Method for producing a vehicle interior material and vehicle interior material produced by the method

Abstract

A method for producing a vehicle interior material using a stone layer (1) made of a natural stone, the method comprising: Applying an adhesion promoter (13) to a natural stone; Arranging, pressing and drying a reinforcing element (15) on the adhesion promoter (13); Cutting a thin-film stone (11) with an attached reinforcing element (15) from the natural stone, thereby producing the stone layer (1) comprising the thin-film stone (11), the adhesion promoter (13) and the reinforcing element (15); Pressing the stone layer (1) into the shape of a vehicle interior material; Inserting the stone layer (1) into a production mold and injection molding an injection molding material (3) onto a first side of the stone layer (1); and Forming a covering layer (5) on a second side of the stone layer (1), opposite the injection-moulding material (3), by injecting polyol and isocyanate into the production mould, where the natural stone is slate wherein the thickness of the thin film stone (11) is 0.1 mm to 2.4 mm, and wherein the reinforcing element (15) is a two-component nonwoven fabric comprising polyethylene terephthalate and nylon in the form of fibers.

Description

BACKGROUNDTechnical field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for producing a vehicle interior material and a vehicle interior material produced by the method. State of the art

[0002] Recently, automobile manufacturers have been producing vehicles with essentially comparable performance. Consequently, customers are more interested in automotive design elements. However, the exterior appearance of vehicles cannot be significantly varied, except for the color of the vehicle, so different vehicle interior materials must be produced.

[0003] Although a vehicle interior material using natural wood has been developed, customer demands are not fully met. A method for manufacturing a vehicle interior material using natural stone materials with various surface textures has been developed. A natural stone composite panel has been proposed in the prior art, but according to this idea, marble is cut into thin sheets of a certain thickness using a saw, thus the manufacturing process may not be efficient and economical. Furthermore, a metal layer is inserted to increase the strength of the panel, thus making free forming difficult and unsuitable as a vehicle interior material.

[0004] Furthermore, WO 2009 / 110870 A1 discloses a stone layer made of a thin-film stone, for example slate, with a thickness of 0.3-1.5 mm, to which a reinforcing element, for example a nonwoven fabric, is attached via an adhesion promoter.

[0005] From DE 10 2006 044 276 A1 an injection-molded composite part is known which can be used, for example, as an interior part of motor vehicles, whereby a stone layer with a thickness of a few tenths of a millimeter can be provided with an adhesion promoter and an injection-molded body, for example made of polyolefin.

[0006] DE 20 2008 001 822 U1 discloses the application of a lacquer layer instead of a plastic layer.

[0007] Furthermore, DE 10 2004 040 942 A1 discloses a decorative part and a method for its production, using a stone veneer. Here, a flat, flexible decorative blank is first placed in an injection mold and preformed. Subsequently, it is back-injected.

[0008] WO 2008 / 022 812 A1 further discloses a method for producing a flexible flat material comprising at least one layer of a stone material, such as slate, and a carrier layer which is attached to the stone layer by means of an adhesive.

[0009] Finally, WO 2004 / 052561 A1 discloses a method for producing a flexible stone laminate, wherein a polymer is applied to the surface as an adhesive, cured and peeled off. SUMMARY

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a vehicle interior material and a vehicle interior material produced by the method, which comprises a stone layer made of a natural stone that can have various surface structures. It should be ensured that the stone layer can be molded into a vehicle interior material without breaking and that it can withstand the pressure acting on the natural stone during pressing.

[0011] A method for producing a vehicle interior material is defined in claims 1 and 3. A vehicle interior material produced by the method is defined in claim 8. Embodiments of the invention are found in the subclaims.

[0012] By providing a vehicle interior material made of a natural material, the quality can be improved and the vehicle using the interior material can be made more environmentally friendly. Furthermore, since natural stone was not used for vehicle interior materials in the past, a new surface treatment pattern can be utilized for vehicle interior materials. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The above and other features of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to certain exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is an exemplary diagram schematically illustrating the cross-sectional structure of a stone layer made of a natural stone; Fig. 2 is an exemplary diagram schematically illustrating the components of a vehicle interior material using the stone layer made of a natural stone according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 3 is an example image for explanation, which shows the preforming of a stone layer.

