DE20312634U1 - Full surface and/or partially segmented 3D multi-layered film, is formed by deep drawing and/or thermal moulding, and coating with a solvent-free, low viscosity material - Google Patents

Abstract

A full surface and/or partially segmented 3D multi-layered film, which has point and surface illumination, is produced by a deep drawing and/or thermal moulding process. The raised sections formed are coated at the rear and/or filled with inlays. A full surface and/or partially segmented 3D multi-layered film, which has point and surface illumination, is produced by a deep drawing and/or thermal moulding process. The raised sections formed are coated at the rear and/or filled with inlays. The coating is solvent-free, of low viscosity, and clear and/or colored, and consists of a polymer material. The coating is subjected to UV light to make it transparent and flexible. The film material is e.g polycarbonate and/or polyester.

Description

Richard Wöhr GmbH

Graefenau 58 - 60

75339 Hofen

Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or surface illumination for operating and/or design surfaces

The invention relates to a full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces for film-covered keyboards and/or membrane keyboards and/or displays and/or front panels, wherein the 3D design is achieved by integrating elastic caps and/or filling in domes in the covering film using a deep-drawing process and the caps and/or domes are made from a solvent-free, low-viscosity, crystal-clear and/or colored polymer coating material and/or with polyurethane and wherein UV irradiation of the coating material produces a transparent and very flexible coating with a three-dimensional effect and high brilliance and the front film with the caps is covered by another film, wherein one and/or more LEDs and/or OLEDs are integrated on this film in the area of the point and/or area illumination.

Previously known front and/or design foils for foil-covered keyboards and/or membrane keyboards and/or displays and/or are flat and/or slightly embossed. This means that blind operation of the foil-covered keyboards and/or membrane keyboards is not possible, and no raised logo or similar is possible on front panels. In addition, it is very difficult to achieve surface illumination with these keyboards.

DE 297 03 194.5 describes membrane keyboards with domes made of polyurethane mass, whereby the domes are glued to the membrane or cast directly onto it. However, these domes do not stick and come off when the corresponding solvents are used. In addition, the interfaces are susceptible to dirt. Surface illumination is not possible.

Furthermore, full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-coated films for operating and/or design surfaces are known, in which the coating is based on polymers with thioether structural units and the mechanical properties of the coating can be varied from soft elastic to hard by structural variations of the starting components and/or their molar ratios as well as the hardening, depending on the requirements of the respective application, so that transparent, soft elastic to hard, protective and/or decorative 3D coatings are produced, with the film being coated over the entire surface and/or only in certain predefined segments. The disadvantage of this solution is that, on the one hand, edge embossing is required and, on the other hand, because the coating is applied on the outside, the coating can be removed by solvents or by mechanical processes. In addition, the interfaces are susceptible to dirt.

DE 298 10 862 U1 describes a method for deep-drawing films made of thermoplastic or cold-stretchable plastic. The decorative film is embossed and a plastic inlay is inserted into the embossing during the embossing process, which results in better load distribution on the snap-action disk. The disadvantage of this solution is that the base of the plastic inlay is flat and therefore does not achieve good tactile behavior and that the key stroke is not mechanically limited by the plastic inlay. In the worst case, the snap-action disk can be destroyed.

DE 198 51 731 C1 discloses a deep-drawing process for films made of thermoplastic or cold-stretchable plastic, in which the film is provided with fillers before deep-drawing at the points where the deep-drawing profiles are produced in the subsequent deep-drawing process, the contours and profile thicknesses of which are each designed and aligned approximately to match the contours and/or profile depths of the deep-drawing cavities. The disadvantage of this process is that, since it is a negative molding process, the film is stretched very strongly at the edges and thus becomes very thin and can no longer be subjected to great mechanical stress, i.e. the keyboard is not very durable. A further disadvantage is that the use of dimensionally stable, non-form-fitting fillers does not achieve elastic behavior of the film and the film can easily be destroyed in the area of the edges. In addition, no lens effect and no surface illumination can be achieved.

