Coating material for coating uneven surfaces and method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a coating material, in particular a narrow-area coating material, for coating an irregular surface of a workpiece, and to a method. The coating material has at least one weakened area.

Description

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a coating material, in particular a narrow surface coating material, for coating uneven surfaces, such as a door rabbet, and a method for coating such surfaces. Such coating materials are used, for example, in the furniture and construction element industry. State of the art

[0002] It is known in the prior art to provide a coating material in strip or band form with an adhesive and to apply it, for example, to a narrow side of a workpiece. If the surface to be coated is inconsistent, ie includes edges or corners purely by way of example, a relatively thin coating material can be used in order to press it onto the specified surface and thus bend it around an edge or corner.

[0003] However, such thin coating materials have the disadvantage that they are comparatively sensitive to impact, especially in the area of ​​the edges, due to the processing mentioned.

[0004] Furthermore, in the case of the coating materials mentioned, which are provided with an adhesive shortly before application to a workpiece, residues of adhesive remain and a gap between the actual coating material and the workpiece to be coated is visible.

[0005] When coating comparatively complicated geometries, the in Figures 1a and 1b variants shown are possible. In Fig. 1a a first workpiece side W1 of a workpiece W is provided with a first coating material 1, which coating material 1 protrudes beyond the edge to be coated on a second workpiece side W2. The second workpiece side W2 and a workpiece side W3 of the workpiece W arranged at right angles to the second workpiece side W2 are coated with a second coating material 2 which is partially covered by the overlapping area of ​​the first coating material 1 .

[0006] In Fig. 1b a so-called 3-strip technique is presented, in which a total of three coating materials are used. In particular, the parallel sides of the workpiece W are provided with coating materials 1, 4, while the second workpiece side W2 arranged perpendicular thereto is provided with a further coating material 3, which is partially covered by the coating material 1 and the coating material 4. subject of the invention

[0007] The aim of the present invention is to provide a coating material for coating unsteady surfaces and a coating method in order to be able to coat workpieces with unsteady surfaces efficiently and with high quality.

[0008] According to the invention, a coating material is provided, which coating material, in particular narrow surface coating material, is provided for coating an irregular surface of a workpiece, such as a door rabbet, in particular workpiece sides arranged at an angle to one another. The coating material comprises a carrier layer and an adhesive layer that can be activated or reactivated. Furthermore, the coating material has at least one weakened area. For example, it can be a strip-shaped or band-shaped coating material that can be attached to a narrow side or a wide side of a preferably plate-shaped workpiece.

[0009] A discontinuous surface within the meaning of the present invention relates, for example, to a surface composed of different workpiece sides, which workpiece sides merge into one another in particular at an angle and / or via one or more radii. Examples of unsteady surfaces are a corner or an edge on a particularly panel-shaped workpiece. In particular, a narrow side can have a corner and / or an edge. Such surfaces occur, for example, in the area of ​​a door rebate.

[0010] The area of ​​weakness allows the coating material to be more easily guided and applied to uneven surfaces of a workpiece, such as corners and edges. This prevents the coating material from breaking in these areas and improves the quality of the coating. Furthermore, comparatively thick coating materials can be used. In this way, the value of the coated component can be increased. In one embodiment, the coating material is a coextruded coating material, in which case in particular the carrier layer and the adhesive layer are coextruded, or the carrier layer of the coating material is provided with an adhesive layer.

[0011] The coating material preferably has a thickness of at least 0.5 mm-4 mm, preferably 0.7-4 mm, more preferably 1.5 mm-4 mm, with the adhesive layer in particular having a thickness of 0.1-0.3 mm. Because of the weakened area, coating materials with a comparatively large thickness can also be used.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the weakened area is a recess which, viewed in cross section of the coating material, is in particular v-shaped, w-shaped, rectangular or semicircular, and / or the weakened area is formed by a large number of slots or blind holes in the coating material. In this way, the thickness of the coating material can be reduced in sections and the flexibility of the coating material can thus be increased in this area.

