Bathroom flooring materials

Abstract

To provide a bathroom grout material with excellent stain resistance and durability. [Solution] A bathroom jointing material 1 for filling gaps S1 in a bathroom, comprising a base material 2 including an insertion part 2a that is inserted into the gap S1 and a flange part 2b that is exposed from the gap S1, and an anti-fouling layer 3 that covers the surface of the flange part 2b exposed from the gap S1, wherein the flange part 2b is made of a soft resin or elastomer and the anti-fouling layer 3 is made of a hydrophilic resin.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a joint material for bathrooms.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, joint materials for bathrooms that fill the gaps of bathtubs have been used in bathrooms (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

[0003] Specifically, Patent Document 1 below discloses a bathtub including a flange that extends outward from the upper edge of the tub and further extends downward, an apron that has an upper end along the lower end of the flange and is attached below the flange, and a joint member interposed between the lower end of the flange and the upper end of the apron.

[0004] In the bathtub described in Patent Document 1 below, the joint member can eliminate the gap between the flange and the apron, improving the aesthetic appearance, stain resistance, and cleaning performance.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] By the way, in the above-described conventional bathrooms, caulking treatment is performed or a soft resin molded body is installed at the corners, the ceiling and the wall, the bathtub and the wall, and the wall and the washbasin.

[0007] However, in this case, dirt easily adheres, and mold may occur if left as it is. Also, if the surface is scratched by scrubbing, dirt adheres to the surface, leading to a vicious cycle of further mold growth.

[0008] This invention was proposed in view of the above conventional circumstances, and aims to provide a bathroom grout material with excellent stain resistance and durability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides the following means. [1] A jointing material for bathrooms that fills gaps in the bathroom, A base material including an insertion portion that is inserted into the gap and a flange portion that is exposed from the gap, It has an anti-fouling layer that covers the surface of the flange portion exposed through the gap, The flange portion is made of a soft resin or elastomer. The aforementioned stain-resistant layer is made of a hydrophilic resin, and is a joint material for bathrooms. [2] The thickness of the antifouling layer is 1 to 10 μm, The bathroom joint material according to [1], characterized in that the contact angle between the anti-fouling layer and water is 45° or less. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] As described above, the present invention provides a bathroom grout material with excellent stain resistance and durability. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing a bathroom using a joint material for bathrooms according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of bathroom grout material along line segment AA. [Figure 3] Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of bathroom grout material along the line segment BB. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view showing grout material for bathrooms. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings used in the following description, for the sake of easy viewing of each component, the scale of dimensions may be varied depending on the component, and the dimensional ratios of each component are not necessarily the same as the actual ones.

[0013] As one embodiment of the present invention, for example, the bathroom joint material 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described. Note that FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a bathroom using the bathroom joint material 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the bathroom joint material 1 taken along the line segment A-A shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the bathroom joint material 1 taken along the line segment B-B shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the bathroom joint material 1.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the bathroom joint material 1 of the present embodiment fills the gaps S1 and S2 in the bathroom where the bathtub 100 is installed. Specifically, the bathroom joint material 1 of the present embodiment is used to fill the joint gap S1 between the wall panels 101 in the bathroom shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the corner gap S2 between the wall panels 101 in the bathroom shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The wall panels 101 are attached along the frames 102 provided between adjacent ones.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 4, the bathroom joint material 1 of the present embodiment has a base material 2 including an insertion part 2a inserted into the gaps S1 and S2 and a flange part 2b exposed from the gaps S1 and S2, and an antifouling layer 3 covering the surface of the flange part 2b exposed from the gaps S1 and S2.

[0016] The base material 2 is an extrusion molded body using a hard resin for the insertion part 2a and a soft resin for the flange part 2b, and has the same cross-sectional shape and is formed in a long shape.

[0017] In a cross-section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the base material 2, the base material 2 has an insertion part 2a extending from the base end side toward the tip side, and flange parts 2b protruding outward in opposite directions from the base end side of the insertion part 2a.

[0018] In the joint material 1 for a bathroom according to this embodiment, in a state where the insertion portions 2a of the base material 2 are inserted into the gaps S1 and S2, the flange portions 2b of the base material 2 are exposed along the surface between the gaps S1 and the wall panel 101.

