 10 μm, a coated article including a metal layer having an indium particle structure can provide a stable metallic style appearance with high brightness and few defects.

[0037] Although not shown in the drawings, a fishing reel according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to include: a reel body; and any one of the above-described coated articles formed on at least a part of the surface of the reel body. In this way, a fishing reel formed with a coated article can be provided, the coated article having a stable metallic style appearance with high brightness and few defects and including a metal layer having an indium particle structure.

[0038] In addition, similarly, although not shown, a fishing rod according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to include: a rod body; and any one of the above-described coatings formed on at least a part of the surface of the rod body. Thus, it is possible to provide a fishing rod formed with a coating having a stable metallic appearance with high brightness and few defects, and including a metal layer having an indium particle structure.

[0039] In addition, the present invention can also be applied to sports goods such as golf clubs and tennis rackets, and methods for forming coatings on them.

[0040] The dimensions, raw materials, and configurations of the respective components described in this specification are not limited to those specifically described in the embodiments, and these respective components can be modified within the scope of the present invention so as to have arbitrary dimensions, raw materials, and configurations. In addition, components not specifically described in this specification can be added to the described embodiments, and a part of the components described in each embodiment can also be omitted.

Claims

1. A coating is directly or indirectly provided on the surface of a base material of a fishing component, and includes a metal layer having many indium particle structures. The indium particle structures include many indium flakes, and are characterized in that, the particle size of each of the indium flakes is such that the particle size at the cumulative median value of 50% is 1 μm or less, and the particle size of the indium particle structures is in the range of 40 μm to 300 μm.

2. The coating according to claim 1, characterized in that, the proportion of the indium particle structures in each unit area of the surface of the coating is 25% or more, more preferably 50% or more, and less than 100%, more preferably 90% or less.

3. The coating according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, the height of the indium particle structures is in the range of 0.1 μm to 10 μm.

4. The coating according to claim 1, characterized in that, a primer layer is formed between the base material and the metal layer.

5. The coating according to claim 1, characterized in that, a topcoat layer is formed on the surface of the metal layer.

6. A coating method includes: a step of dispersing many indium flakes in a solvent and performing spraying by spray injection; and a step of drying the solvent, and forming a coating by repeatedly performing the steps, and is characterized in that, the particle size of each of the indium flakes is such that the particle size at the cumulative median value of 50% is 1 μm or less, and the particle size of the indium particle structures is in the range of 40 μm to 300 μm.

7. The coating according to claim 6, characterized in that, the solvent is any one or any combination of two or more of a ketone solvent, an ether solvent, or an ester solvent.

8. A fishing reel, characterized in that, it includes: a reel body; and the coating according to claim 1 formed on at least a part of the surface of the reel body.

9. A fishing rod, characterized in that, it includes: a rod body; and the coating according to claim 1 formed on at least a part of the surface of the rod body.

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