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The object of the invention is therefore to create a full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces of the type mentioned at the beginning, which gives the user an extremely good tactile switching feel when pressing keys on foil-covered keyboards and/or membrane keyboards and enables blind operation, in which the 3D coating can be applied over the entire surface and/or only in small, predetermined sub-segments and in which the mechanical properties of the coating can be adapted to the respective requirements of the respective application, variable from soft elastic to hard and which is impact-resistant, durable and elastic with a three-dimensional effect and is as chemical-resistant as the base film, as well as non-yellowing and UV-resistant and enables luminous, optically magnifying displays and enables both point and/or area illumination of the touch fields and which can have raised decorative logos and/or symbols. In addition, the 3D coating should be simple, reproducible and inexpensive.

These problems are solved with the full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or surface illumination for operating and/or design surfaces listed under protection claim 1 in that a front and/or design film, which can consist of PVC, polyester, metallic, polycarbonate and polyurethane films, has one or more tangible full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed elevations in the form of domes and/or surfaces and/or logos and/or symbols, wherein these 3D designed elevations are achieved by a thermoforming process of the design and/or front film and the elevation obtained by this process is coated on the back and/or filled with inlays and the coating is carried out with a solvent-free, low-viscosity, crystal-clear and/or colored polymer coating material and/or with polyurethane and another PVC, polyester, Metallic, polycarbonate and polyurethane films are mounted, whereby this film is printed according to the design and has LEDs integrated in the places that have point and/or area illumination.

The full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film according to the invention with point and/or surface illumination for operating and/or design surfaces is therefore uneven and has one or more peaks and/or raised surfaces and/or volumetric shapes, i.e. outward-facing projections that are so high that they can be clearly felt. The peaks can mark places on film-covered keyboards and membrane keyboards where a key is pressed by pressing down the 3D-coated front and/or design film. The peaks on keyboards are therefore preferably arranged above the keys, which enables blind operation, which is not possible with conventional membrane-covered keyboards.

The 3D protective coating can also be located on other parts of the film that are not motivated by button activation, in particular due to the possible optical effect of the 3D design and the creation of logos and/or symbols and/or holding aids.

The full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed film according to the invention for operating and/or design surfaces offers all the advantages of previously used films. It is characterized by good mechanical and chemical resistance, has excellent point and/or surface illumination of the touch fields, and can be used in practically all application areas of conventional front and/or design films for film-covered keyboards and/or membrane keyboards and/or displays and/or front panels.

A preferred embodiment of the full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or surface illumination for operating and/or design surfaces has one and/or more 3D-designed domes on the front, which are produced by positive molding under vacuum, with domes having a depth/diameter ratio of 4:1 being formed. These raised domes are fitted with inlays from the back, which have recesses for LEDs on the underside. Another film with printing and mounted LEDs is mounted on the coated film, so that the inlays are integrated between the films.

The inlays are preferably made as injection-molded parts and are colorless and/or translucent. Depending on the type of lighting, they have one and/or more recesses on the underside for the LEDs.

An improvement in the tactile response is achieved by coating the raised areas from the back with a material that varies structurally from elastically soft to hard depending on the mechanical properties and adhesion, and forms a flat 3D surface with recesses in the 3D-designed areas. Because the material is soft and elastic, the deforming raised area, which generally means a mechanical weakening of the material, is not stressed when a key is pressed, so that the service life of the film is significantly extended.

An optical improvement with a magnification effect for reading the lettering on the film is achieved by creating an optical lens effect through the design of the elevation and/or domes in partially convex curves. The domes are therefore also suitable for optically supporting signal lights and control lights.

Viewing windows, for example above display panels, open up another area of application. Up to now, structured films have usually been used for full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D films for operating and/or design surfaces, which only allow a blurred view through the film in the case of displays or similar. By applying a 3D coating to the back in the form of a flat dome in the window area, crystal-clear transparency and a slight magnification effect can be achieved, which significantly improves the readability of low-contrast display elements.

Thus, in preferred embodiments, the domes are also arranged above signal lights or display elements.

Preferably, the 3D protective coating in the domes between the films is so firmly bonded that it cannot be removed from them without causing damage and consists of a solvent-free, low-viscosity, crystal-clear, polymeric coating material that enables transparent and very flexible protective coatings with a three-dimensional effect and high brilliance through UV irradiation.

The layout of the 3D-designed elevation and/or domes on the foil can be designed almost freely and can take into account both the shape of the key or the design form. For example, the layout can be circular, oval, rectangular or square with or without rounded corners or can represent symbol outlines or logo outlines and surfaces. However, all possible layouts are also conceivable here.