[0014] The reference numerals used in the drawings refer to the following elements, which are described below: 1 layer of stones 3 Injection molding material 5 Cover layer 11 Thin film stone 13 adhesion promoters 15 Reinforcing element

[0015] It should be understood that the accompanying drawings are not necessarily to scale, but rather depict a simplified representation of various features provided to illustrate the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, positions, and shapes, will be determined at least in part by the intended particular application and usage environment. Throughout the drawing figures, reference numerals refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] It is understood that the term "vehicle" or "mode of transport" or other comparable terms as used herein includes motor vehicles in general, such as motor vehicles for passengers, such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft, including various boats and ships, aircraft and the like, and further includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, internal combustion plug-in electric hybrid vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuels derived from sources other than petroleum).

[0017] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing various embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," "the," "which," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is further to be understood that the terms "comprising" and / or "having," when used in the specification, indicate the presence of the recited features, integers, steps, functions, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, functions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. When used, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the applicable listed elements.

[0018] Unless specifically stated or otherwise apparent from the context, the term "approximate," when used herein, is understood to mean within a range of normal tolerance in the field, for example, within two standard deviations of the mean. "Approximately" can mean within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless clearly indicated otherwise by the context, all numerical values ​​provided herein are modified by the term "approximately."

[0019] Reference will now be made in detail to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below.

[0020] With reference to Fig. 1, a stone layer 1 made of a natural stone may, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, comprise a thin-film stone 11, an adhesive 13 applied to one side (e.g., a first side) of the thin-film stone 11, and a reinforcing element (e.g., a reinforcing layer) 15 attached to or bonded to the thin-film stone 11 by means of the adhesive 13. The thin-film stone 11 may be cut into a thin-slab shape, may have a natural surface structure of a natural stone, and may thus provide a natural surface structure for a vehicle surface structure. The thin-film stone 11 may be cut into a slab shape from a natural stone. The natural stone may be a metamorphic rock that may be cleaved due to excellent foliation (e.g., shale or quartzite).According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the thin film stone 11 cut into the shape of a plate has a thickness of approximately 0.1 millimeters (mm) to approximately 2.4 mm after grinding.

[0021] The adhesion promoter 13 may be provided to ensure interlayer adhesive strength and formability (e.g., moldability) of the components of the stone layer 1, according to a method for manufacturing a vehicle interior material using the stone layer 1 described below. The adhesion promoter 13 may be a polyvinyl acetate-based adhesion promoter because the polyvinyl acetate-based adhesion promoter has a property of not yellowing at 120°C or more. The term "yellowing" means that the adhesion promoter 13 does not change color when a high temperature is continuously applied to the adhesion promoter 13.Therefore, since the adhesion promoter 13 has a property of non-yellowing, the color of the adhesion promoter does not change when it is used for a vehicle interior material, thus the specific structure of the thin film brick 11 can be fully presented on a vehicle interior material.

[0022] The reinforcing member 15, which is bonded to the thin-film brick 11 via the bonding agent 13, can sufficiently reinforce the brick layer 1 to withstand the pressure applied to the brick layer 1 during press forming and the injection molding pressure of an injection-molded material 3 during the method for manufacturing a vehicle interior material using the brick layer 1, described below. Furthermore, the reinforcing member can be configured to improve the ability of the brick layer to bond to the injection-molded material 3. The reinforcing member 15 can be a knitted fabric or a nonwoven fabric. In particular, the reinforcing member 15 can be a nonwoven fabric, which can be well bonded to the thin-film brick 11 and easily attached to the injection-molded member 3, and has excellent formability compared to the knitted fabric.

[0023] Furthermore, the nonwoven fabric may be a long-fiber nonwoven fabric with substantially long fibers, which are a basis for a textile having greater interlayer adhesion strength relative to a short-fiber nonwoven fabric. Further, a long-fiber nonwoven fabric made of a spunlace type, in which a fabric is formed by pressing fibers by spraying high-pressure water, a spunbond type, in which a fabric is formed by directly melting, spraying, and pressing fibers, or a long-fiber nonwoven fabric made of a spunlace type, which has improved adhesion strength, so that the coupling agent 13 can be omitted if necessary, may be used.

[0024] When a monocomponent textile made of polyethylene terephthalate (hereinafter referred to as PET) is used for the nonwoven fabric, the heat resistance and formability may be insufficient, and thus, in the present invention, a bicomponent fiber composed of PET and nylon is used. The nonwoven fabric may weigh at least about 100 grams (g) to ensure strength that can withstand the pressure applied during press molding and the injection molding pressure. The nonwoven fabric can be used to manufacture a vehicle interior material described below, but this is not limited to this, and it can be used for various products that require molding or forming into specific shapes, such as an interior product, a household electrical appliance, a mobile phone case, and / or an interior / facing material for construction.

