EP2750899A1

EP2750899A1 - Method for embedding decorative elements in a leather item, and resulting items

Info

Publication number: EP2750899A1
Application number: EP12762348.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: François-Xavier RENOU
Original assignee: Camo
Current assignee: Camo
Priority date: 2011-09-01
Filing date: 2012-09-03
Publication date: 2014-07-09
Also published as: FR2979579B1; FR2979579A1; WO2013030515A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for attaching decorative elements (gems or inorganic material), intended for decorative purposes and having the effect of shininess or the like, onto a leather item, such as a pelt, characterised by the following steps: depositing, onto the pelt, a core consisting of an inorganic pulverulent or powder material mixed with an adhesive; covering said core with a material in the form of a powder or flakes and bonded by the adhesive. A cavity is formed in the body of said pelt, and a core is placed in the cavity, the depth of which is 10% to 80% of the thickness of the pelt body, and preferably 40% to 60% of the thickness of the pelt body. Said core only partially fills the cavity, and the height thereof is such that it does not project beyond the upper surface of the leather item.

Description

The present invention relates to a process for the encrustation of decorative elements, and in particular gems, more particularly gemstones, on pieces of leather goods, and in particular in the field of leather goods, and in particular gemstones, more particularly gemstones, on pieces of leather goods and in particular animal skins of the leather type, such as snakes, crocodiles or others. Techniques are known to report or fix on skins, decorative elements and in particular shine, such as gems and precisely precious stones such as diamond, or materials such as zircon, silicon. For example, it is known to print flakes made of plastics on skins. This technique requires the use of relatively complex printing devices and therefore expensive, and further does not ensure a satisfactory longevity to the final product; the elements reported by printing do not resist tearing, if only because of wear or contact or accidental tearing by friction with an object.

It has also been proposed to stick on a skin elements made of transparent mineral material, such as glass. However, despite the progress made in the field of glues, the reported glass elements do not resist tearing, in any case in conditions of longevity adequate commercially vis-à-vis users. It has further been proposed, in known manner, to fix by mechanical means, such as rivets or screws or the like, decorative elements. If this technique makes it possible to remedy the problem of tearing and thus of maintaining the decorative elements on the piece of leather goods, the latter is not without defects. First, the reported items necessarily protrude on the skin of the leather goods, which can be unattractive. Secondly, the use of rivets or screws forces the skin to be penetrated through the skin, which affects its strength, and also to pierce the decorative element that is attached, which supposes that it is of sufficient size to allow drilling that does not affect its mechanical strength.

The difficulties encountered by the prior art are all the more difficult to solve as each type of skin on the one hand and each type of decorative element reported on the other, has its own characteristics of flexibility, rigidity, fragility, etc ....

Finally, this type of product is made up of elements that are intrinsically relatively expensive (snake skins, precious stones, etc.). The reliability and the maintenance, in perennial conditions of the decorative elements on the skins, is all the more necessary to avoid the losses and damages resulting from unsuccessful trials, or from inadequate or partially satisfactory techniques. The present invention proposes to remedy this situation and aims on the one hand a method for the permanent fixing of decorative elements, such as gems and in particular stones or minerals or the like, on pieces of leather goods such as hides and skins. treated animals, making it possible to obtain an optimal decorative effect under conditions that do not affect the mechanical integrity of said skins, while leaving a great freedom on the aesthetic level to have the decorative elements in sizes, shapes and in any place, according to the wishes of the creator. Furthermore, the invention relates to such a piece of leather goods provided with decorative elements, obtained by the method mentioned above.

To this end, according to the invention, the process for fixing decorative elements consisting of gem or mineral material, decorative effect and / or having shine effects or the like, on a piece of leather goods, such as a skin , in which a cavity is created in the thickness of said skin is characterized in that:

the cavity is made by removal of material, to make a recess or a cavity so as to not, or negligibly, affect the physical integrity of the skin,

- A cavity is deposited in the cavity (on the skin) made of a powdery material such as flake and / or powder, mixed with a binder such as glue;

- Covering said core with a covering element based on powder and / or flakes and a binder such as glue.

It will be dug as many cavities as decorative elements to fix.

Advantageously, during the deposition of the core in said cavity, the core is secured to the cavity, in particular by the adhesive constituting the binder of the core.

Preferably, the cavity is hollowed out in the piece of leather goods at a depth of between 10% and 80 of the thickness of the piece and preferably between 40 and 60% of said thickness. Said core only partially fills the cavity and it has a height such that it does not exceed the upper face of the piece of leather goods.

The covering element (or covering) consists of a powder material or a mixture of different powder materials and / or flakes such as metal, in particular precious metal, mother-of-pearl, plastic , a mineral material, etc.

The overlapping element:

- Is raised relative to the upper surface of the leather piece, a height of between 0.1 mm and 10 mm and preferably between 1 and 5 mm.

or is substantially flush with the upper surface of the piece of leather goods.

According to a variant, there is also reported a transparent body with a gloss effect, such as a gemstone or semi-precious or fine cut or a glass body.

The core and / or the covering member may be treated to be colored in the material. The binder or glue used for the core is of the epoxy polymer type or a UV glue such as methacrylic acid, and whose viscosity is adjusted according to the piece of leather goods. The core consists of mineral powder having a hardness of at least 7 on the Mohs scale, and preferably a hardness of 9 or 10 on this scale. The invention also relates to a piece of leathercraft made from a skin and comprising decorative elements consisting of gem or mineral material, decorative effect and having shine effects or the like, characterized in that it comprises one or more cavities dug in the thickness of said skin, the cavity or cavities being made by removal of material, so as to not, or negligibly, affect the physical integrity of the skin, a core which is deposited in each cavity and a covering element which covers said core. Preferably, the piece of leather is obtained by the method above.

