Method for manufacturing a facer element from a cellulosic material, a coated element and a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a surface element from a cellulosic material. In the method for producing a surface element (2) from a cellulosic material (1), a plurality of needles (12) are inserted into the flowable cellulosic material (1), the cellulosic material (1) into which the needles (12) have been inserted is dried and the needles (12) are removed from the cellulosic material (1) such that elongated cavities (13) remain in the cellulosic material (1). The invention also relates to a motor vehicle cladding element and a motor vehicle equipped with the cladding element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a method for manufacturing a surface element from a cellulose material, a motor vehicle coating element, and a motor vehicle equipped with the element. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional covering materials such as leather and synthetic leather have material-specific drawbacks that negatively impact the ecological balance due to their animal or petrochemical origins.

[0003] Waste contaminated with heavy metals during leather manufacturing poses a serious and real environmental risk. Polyvinyl chloride, used in PVC synthetic leather, is a fossil, finite petrochemical resource and is difficult to recycle as a composite material. Plasticizers in petrochemical plastics can also have negative impacts on human health.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for alternative materials that can be made from renewable starting materials and manufactured using microorganisms, such as bio-artificial leather.

[0005] However, such alternative materials also have high requirements in terms of service life, elasticity and low odor emissions, especially when planned for use within the automotive industry.

[0006] Cellulose (e.g., bacterial nanocellulose) is known to be processed into leather substitutes using casting materials. These leather substitutes can be used as surface materials, such as for furniture or interior decoration. During the manufacturing process of these leather substitutes, plasticizers and / or crosslinking agents can be introduced to increase the flexibility of the manufactured material.

[0007] However, bacterial nanocellulose has hydrogen bonds between fibers, which unnecessarily reduces its elasticity.

[0008] CN115414532A discloses an integrated osteochondral scaffold based on bacterial cellulose, which has an interface barrier layer composed of a cartilage layer, an interface barrier layer, and a subchondral bone layer. All three layers are composed of bacterial cellulose nanofibers. During manufacturing, the bacterial cellulose nanofibers are continuously secreted at the membrane-liquid interface, and micron-sized pores are introduced into the bacterial cellulose membrane, enabling the continuous secretion of bacterial cellulose nanofibers at the membrane-liquid interface.

[0009] WO2018169225A1 discloses a carrier for carrying cosmetic materials, the carrier comprising a carrier body having a dispensing surface through which the cosmetic material is dispensed; and a coating film covering at least a portion of an output surface, the coating film being made of biocellulose. WO2018169225A1 also discloses a method for manufacturing a carrier having a biocellulose coating film, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a carrier body coated with cosmetic material and a biocellulose culture medium; and forming a biocellulose coating film on at least a portion of the surface of the carrier body using the biocellulose culture medium. In the step of forming the biocellulose coating, the coating is formed on the discharge surface, and through-holes are formed in the coating formed on the discharge surface, wherein the through-holes are introduced by needle piercing, cutting with a cutting tool, or laser perforation.

[0010] WO2014069591A1 discloses a method for manufacturing a face element corresponding to a protruding part of the human body or a 3D region of a protrusion from the face to the neck. Multiple stamping or driving operations are performed on the region of the face element using an apparatus to loosen the fibers and fiber entanglements constituting the face element. This increases the surface area of ​​the face element corresponding to that region and creates the ability to cover the protruding part. The face element can be made of bio-cellulose material. Summary of the Invention

[0011] The present invention is based on the objective of providing a method for manufacturing surface elements from cellulose materials, automotive coating elements, and automotive vehicles equipped with the coating elements, which form or have a high-quality textured surface in a simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly manner.

[0012] This objective is achieved by the method for manufacturing surface elements from cellulose materials according to claim 1, by the motor vehicle coating element according to claim 9, and by the motor vehicle according to claim 10. Advantageous embodiments of the method for manufacturing surface elements from cellulose materials are described in detail in dependent claims 2-8.

