Coated Metal Reflector with Rough Interface for High Reflectance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coated metal materials for reflectors in lighting and liquid crystal displays face challenges in achieving high total light reflectance and formability, particularly in complex shapes, due to difficulties in uniform thickness formation and productivity issues with existing coating methods.
Innovation Solution
A coated metal material with at least three layers - a primer layer, a middle coat layer containing rutile-type titanium oxide and high molecular weight polyester resin, and a top layer - is developed, where the middle coat layer has a rutile-type titanium oxide concentration of 35 to 70% and uses a combination of polyester resins with specific molecular weights and hydroxyl values to enhance adhesion and workability, and the interface roughness between the middle and top layers is increased for improved reflectance and formability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a film is laminated on a thin metal coating film layer or resin layer containing inorganic microparticles, then high light reflectance is achieved, but it becomes difficult to form the film into the targeted shape
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-laminating the coating film on the metal sheet before shaping operations. The coating film is formed in advance on the metal substrate, and then the entire assembly is shaped into the target form. This resolves the contradiction by performing the coating action before the shaping action, avoiding the difficulty of coating after shaping.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining a metal base material with a coating film containing inorganic microparticles suspended in a binder resin. This composite structure provides both the high light reflectance from the inorganic microparticles and the formability of the metal substrate, resolving the contradiction between reflectance and formability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the reflector is shaped into complex forms, then design requirements are met, but uniform coating thickness becomes difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The coating film is applied to the metal sheet before shaping operations. This preliminary coating allows the coating to be formed on a flat, easy-to-handle substrate, ensuring uniform thickness. After coating, the entire assembly is then shaped into complex forms, maintaining both coating uniformity and design flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a thin film coating that can conform to complex shapes after being applied to the metal substrate. The thin film nature allows it to be flexible and adaptable to various forms while maintaining its coating integrity and uniformity, resolving the contradiction between design flexibility and coating uniformity.
3Illumination intensity
If a thick primer layer (50 to 100 μm) is coated by general precoat coating line, then high reflectance is achieved, but productivity decreases due to requiring two or more passes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of coating thickness by specifying a thinner primer layer (5 to 30 μm) compared to conventional thick coatings (50 to 100 μm). This parameter change allows the coating to be applied in a single pass on general precoat coating lines, improving productivity while maintaining high reflectance through the use of inorganic microparticles in the coating formulation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution achieves high total light reflectance and superior formability, enabling the production of coated metal materials that can be easily shaped and coated efficiently, addressing the limitations of existing technologies in reflector applications.
Implementation Method 1
a middle coat layer, and a top layer at least at part of a surface of the metal material, wherein the middle coat layer contains rutile-type titanium oxide in a solid volume concentration of 35 to 70%
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a coated metallic material having a high total light reflectance and excellent moldability. Also disclosed is a method for producing the coated metallic material. Further disclosed is a molded coated metallic article. The coated metallic material is characterized by comprising a coating layer having at least three layers composed of a primer layer, an intercoating layer and a top layer, wherein the intercoating layer contains rutile-type titanium oxide in an amount of 35 to 70% in terms of a solid material concentration by volume and also contains a polyester resin (A) having a number average molecular weight of 19000 to 28000 as a binder resin component, and wherein the polyester resin (A) is contained in the binder at a concentration of 20 mass % or more. In the coated metallic material, an interface between the intercoating layer and the top layer has a center-line average roughness (Ra) of 0.8 μm or more, so that the adhesion between the intercoating layer and the top layer can be further improved and the diffusion reflectance can also be further improved.