[0019] For the insertion portions 2a, for example, hard resins such as vinyl chloride resin, ABS resin, ASA resin, and AES resin, or various elastomers such as soft vinyl chloride resin, EVA resin, styrene, polyester, olefin, and acrylic can be used.

[0020] Note that the insertion portions 2a may be made of not only hard resins but also soft resins or elastomers. Further, a feather-shaped elastic portion made of a soft resin or an elastomer may be formed on the hard resin insertion portions 2a by multi-color extrusion molding.

[0021] For the flange portions 2b, for example, various elastomers such as soft vinyl chloride resin, EVA resin, styrene, polyester, olefin, and acrylic can be used. These resins may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0022] In this embodiment, a base material 2 integrally formed by two-color extrusion molding is used, with a hard vinyl chloride resin used for the insertion portions 2a and a soft vinyl chloride resin used for the flange portions 2b.

[0023] The antifouling layer 3 is a film made of a hydrophilic resin. The antifouling layer 3 is, for example, composed of an organic hydrophilic material. As the organic hydrophilic material, a film containing a binder having a hydrophilic group is preferable. As the hydrophilic group, a hydroxyl group, a sulfone group or its salt, a carboxy group or its salt, a poly(oxyalkylene) group, an ammonium salt, etc. can be used.

[0024] In this embodiment, the antifouling layer 3 includes a film containing a polymer of a difunctional (meth)acrylate having a sulfonic acid group or a salt thereof; a film containing a polymer of a vinyl monomer having an N-methylol group or an N-alkoxymethylol group, a vinyl monomer having a sulfonic acid group and an alkyl (meth)acrylate monomer; and a film containing a polymer having a hydrophilic group and an alkoxysilyl group.

[0025] The thickness of the antifouling layer 3 is preferably 1 to 10 μm. If the thickness of the antifouling layer 3 is too thin, the antifouling properties due to the hydrophilic resin and the durability such as scratch resistance will be insufficient. On the other hand, if the thickness of the antifouling layer 3 is too thick, it will not only be difficult to follow the bending of the flange portion 2b, but it will also be uneconomical as it will result in material waste.

[0026] Methods for applying the antifouling layer 3 include, for example, roll coating, spray coating, flow coating, bar coating, and brush coating. Furthermore, when forming the antifouling layer 3, a tough resin may be incorporated into the binder of the coating film. For example, acrylate compounds can be used as such resins. Examples of acrylate compounds include urethane (meth)acrylate, polyester (meth)acrylate, epoxy (meth)acrylate, and polyether (meth)acrylate. These compounds may be used individually or in combination of two or more. Moreover, these compounds may be monomers or oligomers.

[0027] As for acrylate compounds, those with three or fewer functional groups are preferable. Compounds with three or fewer functional groups have moderate flexibility and elongation, are less prone to cracking, and are resins with good crack resistance. As a result, the antifouling layer 3 can have good crack resistance and conformability to the flange portion 2b when it is formed as a coating on the flange portion 2b. Commercially available examples include the "EBECRYL" series from Daicel Ornex, the "ART RESIN" series from Negami Kogyo, and the "Shiko" series from Mitsubishi Chemical.

[0028] The flexibility of the coating film varies depending on the number of functional groups; the more functional groups there are, the harder and more brittle the cured coating film becomes, and the lower its crack resistance. In this embodiment, the number of functional groups is set to 3 or less in order to impart appropriate flexibility to the cured resin and improve crack resistance. From the viewpoint of maintaining a certain coating film strength, the number of functional groups is preferably 2 or more, but monofunctional groups may also be used. This not only improves the bending conformability of the flange portion 2b but also improves durability such as scratch resistance.

[0029] The preferred mixing ratio of the hydrophilic binder to the tough resin is 6:4 to 8:2. With this ratio, the antifouling layer 3 follows the bending of the flange portion 2b and exhibits good crack resistance. The ability to follow the bending can be confirmed by a coating flexibility test (cylindrical mandrel method).