[0013] Alternatively or at the same time, the weakened area is designed as a porous area of ​​the carrier layer of the coating material in order to correspondingly increase the flexibility of the coating material in sections. In particular, it can be a matter of microporosification of the carrier layer.

[0014] In further embodiments, the carrier layer of the coating material is made, at least in sections, of PVC, polystyrene, in particular ABS, PP, PE, polycarbonate and / or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as HPL, CPL, melamine paper or as veneer, or a combination thereof.

[0015] Furthermore, it is preferred that the adhesive layer of the coating material has color pigments in order to coordinate the coloring of the adhesive layer with that of the carrier layer.

[0016] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method in the course of which, in particular, the coating material described above is used. The method described in the context of the present invention can be used both in the field of stationary technology and in the field of continuous technology. The workpieces to be machined are, in particular, plate-shaped and have, for example, one or more edges or corners and thus an uneven surface, as is the case with a door rebate.

[0017] In the field of stationary technology, a workpiece is held, for example, by means of suction clamps or clamping devices, and a coating unit is moved relative to the held workpiece with a pressure roller or pressure shoe. In the case of a continuous process, on the other hand, the workpiece is moved relative to a coating unit.

[0018] In one embodiment of the method, the at least one weakened area is introduced while the coating material is being supplied and / or while the coating material is being applied to the workpiece. The flexibility of the method is thus further increased and the positioning accuracy of the weakened area is improved.

[0019] The coating material preferably has a carrier layer and an adhesive layer, with the weakened area being introduced before the adhesive layer is applied to the carrier layer or after the adhesive layer is applied to the carrier layer.

[0020] If the weakened area is applied before the adhesive layer that can be activated or reactivated is applied, the adhesive layer to be applied subsequently can be applied in a way that is specifically matched to the weakened area that is already present. The process sequence can be carried out within a machine.

[0021] Alternatively, as explained above, the weakened area is introduced after the adhesive layer has been applied to the carrier layer. A coating material that is already ready for use is thus kept in stock, for example in the form of a roll, and the weakened area is introduced into this. It is preferred that the coating material is supplied and at least one weakened area is introduced, for example, in a coating machine. This further increases flexibility.

[0022] Furthermore, the weakened area can be introduced into the coating material by cutting, preferably by machining, in particular by means of a milling cutter, a saw, a scraping tool, an abrasive belt, and / or by dividing, in particular by means of a knife or one or more needles, and / or by removing , in particular by thermal cutting, etching or electrochemical removal. In this way, in particular, the thickness of the carrier layer of the coating material is reduced in sections and the flexibility of the coating material is thus increased in this area.

[0023] Alternatively or additionally, the weakened area can be introduced into the coating material by reshaping, in particular by means of an embossing roller or a stamp. Thus, in particular, the thickness of the carrier layer of the coating material is reduced in sections and the flexibility of the coating material is thus increased in this area. Furthermore, in the event that the weakened area is introduced starting from the adhesive layer of the coating material, the adhesive layer is largely retained.

[0024] Within the scope of the invention, the weakened area can be introduced into the coating material starting from the adhesive layer or starting from the carrier layer. In this way, the requirements for the coating material can be tailored specifically to the conditions of the workpiece and the shape of the side of the workpiece.

[0025] A profiling on the workpiece (so-called lower edge of impact) in the form of a small chamfer or a small radius can also be provided or introduced in the transition section of different workpiece sides. This profiling can be done in combination with the weakened area of ​​the coating material, and depending on the required end profile, possibly also without weakening. Brief description of the drawings

[0026] 1a, 1b schematically show known coating techniques. FIG. 2 schematically shows a coating method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 shows that with the in 2 illustrated method coated workpiece. 4a-4d show variants of different coating materials according to the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a device for carrying out the coating method according to the invention. FIG. 6 shows an alternative device for carrying out the coating method according to the invention Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

[0027] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached figures. Further modifications of certain features mentioned in this context can each be individually combined with one another in order to form new embodiments.