[0013] A first aspect of the invention is a method for manufacturing a surface element from a cellulose material, wherein a plurality of needles are inserted into a flowable cellulose material, the cellulose material in which the needles are inserted is dried, and the needles are removed from the cellulose material, such that an elongated cavity is retained in the cellulose material.

[0014] After drying, the needle is pulled out of the cellulose material, leaving the elongated cavity or mold element within it. The needle is then inserted into the material (while still flowable). By introducing the cavity, the dried and hardened casting material becomes flexible or loose, thereby increasing its elasticity and reducing its hardness. The cellulose material processed according to the invention can be used, for example, as bio-artificial leather for automotive interiors.

[0015] The surface element can have a thickness of up to 1 / 10 of its maximum extension in spatial coordinates. In an advantageous embodiment, the thickness is up to 1 / 50 of the maximum extension in spatial coordinates.

[0016] In an advantageous embodiment of the method for manufacturing surface elements, the needle is removed from the cellulose material only when the water content of the cellulose material is at least 30% lower than the water content in the cellulose material when the needle is introduced.

[0017] An advantageous embodiment of the method specifies that the cellulose material has a water content of 30% to 72% by weight when the needle is introduced. For example, the water content can be 65% to 72% by weight. This ensures that the cellulose material has good casting or flow properties.

[0018] Cellulose materials can contain fibers less than 1 micrometer thick. Cellulose materials, or their fibers, can be produced by bacteria. This utilizes bacteria floating in a surface nutrient medium so they can obtain oxygen and nutrients. Over time and through several generations of bacteria, cellulose fibers form and can be further processed after removing bacteria and nutrient medium residue. This type of cellulose material can also be called bacterial nanocellulose.

[0019] In nonwoven fabrics, fibers are interconnected to form what is known as a thin skin. This nonwoven fabric can be pulverized to allow for casting, thus eliminating discrete individual fibers and typically resulting in fiber aggregates. In particle size analysis, the length of these aggregates ranges from 2 micrometers to 600 micrometers.

[0020] In addition to fibers, cellulose materials may also contain plasticizers. For example, the proportion of fibers in cellulose materials may be from 10% to 30% by weight, such as 15% to 25% by weight, such as 20% by weight. In addition, cellulose materials may have a glycerol content of 5% to 10% by weight and / or a crosslinking agent of 3% to 5% by weight.

[0021] To create the desired elongated cavity, the needle can be surrounded by flowing cellulose material during the casting process. An alternative embodiment specifies that the needle is inserted into a liquid, but no longer flowing, cellulose material.

[0022] The viscosity of the cellulose material flowing during the casting process can be, for example, 1000-3000 mPas.

[0023] The viscosity of the cellulose material that no longer flows after the casting process is inserted into the needle can be, for example, 1000–3000 mPas when the needle is inserted.

[0024] The needle can be shorter than the cellulose material layer produced during casting, allowing the needle to create a blind hole with a maximum depth of 90% of the thickness of the cast cellulose material. This way, the needle does not penetrate the entire cellulose material but remains at a distance from the dry film on the underside of the mold, ensuring the underside of the cast cellulose material remains intact and subsequently forms a closed surface.

[0025] In an alternative embodiment, a needle is used to puncture the cast layer of the cellulose material to form a through-hole, which forms a perforation on the visible side.

[0026] In the last variation mentioned, the method for manufacturing faceted elements from cellulose material can be carried out in such a way that a needle is inserted into the cellulose material no later than 24 hours after the casting process is completed. This time means that the cross-linking reaction in the cellulose material is unaffected or only slightly affected. The drying process can be accelerated by heating the cellulose material. In this case, the needle should be inserted no later than when the material is dried to 20%. To stabilize the cast cellulose material, it can be cast onto a substrate, which can also be called a drying film if it promotes the drying of the cellulose material. For this purpose, the substrate can be a woven mesh or a perforated plate, which is removed from the cellulose material after drying.