[0030] The antifouling layer 3 preferably has a contact angle with water of 45° or less, more preferably 30° or less, and even more preferably 20° or less. By having a contact angle of 45° or less with water in the antifouling layer 3, sufficient hydrophilicity can be obtained.

[0031] In the bathroom joint material 1 of this embodiment, having the above-described configuration, the antifouling layer 3 made of the hydrophilic resin covers the surface of the flange portion 2b, thereby providing excellent antifouling properties and durability. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the conformability of the antifouling layer 3 to bending of the flange portion 2b.

[0032] This makes it easier to remove dirt adhering to the bathroom grout 1 by rinsing with water, and also makes it more difficult for dirt to adhere. Furthermore, it can suppress the growth of mold and prevent scratches on the surface of the bathroom grout 1 caused by scrubbing. In addition, it can be expected to have weather resistance and chemical resistance effects.

[0033] It should be noted that the present invention is not necessarily limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0034] For example, the above embodiment illustrates a bathroom joint material 1 for filling gaps S1 at the joints between the wall panels 101 in the bathroom and gaps S2 at the corners, but the present invention can be broadly applied to bathroom joint materials for filling gaps in the bathroom.

[0035] Furthermore, the joint material for bathrooms to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the shape of the base material 2 described above; its shape, size, etc., can be changed as appropriate. [Examples]

[0036] The effects of the present invention will be made clearer by the following examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples and can be implemented with appropriate modifications without altering its essence.

[0037] (Example 1) In Example 1, a substrate was prepared by integrally molding a rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin for the insertion part and a flexible PVC resin for the flange part using two-color extrusion molding. Then, using felt impregnated with a hydrophilic coating agent, which was a mixture of a UV-curable coating agent containing hydrophilic groups and a bifunctional urethane acrylate in an 80:20 ratio, the hydrophilic coating agent was applied to the surface of the flange part, followed by a 300 J / cm² coating. 2 A sample was prepared by curing it with ultraviolet light under the specified conditions to form an antifouling layer with a thickness of 3 μm.

[0038] (Comparative Example 1) In Comparative Example 1, a sample was prepared in which no antifouling layer was formed on the surface of the substrate.

[0039] (Comparative Example 2) In Comparative Example 2, a sample was prepared in which a coating film without the above-mentioned hydrophilic coating agent was formed on the surface of the substrate.

[0040] The samples from Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were subjected to the following evaluation tests for "contact angle," "fouling resistance," and "weather resistance."

[0041] (contact angle) The water contact angle of the sample surface was measured in accordance with the "Test Method for Wettability of Substrate Glass Surfaces" of "JIS R 3257". A PCA-1 manufactured by Kyowa Interface Science Co., Ltd. was used for the measurement.

[0042] (Stain-resistant) The removal of the contaminated liquid, which consisted of oleic acid with added carbon black, was confirmed by spraying it with water after it was applied at room temperature. The evaluation criteria were as follows: ○: No contaminated liquid remaining ×: Remaining contaminated liquid present

[0043] (weather resistance) The changes in the appearance of the samples were confirmed by accelerated weathering tests (300h) in accordance with "JIS A 1415". The evaluation criteria are as follows: ○: No change in appearance △: Slight discoloration present ×: Appearance has changed.

[0044] [Table 1]

[0045] As shown in Table 1, the sample from Example 1 exhibits superior stain resistance and weather resistance compared to the samples from Comparative Examples 1 and 2. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1...Joint material for bathrooms 2...Base material 2a...Insertion part 2b...Flange part 3...Stain-resistant layer 100...Bathtub 101...Wall panel 102...Frame S1, S2...Gap

Claims

1. A bathroom grout material used to fill gaps in the bathroom, A base material including an insertion portion that is inserted into the gap and a flange portion that is exposed from the gap, It has an anti-fouling layer that covers the surface of the flange portion exposed through the gap, The flange portion is made of a soft resin or elastomer. The aforementioned stain-resistant layer is made of a hydrophilic resin, and is a joint material for bathrooms.

2. The thickness of the antifouling layer is 1 to 10 μm. The bathroom joint material according to claim 1, characterized in that the contact angle between the anti-fouling layer and water is 45° or less.

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