[0028] In the context of the present invention, preference is given to using coating materials which have been precoated. This can involve coextruded coating materials in which the carrier layer (decorative layer) is produced together with the adhesive layer. It can also be a matter of coating materials in which the carrier layer is first produced, for example in an extrusion process, and this carrier layer is then provided with an activatable or reactivatable adhesive layer, possibly separately in terms of location and time from the manufacture of the carrier layer.

[0029] Furthermore, it is preferred that the adhesive layer is provided with colored pigments in order to adapt the coloring of the adhesive layer to that of the carrier layer. Thus, after the coating material has been applied to a workpiece, the adhesive layer is not or only barely optically perceptible without reducing the thickness of the adhesive layer.

[0030] Such coating materials are activated before being applied to a workpiece by means of an energy source in order to put the adhesive layer in a state in which it develops an adhesive effect. In particular, a laser, a hot air source, an infrared source, an ultrasound source, a magnetic field source, a microwave source, a plasma source, an LED source and / or a gassing source can be used to activate the adhesive layer, with certain coating materials possibly using several of the energy sources mentioned in combination can be used.

[0031] The laser enables particularly fast focusing on a specific area of ​​the coating material. In this way, energy can be provided particularly quickly with a laser, as a result of which high working speeds are made possible. A hot air source, for example, is available comparatively inexpensively and requires relatively little maintenance.

[0032] In 2 A process sequence for applying a coating material 20 according to the invention to a workpiece W is shown schematically. The elements or areas thereof shown in the figures are partly shown with larger dimensions for the purpose of illustration in order to be able to describe the aim of the present invention more clearly.

[0033] In particular, in 2 an adhesive-coated coating material 20 is shown which is provided with areas of weakness 20a, 20b on the adhesive-coated side. The weakened areas 20a, 20b can be introduced after the adhesive layer has been applied or, in the case of the coextrusion process mentioned, after the production of the coating material.

[0034] There is the possibility that the manufacturer of the coating material provides weakened areas 20a, 20b, for example at regular intervals on the coating material 20, in order to provide a targeted weakening of the coating material in this area. In this way, the flexibility of the coating material 20 is increased in these areas.

[0035] Alternatively, it is possible to match the coating material 20 specifically to the workpiece W to be coated, for example a door rebate. For this purpose, the coating material 20 can be provided with weakened areas 20a, 20b at the corresponding positions. This step can also take place before the coating material is cut, but the positions of the weakened areas are already known based on information about the workpiece W to be coated. It is also possible to introduce the weakened areas 20a, 20b into a coating material that has already been cut to size.

[0036] Furthermore, it is possible to introduce the at least one weakened area into a carrier layer of the coating material before applying the adhesive layer to the latter. Alternatively, it is possible to introduce the at least one weakened area into the coating material after the adhesive layer has been applied, either starting from the side of the carrier layer (visible side) or starting from the side of the adhesive layer (attachment side / adhesive side).

[0037] Alternatively, it is possible to attach the coating material to a first workpiece side W1, then to introduce the weakened areas 20a, 20b at the corresponding positions on the coating material 20 and then to apply the coating material 20 to the other workpiece sides W2, W3 to be coated, which in the present example are at an angle to the first Workpiece side W1 are aligned to attach. In this way, the flexibility can be increased and at the same time the accuracy of the positioning of the weakened areas 20a, 20b can be further improved.

[0038] How out 3 As can be seen, the coating material can be weakened in a targeted manner in the corner and edge area, in which the workpiece sides W1-W3 merge into one another at an angle, so that it can be guided around the corner and edge areas during the coating process.

[0039] In Figures 4a-4b Examples of configurations of weakened areas 20a, 20b are shown, which can be provided or introduced in the corresponding coating material.