[0025] A method for producing the stone layer 1 may comprise: applying the bonding agent 13 to the natural stone; arranging, pressing and drying the reinforcing element 15 on the side with the applied bonding agent 13; cutting the thin-film stone 11 with the applied reinforcing element 15 from the natural stone; and grinding the thin-film stone 11. The stone layer 1, which contains the components used in Fig. 1, can be manufactured by: applying the bonding agent 13 to the natural stone; arranging, pressing and drying the reinforcing element 15 on the side with the applied bonding agent 13; and cutting the thin film stone 11 with the applied reinforcing element 15 from the natural stone.

[0026] The reinforcement element 15 does not necessarily have to be applied after the thin-film stone 11 is cut from the natural stone. Instead, the reinforcement element 15 can be bonded to the natural stone using the bonding agent 13, and the thin-film stone 11 can be cut from the natural stone with the reinforcement element 15 applied. Since the reinforcement element 15 provides strength during the cutting process of the thin-film stone 11, it is hardly possible for the thin-film stone 11 to break, thus creating a more suitable process and allowing the natural stone to be formed into thin plates.

[0027] Grinding the thin-film stone can adjust the thickness of the stone layer 1 to a thickness in the range of approximately 0.2 mm to approximately 2.5 mm by grinding one side of the stone layer 1. Furthermore, the adhesive force between the stone layer 1 and a covering layer 5 can be improved. Since the stone layer 1 includes a thin-film stone 11 that exposes the surface of the natural stone, various surface treatments are possible. Furthermore, since the stone layer includes the reinforcing element 15, the thin-film stone 11 can be more easily cut from the natural stone, and the fragility of the natural stone can be increased, thereby enabling free forming.

[0028] With reference to Fig. 2, a vehicle interior material using the stone layer 1 according to the present invention may include a stone layer 1, an injection-molding material 3 injected onto one side (e.g., a first side) of the stone layer 1, and a cover layer 5 formed on the other side (e.g., a second side) of the stone layer 1. The stone layer 1 may include a thin-film stone 11, an adhesive 13, and a reinforcing member 15, as described above. Further, the stone layer may be subjected to preforming, which, as described below, means that the stone layer 1 is formed into a predetermined shape of a vehicle interior material by press-molding in a mold before the injection-molding material 3 is formed onto one side of the stone layer 1.The injection-molded material 3 can be formed by injection-molding a material onto one side of the stone layer 1, which is placed in a mold having a specific shape. Consequently, since the stone layer 1 is provided on the injection-molded material 3 in the vehicle interior material, the surface structure of the thin-film stone 11 can be exposed to the outside, unlike the prior art.

[0029] The covering layer 5 can be formed on the other side of the stone layer 1 by thick film coating or thin film coating. Thick film coating can create a sense of depth in a natural stone on the vehicle interior material by forming a thick covering layer 5 (for example, thick film layer) having a thickness of approximately 0.6 mm to approximately 0.8 mm. Alternatively, the thin film coating can create a sense of natural stone in the stone layer 1 by forming a thin covering layer 5 (for example, thin film layer) compared to the thick covering layer 5 formed by thick film coating by painting. Furthermore, the covering layer 5 formed by thick film coating can have a substantially large thickness and the depth from the surface of the vehicle interior material. In other words, the surface texture of the natural stone of the stone layer 1 can be substantially soft orpresented gently, with firmness towards the outside, which can improve the impression of depth.

[0030] In thick-film coating, the stone layer 1 may be placed in a manufacturing mold, and polyol and isocyanate may be injected into the mold, thereby forming the polyurethane covering layer 5. Furthermore, the covering layer 5 formed by the thin-film coating may have a minimal thickness to preserve the appearance of the surface of the stone layer 1. The covering layer 5 may be formed by color coating or clear coating, whereby an acrylic urethane paint layer is sprayed onto one side of the stone layer 1. The color coating may be applied to add another color to the color of the stone layer 1, and the clear coating may be applied to improve properties of the stone layer 1, such as light resistance, abrasion resistance, scratch protection, and chemical resistance.

[0031] For example, the covering layer 5 may be formed using a process of painting, drying, clear coating, drying, sanding, clear coating and drying, or may be formed by painting and / or clear coating.

[0032] A method for manufacturing the vehicle interior material may include: pressing the stone layer 1 into the shape of a vehicle interior material; placing the stone layer 1 into a manufacturing mold and injection molding the injection molding material 3 onto one side (e.g., a first side) of the stone layer 1; and forming the cover layer 5 on the other side (e.g., a second side) of the stone layer 1 by injecting polyol and isocyanate into the manufacturing mold.