The invention is explained in more detail below in exemplary embodiments with reference to figures. They show:

Fig. 1 a sectional view of an embodiment of the full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or surface illumination for operating and/or design surfaces

Fig. 2 a top view of the full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces

Fig. 3 a sectional view of an embodiment of a full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces with a film-covered keyboard with snap-on disks

Figure 1 shows a cross-section of the full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film according to the invention with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces. The base film used is a polyester film 1 which has a raised area 2, with the area of the raised area 2 being arranged above the key in the case of membrane keyboards and/or keyboards covered with a film. The area of the raised area 2 is filled from the back with the solvent-free, low-viscosity, crystal-clear, polymer coating material 3 and is given its three-dimensional effect and high brilliance by means of UV irradiation. The coating has recesses 13 in the area of the LEDs 12. The polyester film 1 is covered from the underside 14 with a printed design film 11, with LEDs 15 integrated into the film in the area of the point and/or area illumination.

Figure 2 shows a possible top view of the full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film according to the invention with point and/or surface illumination for operating and/or design surfaces. The elevations in the form of the domes 4 on the covering film 1 are circular in plan and in the shape of a spherical segment. The middle domes 5 on the film have a square plan with rounded corners, being flat at the top and convexly curved at the edge with a curvature of approx. 90°. The logo 5 is designed in the form of a glass.

In Figure 3, the inventive full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces is shown in section as a design film with a film-covered keyboard with integrated contact-making snap disks on a carrier plate. A stable carrier plate 6 serves as the lower stabilizing element. The contact-making snap disks 7 are inserted into the recesses 8 of the spacer film 9 and fixed in position. The covering film 1 with the elevations 2, which is filled with an inlay 16 that has recesses 17 on the underside for the LED 12, is covered on the underside with a printed design film 11, with LEDs 12 integrated on the covering film 11 at the illuminated points, and is laminated onto the switching film 10 with the spacer film 9. The side of the covering film 1 facing the user has bumps 5, 6 on the outside.

Claims (20)

1. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces, characterized in that the outside of the film has a decorative 3D design which is achieved by a deep-drawing process and/or thermoforming process of the design and/or front film and the elevation obtained by these processes is coated on the back and/or filled with inlays and the coating is carried out with a solvent-free, low-viscosity, crystal-clear and/or colored polymer coating material and/or with polyurethane, whereby UV irradiation of the coating material produces a transparent and very flexible coating with a three-dimensional effect and high brilliance and whereby the design and/or front film with the coated elevations has a covering film which has one and/or more LEDs and/or OLEDs integrated in the places which have point and/or area illumination. 2. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to claim 1, characterized in that polycarbonate film and/or polyester film and/or a polyurethane film are used as films. 3. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the multilayer film results in a compact elastic unit with point and/or area illumination of the touch field. 4. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the design and/or front film has a print from the back. 5. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the films are matt structured and/or selectively matt structured at the factory. 6. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the film is glossy and/or selectively glossy at the factory. 7. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coating has free spaces in the print in the area of the LEDs. 8. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inlays are manufactured as injection-molded parts and/or laser parts. 9. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inlays on the underside have recesses and/or light-guiding chambers for the LEDs. 10. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that vacuum deep drawing and/or positive molding and/or match-mold molding and/or pressure stretch molding and/or vacuum positive molding are used as the hot-forming process. 11. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the 3D design is implemented by elevations in the form of spherical caps and/or domes. 12. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the domes are arranged above the keys in membrane keyboards and/or membrane-covered keyboards. 13. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the domes and the front and/or design film are partially and/or completely transparent or translucent. 14. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the domes have optical lens effects and/or are designed as holding aids. 15. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the domes are arranged above signal lights and/or LEDs. 16. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the domes are elastic. 17. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the domes are circular or oval in plan and have the shape of a spherical element. 18. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the domes are rectangular or square in plan and are flat at the top, and have an approximately 90° curvature of convex shape at the edge. 19. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the domes are rounded-rectangular or rounded-square in plan and are flat at the top, and have an approximately 90° curvature of convex shape at the edge. 20. Full-surface and/or partially segmented 3D-designed multilayer film with point and/or area illumination for operating and/or design surfaces according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the 3D design is in the form of lettering and logos with a 3-dimensional effect, whereby the shape of the logos can be freely designed.