[0040] In the Figure 4aThe variant shown essentially corresponds to the one already shown in 2 was presented. This is the in 2 the coating material shown around a recess which is essentially rectangular in cross-section and has radii at the corners pointing towards the carrier layer.

[0041] In Figure 4b a coating material 21 is shown which has triangular weakened areas 21a, 21b in cross section. In addition, the coating material 21 is characterized according to Figure 4b characterized in that the first weakened area 21a is provided on the side of the coating material 21 provided with the adhesive layer, while the second weakened area 21b is introduced on the side of the carrier layer of the coating material 21. In this way, the coating material 21 can be even better adapted to opposing corner and edge areas, such as these, for example, in the case of FIG 2 Workpiece W shown are present.

[0042] In Figure 4c Another embodiment of a coating material 22 is shown. The coating material 22 comprises a first weakened area 22a, which is W-shaped in cross section (or is composed of two triangular recess sections arranged adjacent to one another), and a second weakened area 22b, which is also W-shaped in cross section. The first weakened area 22a is located on the side of the coating material 22 provided with the adhesive layer, whereas the second weakened area 22b is introduced on the side of the carrier layer of the coating material 22 .

[0043] In Figure 4b a fourth variant of a coating material 23 is shown. The coating material 23 comprises a first weakened area 23a, which is formed by a plurality of slits arranged adjacent to one another, which are introduced starting from the side of the coating material 23 provided with the adhesive layer and extending in the direction of the carrier layer. Furthermore, a second weakened area 23b is provided, which is formed by a plurality of slits corresponding to the first cut-out area, but is introduced on the side of the carrier layer of the coating material 23 .

[0044] It can be seen that in the Figures 4a-4d variants shown, different configurations of the weakened area can be combined on one coating material. It is also possible, e.g .

[0045] According to a first variant, the weakened areas shown in the previous embodiments can be machined into the coating material 20-23. A milling cutter or a sawing tool can be used for this, for example. Alternatively, it is possible to press the weakened areas into the coating material by applying pressure or by using an embossing tool, so that, for example, the carrier layer of the coating material is compressed in the weakened area.

[0046] In the case of coextruded coating materials, the embossing of the weakened areas can take place during their production in the course of extrusion.

[0047] Alternatively, it is possible to introduce the weakened areas into a coating material that has already been shaped. The coating material or the carrier layer of the coating material can be present in a partially or fully cured state.

[0048] If the coating material or the carrier layer is in the partially cured state when the weakened areas are embossed, the embossing process can be carried out with a low application of force.

[0049] If the embossing process is carried out when the coating material or the carrier layer has already fully cured, the flexibility can be increased since the coating material can be temporarily stored, for example, in particular rolled up.

[0050] A further possibility consists in introducing the weakened area by means of porosity, preferably microporosity, which is achieved, for example, by treatment with a substance that reacts with the carrier layer.

[0051] In figure 5 a device 30 for carrying out the coating method according to the invention is shown. The device 30 comprises a feed device 31 through which a coating material to be applied to a workpiece is guided. In the present example, two energy sources 32 are provided in a region of the device 30 close to a pressure roller 33, wherein in a modification of the device shown, one energy source 32 or several energy sources 32 can also be provided. The at least one energy source 32 is selected from a laser, a hot air source, an infrared source, an ultrasound source, a magnetic field source, a microwave source, a plasma source, an LED source and / or a gassing source.

[0052] Downstream in the direction of passage of the coating material, device 30 also includes a shaping section 34, in which a further shaping step is carried out after the coating material has been applied to a workpiece, and at least one pressure roller 35, with which the adhesive layer of the coating material adhered to a workpiece continues to harden contact pressure is applied.

[0053] In figure 6 an alternative device 30' for carrying out the coating method according to the invention is shown. In the figure 6 The device shown differs from the device 30 described with reference to FIG .

