Selective Liquid Wetting for Decorative Powder Adhesion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing decorative layers, particularly for laminate floor panels, face challenges in achieving a decorative design with excellent visual appeal and efficiency, as they often result in uniform surfaces lacking intricate designs and are cumbersome in application processes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a carrier layer wetted with a liquid, where a targeted application of powder adheres only to specific areas, allowing for the removal of excess powder and subsequent fixation, enabling a multi-layer structure with varied colors and materials, and subsequent pressing to create a durable, abrasion-resistant decorative layer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a dry powder layer is applied to a substrate and cured under heat and pressure, then a wear-resistant surface layer is formed, but it is difficult to create a decorative design on the surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies liquid binder selectively to specific areas of the substrate where decorative powder adhesion is desired. This creates local variation in powder adhesion, allowing different decorative patterns and designs while maintaining wear resistance in the adhered areas. The selective wetting enables spatial differentiation of surface properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid binder is applied to the substrate before the powder is sprinkled onto it. This preliminary action of wetting specific areas prepares the surface for selective powder adhesion, enabling the subsequent decorative layer formation to occur only in predetermined patterns and designs.
2Stability of the object's composition
If wood is finely ground into wood fibers and mixed with thermosetting plastic, color pigments, and aluminum oxide particles, then a homogeneous and solid surface layer is formed, but the process is cumbersome and results in uniform surfaces lacking intricate designs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the binder application from the powder application, applying the liquid binder selectively to specific areas before powder deposition. This segmentation allows different decorative effects in different areas while maintaining the homogeneity and wear resistance of the adhered powder layers through the thermosetting plastic binder.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid binder serves as an intermediary substance that mediates between the substrate and the decorative powder. By controlling where the binder is applied, the patent enables precise pattern formation without requiring complex mixing or processing of the powder itself, simplifying the overall process.
3Illumination intensity
If multiple layers of powder are applied to create special decorative effects, then the decorative appearance is enhanced, but the manufacturing process becomes more time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous multi-layer powder application by maintaining the substrate in a ready state with previously applied binder layers. Each subsequent powder layer can be applied and cured in sequence without interrupting the decorative layer formation process, allowing multiple decorative effects to be built up efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid binder is applied in advance to prepare the substrate for powder adhesion. This preliminary binder application remains effective during the subsequent powder deposition and curing steps, enabling rapid multi-layer construction without requiring repeated binder applications for each layer.
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 method produces a decorative layer with a brilliant optical appearance and enhanced decorative image, offering flexibility in design and application, including three-dimensional embossing, and can be applied to various surfaces, including rounded ones, with improved adhesion and durability.
Implementation Method 1
The liquid in the wetted area acts as a temporary adhesion promoter. A powder is then applied to the substrate, which is at least partially wetted with a liquid. The powder adheres in the wetted area.
Implementation Method 2
The powder adhering to the substrate in the defined areas is then fixed in place. This is achieved through the application of heat, particularly infrared emitters.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1l
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing a decorative layer 1, in which a substrate 2 is wetted with a liquid 5 in at least one region 3, 4. The liquid 5 is applied to the substrate 2 using pressure technology. A powder 7 is then sprinkled onto the substrate 2. In the wetted region 3, 4, the powder 7 adheres to the substrate 2. Non-adherent powder is suctioned off the substrate 2, after which the adhering powder 7 is fixed to the substrate 2. The applied powder 7 is a mixture of biomaterial particles, in particular wood particles, as well as color pigments, corundum, and thermosetting resins in powder form. Further aspects of the invention include a component with a decorative layer 1 according to the invention and a method for producing a component using the decorative layer 1 according to the invention.