[0027] Advantageous embodiments of a method for manufacturing faceted elements from cellulose material specify that the needles are removed when the water content of the cellulose material is at most 10% by weight. The residual water content in the cellulose material at the time of needle removal should not exceed 10% by weight. A drying process facilitates needle removal because the needles at least partially separate from the cellulose material when it dries. The distance between adjacent needles can be, for example, from 1 mm to 10 mm. Advantageous embodiments of the method and the needle system used therein specify a distance between 1 mm and 5 mm. An adjacent needle is the needle with the shortest distance from each other compared to other pairs of needles.

[0028] The needle can have a thickness of, for example, from 0.1 mm to 3 mm. An advantageous embodiment specifies a needle thickness of 0.1 mm to 1 mm. The needle thickness is the maximum dimension defined perpendicular to its longitudinal direction. After the needle is removed from the cellulose material, an elongated cavity of appropriate size is created in the cellulose material. The aforementioned needle thickness is suitable for layer thicknesses of wet cellulose material, for example, in the range of 5 mm to 30 mm.

[0029] The needle can be made of plastic, such as polyethersulfone or nylon, or metal or ceramic. The smoother the surface of the needle, the easier it is to remove it from the dried cellulose layer.

[0030] Another embodiment of the method specifies that the needle dissolves due to chemical and / or thermal reasons, and the liquid needle material is flushed out of the cavity.

[0031] In addition, the needle can be cooled before and / or during removal from the cellulose material.

[0032] The reduction in needle volume due to heat makes it easier to pull the needle out of the cellulose material layer, especially if the needle is made of metal.

[0033] In an advantageous embodiment of the method for manufacturing surface elements, a needle temperature of 15°C to 20°C is achieved. When the needle is removed from the cellulose material, the resulting material layer can be peeled off, leaving the element intact. Each needle can be an elongated element following a linear shape. The needle and the resulting cavity can each extend perpendicular to or at an acute angle to the plane of arrangement of the cellulose material. This orientation and shape of the needle, when introduced into cellulose material that is no longer flowing, requires a corresponding insertion movement perpendicular to or inclined to the plane of arrangement of the cellulose material. An inclined arrangement of the needle can create longer cavities in the cellulose material and has an elastic effect, thereby improving the feel.

[0034] In another embodiment, the needle has at least one arcuate portion. This allows the needle to screw into the cellulose material and then out again. The needle may be conical or taper gradually along its entire length or at the tip. Their cross-section may be circular, square, hexagonal, or generally polygonal.

[0035] Another aspect of the invention is a vehicle cladding element that at least partially comprises a surface element made of cellulose material according to the described method for manufacturing the surface element. Such a vehicle cladding element can be, for example, a side panel, door panel, dashboard cladding, steering wheel cladding, or a seat cover. It cannot be excluded that the vehicle cladding element forms only a portion of the respective cladding. Advantageously, the surface element manufactured according to the proposed method forms a surface facing the interior of the passenger compartment.

[0036] Furthermore, the present invention provides a motor vehicle comprising at least one of the described motor vehicle cladding elements. The motor vehicle may be at least partially driven by an electric motor and potentially at least partially autonomous. The cladding element may form at least a portion of the interior of the motor vehicle or the surface of a cladding element, or even a seat. Attached Figure Description

[0037] The present invention will now be explained using exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0038] In the attached diagram:

[0039] Figure 1 : A needle holder with the needle position indicated on it;

[0040] Figure 2 The needle holder as shown in claim 1 along Figure 1 The sectional view of the section shown.

[0041] Figure 3 Needle holder for inserting cellulose material;

[0042] Figure 4 The situation where the needle holder and the dissecting element are pulled out of the cellulose material together; and

[0043] Figure 5 Needle holder with an alternative needle design. Detailed Implementation

[0044] Figure 1 The needle holder 10 is shown in a bottom view, and the intersections of the indicated grid lines represent needle positions 11 for arranging needles used according to the present invention.