[0033] With reference to Fig.3, the pressing of the stone layer 1 into the shape of a vehicle interior material can be provided for preforming the stone layer 1 by placing the stone layer 1 in a manufacturing mold and then pressing it into a desired shape or form of the vehicle interior material. Consequently, a vehicle interior material having a specific shape can be produced by applying the injection-molding material 3 and the covering layer 5 to the preformed stone layer 1.

[0034] The manufacturing method may be a method for manufacturing a vehicle interior material having a cover layer 5 formed by thick film coating. A method for manufacturing a vehicle interior material having a cover layer 5 formed by thin film coating may include: pressing the stone sheet 1 into the shape of a vehicle interior material; placing the stone sheet 1 in a manufacturing mold and injection-molding the injection-molding material onto one side of the stone sheet 1; and forming the cover layer 5 on the other side of the stone sheet 1 by painting.

[0035] The vehicle interior material according to the present invention can be used to decorate an interior of a motor vehicle, such as a dashboard, a center console, and a trim element. With the vehicle interior material using the stone layer 1 made of a natural stone according to the present invention, the surface texture of the natural stone can be maintained, thereby achieving various surface textures. Consequently, various customer requests can be met and the motor vehicle can be manufactured in a more environmentally friendly manner. Furthermore, a new-generation surface treatment texture can be created with respect to vehicle interior materials.

Claims

[1] A method for producing a vehicle interior material using a stone layer (1) made of a natural stone, the method comprising: Applying an adhesion promoter (13) to a natural stone; Arranging, pressing and drying a reinforcing element (15) on the adhesion promoter (13); Cutting a thin-film stone (11) with an attached reinforcing element (15) from the natural stone, thereby producing the stone layer (1) comprising the thin-film stone (11), the adhesion promoter (13) and the reinforcing element (15); Pressing the stone layer (1) into the shape of a vehicle interior material; Inserting the stone layer (1) into a production mold and injection molding an injection molding material (3) onto a first side of the stone layer (1); and Forming a covering layer (5) on a second side of the stone layer (1), opposite the injection-moulding material (3), by injecting polyol and isocyanate into the production mould, where the natural stone is slate wherein the thickness of the thin film stone (11) is 0.1 mm to 2.4 mm, and wherein the reinforcing element (15) is a two-component nonwoven fabric comprising polyethylene terephthalate and nylon in the form of fibers. [2] Method according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the covering layer (5) is 0.6 mm to 0.8 mm. [3] A method for producing a vehicle interior material using a stone layer (1) made of a natural stone, the method comprising: Applying an adhesion promoter (13) to a natural stone; Arranging, pressing and drying a reinforcing element (15) on the adhesion promoter (13); Cutting a thin-film stone (11) with an attached reinforcing element (15) from the natural stone, thereby producing the stone layer (1) comprising the thin-film stone (11), the adhesion promoter (13) and the reinforcing element (15); Pressing the stone layer (1) into the shape of a vehicle interior material; Inserting the stone layer (1) into a production mold and injection molding an injection molding material (3) onto a first side of the stone layer (1); and Forming a covering layer (5) on a second side of the stone layer (1), opposite the injection-moulding material (3), by painting the second side, where the natural stone is slate, wherein the thickness of the thin film stone (11) is 0.1 mm to 2.4 mm, and wherein the reinforcing element (15) is a two-component nonwoven fabric comprising polyethylene terephthalate and nylon in the form of fibers. [4] Method according to claim 3, wherein the covering layer (5) is formed by color coating or clear coating. [5] A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adhesion promoter (13) has a property which prevents yellowing, the adhesion promoter (13) being a polyvinyl acetate-based adhesion promoter. [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the reinforcing element (15) is a nonwoven fabric produced by spunbond or spunlace method. [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness of the thin film stone (11) is 0.2 mm to 2.4 mm. [8] Vehicle interior material produced by the method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the vehicle interior material comprises: a layer of stones (1); an injection-molding material (3) injected onto a first side of the stone layer (1); and a cover layer (5) formed on a second side of the stone layer (1), opposite the injection-moulding material (5), wherein the stone layer (1) comprises a thin-film stone (11), an adhesion promoter (13) on a first side of the thin-film stone (11), and a reinforcing element (15) attached to the thin-film stone (11) by the adhesion promoter (13); and wherein the thickness of the thin film stone (1) is 0.1 mm to 2.4 mm wherein the reinforcing element (15) is a two-component nonwoven fabric comprising polyethylene terephthalate and nylon in the form of fibers.

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