Claims

1. Coating material (20-23), in particular narrow-area coating material, for coating an irregular surface of a workpiece (W), which coating material has a carrier layer and an activatable or reactivatable adhesive layer, characterized by the fact that the coating material (20-23) further comprises at least one weakening area (20a, 20b; 21a, 21b; 22a, 22b; 23a, 23b).

2. Coating material (20-23) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the coating material is a co-extruded coating material, wherein in particular the carrier layer and the adhesive layer are co-extruded, or the carrier layer of the coating material is provided with an adhesive layer after its manufacture.

3. Coating material (20-23) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatthe weakening area is a recess which, when viewed in cross-section of the coating material (20-23), is in particular v-shaped, w-shaped, rectangular or semicircular, and / or the weakening area is formed by a plurality of slots or blind holes in the coating material (20-23).

4. Coating material (20-23) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the weakening area is formed as a porous area of ​​the carrier layer of the coating material (20-23).

5. Coating material (20-23) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the carrier layer of the coating material is at least partially made of PVC, polystyrene, in particular ABS, PP, PE, polycarbonate and / or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), as HPL, CPL, melamine paper and / or as veneer.

6. Coating material (20-23) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatthe coating material (20-23) has a thickness between 0.5mm - 4mm, preferably 0.7-4mm, more preferably 1.5mm-4mm, wherein the adhesive layer in particular has a thickness of 0.1 - 0.3mm.

7. Coating material (20-23) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the adhesive layer of the coating material (20-23) contains color pigments.

8. Method for coating non-continuous surfaces of a workpiece, in particular a workpiece made of wood or wood-based materials, supplying a coating material (20-23), wherein the coating material (20-23) comprises at least one weakening area (20a, 20b; 21a, 21b; 22a, 22b; 23a, 23b), bringing about a relative movement between the coating material (20-23) and a workpiece (W), applying the coating material (20-23) to workpiece sides (W1-W3), which workpiece sides (W1-W3) are in particular arranged at an angle to each other, wherein the at least one weakening area (20a, 20b; 21a, 21b; 22a, 22b; 23a, 23b) is positioned in the transition section of the workpiece sides (W1-W3), in particular in the area of ​​a corner or edge.

9. Method according to claim 8, wherein the at least one weakening area (20a, 20b; 21a, 21b; 22a, 22b; 23a, 23b) is introduced during the feeding of the coating material (20-23) and / or during the application of the coating material (20-23) to the workpiece (W).

10. Method according to one of claims 8-9, wherein the coating material comprises a carrier layer and an adhesive layer, wherein the at least one weakening area is introduced before the adhesive layer is applied to the carrier layer or after the adhesive layer is applied to the carrier layer.

11. Method according to one of claims 8-10, wherein the weakening area (20a, 20b; 21a, 21b; 22a, 22b; 23a, 23b) is introduced into the coating material (20-23) by cutting, preferably by machining, in particular by means of a milling cutter, a saw, a scraping tool, an abrasive belt, and / or by cutting, in particular by means of a knife or one or more needles, and / or by removal, in particular by thermal cutting, etching or electrochemical removal.

12. Method according to one of claims 8-11, wherein the weakening area (20a, 20b; 21a, 21b; 22a, 22b; 23a, 23b) is introduced into the coating material by forming, in particular by means of an embossing roller, a pressure roller, a pressure shoe or a punch.

13. Method according to one of claims 8-12, wherein the at least one weakening area (20a, 20b; 21a, 21b; 22a, 22b; 23a, 23b) is introduced into the coating material (20-23) starting from an application side of the coating material and / or starting from a visible side of the coating material.

14. Method according to one of claims 8-13, wherein an activation of an adhesive layer of the coating material is carried out during the relative movement between the coating material and the workpiece, wherein the activation is carried out by an energy source which is in particular selected from a laser, hot air source, infrared source, ultrasonic source, magnetic field source, microwave source, plasma source, LED source and / or gassing source.