[0045] Figure 2 Along Figure 1 The cross-sectional view of section AA shown illustrates the needle holder 10. It can be seen that a plurality of needles 12 are arranged on the underside of the needle holder 10, and in the embodiment shown, these needles extend at an acute angle to the arrangement plane on the needle holder 10.

[0046] Figure 3 The use of needle 12 is shown. Needle 12 is introduced into cellulose material 1. Introduction into cellulose material 1 can be performed by inserting needle 12 into the cast cellulose material 1 into which the surface element 2 has been formed. This puncture is performed along the indicated direction of movement 23.

[0047] In an alternative embodiment, the needle 12 is surrounded by a flowable cellulose material 1.

[0048] The insertion depth E of the needle 12 into the cellulose material 1 can be less than the thickness T of the cellulose material 1, so that the cellulose material 1 or the surface element 2 formed therethere is no opening or hole formed on the surface of the surface element 2 on the substrate 21.

[0049] After the cellulose material 1 has been fully dried or cured, the needle 12 can be pulled out of the cellulose material 1 again along the indicated direction of movement 23. This process is as follows... Figure 4 As shown, needle 12 leaves elongated cavities 13 in the cellulose material 1, the size of which depends on its cross-section and length. These elongated cavities 13, due to their large number, impart the desired elasticity and / or improved feel to the cellulose material.

[0050] To prevent or reduce damage to the cellulose material 1 when the needle 12 is withdrawn, the following can be used: Figure 4 The peeling element 22 shown has an opening corresponding to the position of the needle 12, and retains the cellulose material 1 as the needle 12 moves, as indicated by the arrow along the direction of movement 23.

[0051] Needle 12 can have different shapes or cross-sections. Figure 5 An example of needle 12 is shown, which has a variable thickness along its longitudinal range, such that it has a very sharp end and a large cross-section on the side attached to the needle holder 10.

[0052] List of reference numerals

[0053] 1. Cellulose materials

[0054] 2-sided element

[0055] 10. Needle holder

[0056] 11 needle positions

[0057] 12 stitches

[0058] 13 Slender cavity

[0059] 21 Base

[0060] 22. Stripping element

[0061] 23. Direction of movement

[0062] T thickness

[0063] E Penetration Depth

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a face element (2) from a cellulose material (1), wherein a plurality of needles (12) are inserted into a flowable cellulose material (1), the cellulose material (1) with the needles (12) inserted is dried and the needles (12) are removed from the cellulose material (1), such that an elongated cavity (13) is retained in the cellulose material (1).

2. The method for manufacturing surface elements from cellulose material according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the needle (12) is introduced, the cellulose material (1) has a water content of 30% to 72% by weight.

3. The method for manufacturing a surface element from a cellulose material according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The cellulose material (1) comprises fibers with a thickness of less than 1 μm.

4. The method for manufacturing a surface element from a cellulose material according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, i) During the casting process of the cellulose material (1), the needle (12) is surrounded by the flowing cellulose material (1); or ii) Insert the needle (12) into the cellulose material (1) which is liquid but no longer flowing.

5. The method for manufacturing a surface element from a cellulose material according to a variant ii) of claim 4, characterized in that, The needle (12) is inserted into the cellulose material (1) no later than 24 hours after the casting operation of the cellulose material (1) is completed.

6. The method for manufacturing a surface element from a cellulose material according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The removal of needles (12) occurred when the water content of the cellulose material (1) was at most 10% by weight.

7. The method for manufacturing a surface element from a cellulose material according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The needle (12) has a thickness of 0.1 mm to 3 mm.

8. A method for manufacturing a surface element from a cellulose material according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The needle (12) is cooled before and / or during removal from the cellulose material (1).

9. An automotive coating element comprising at least a portion of a surface element (2) manufactured by a method for manufacturing surface elements from cellulose material according to any one of claims 1-8.

10. A motor vehicle comprising at least one motor vehicle cladding element according to claim 9.

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