According to a variant, the part also comprises, on the covering element, a transparent body, in particular with a gloss effect, such as a fine, precious or semi-precious stone or a cut mineral material, for example glass, corundum , diamond, topaz, quartz.

The invention will be better understood in the light of the description which follows, referring to illustrative but nonlimiting examples, and based on the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top view showing a piece of leather goods, in this case a skin, bare, without decorative elements reported. In general, Figures 2 to 4 show partial schematic views of a piece of leather goods, such as a skin, according to different steps of a first example of the method according to the invention, while Figures 5 to 7 show similar views relating to a second example (or variant) of the method according to the invention.

More precisely :

FIGS. 2A and 2B show partial schematic views of a skin, respectively in section along a vertical plane (in the thickness of the skin) and in a view from above, according to the first step of a first exemplary method of the invention.

Figures 3A and 3B are respective views in section and from above of the skin during the second step of the first method.

Figures 4A and 4B are sectional and top views of the skin in the last step of the first method. FIGS. 5A and 5B are views respectively in section and from above of a piece of leather goods according to the first step of a variant of the method.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views respectively in section and from above of the skin during the second step of said variant of the method.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views respectively in section and from above of the skin during the third and last step of the variant of the method. Figure 8 is a top view of the skin on which are reported the decorative elements according to the method of the invention of Figures 2 to 4.

Figure 9 is a variant of Figure 2A.

In the following description, the notion of piece of leather goods aims and includes any piece of skin, leather, imitation leather, or the like, of animal origin, which is not fur or hair. Likewise, the terms precious or semi-precious stones and gems used include any material or material of mineral origin or material of synthesis, intended to produce a decorative effect, with regard to reflections, the effect of multiple reflections, or other resulting from the interaction of their material with light. In addition, the terms lower and upper refer to a position of normal use of the piece of leather goods.

Figure 1 shows a top view of snake skin python type, treated in a known manner, and having scales.

The method of the invention consists in fixing reliably and therefore perennially on the skin, and preferably in a centered manner on the scales, decorative elements (gems or other), to lead to the skin shown from above in FIG. .

This piece of skin thus produced can be used in a known manner for making various objects such as bags, purses, wallets, shoes, boots, etc. To produce such a skin, the method is described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, according to a first exemplary method of the invention.

Figure 2A shows a partial schematic section of a skin 1 having an upper face 2 facing outwards (visible by the user) and an opposite lower face 3.

In a part of the thickness of the skin, a cavity 4 is made by removal of material, stamping or any known method making it possible to make a recess or cavity so as not to negligibly affect the physical integrity. skin.

The cavity 4 has been shown in circular section, but it may have any shape of section, it being understood that a regular shape and having at least one axis or plane of symmetry is preferred.

The depth of the cavity 4 is between 10% and 80% of the thickness of the skin, with a preference for a range between 40 and 60%.

Figure 2B shows from above the skin of Figure 2A.

According to FIG. 3A, in the cavity 4, an element or core 5 is deposited consisting of powder or flakes of mineral matter, precious stones or the like, having a hardness of at least 7 on the Mohs scale and preferably 9 or 10. For example: diamond, corundum, zircon. The grains of powder and / or the flakes are mixed with a binder such as glue, for example of the polymer resin type, such as mono- or bi-component epoxy. The glue can be a so-called UV glue that polymerizes under ultraviolet radiation, for example an acid-based collar. methacrylic such as isobornyl acrylate. The glue according to its viscosity and its hardness is adapted to the type of skin to be decorated, in particular according to its flexibility. The glue can be transparent. The element 5, in the relatively viscous state and resulting from the mixing of the glue with the powder and / or flakes, is then deposited in the cavity 4, with an addition of glue optionally. Advantageously, the added glue is of the same nature as that binding the powder and / or flakes of the element 5.

The element 5, once stiffened, forms a basic block or core, which preferably:

on the one hand does not exceed or very little of the plane of the upper surface of the skin, that is to say of the upper plane of opening of the cavity 4, and

- On the other hand only partially fills the cavity, so as to provide a volume between the core 5 and the wall of the cavity, said volume preferably occupying the periphery of the core. The core 5 occupies in volume, for example between 20% and 80% of the cavity and preferably between 40% and 70%.

According to FIG. 4A, a cover element 6 is deposited on the core 5, which fills most, if not totally, the empty space of the cavity 4. It can either protrude slightly relative to the plane of the upper surface 2 skin (Figure 4A), or flush this same plane (at the opening plane of the cavity 4).

The element 6 covering the core, consists of powder, fine particles or flakes of mineral material or metal, l iées by a neck, identical or different from that used for the core 5, such as for example the mono- or bi-component epoxy, or a UV adhesive, for example based on methacrylic acid such as isobornyl acrylate. The covering element 6 is bonded to the core 5 by glue such as a one or two-component epoxy glue, or a UV glue for example based on methacrylic acid such as isobornyl acrylate. The element 6 is attached either in the relatively viscous state on the rigid core 5, or once stiffened itself and preformed so as to have a lower housing corresponding to the shape of the core 5.

The covering element 6 is advantageously transparent.

Figure 4B shows from above the skin and the decorative elements fixed, the core being seen in transparency.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show a variant of the method.

FIGS. 5A, 5B are similar to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B respectively, the only difference being the section of the cavity 4.

FIGS. 6A, 6B are similar to FIGS. 4A, 4B respectively, the only difference being the section of the cavity 4. According to this variant, it is preferred to cause the covering element 6 to protrude relative to the plane of the opening of the cavity 4.

Starting from the skin comprising the core 5 and the covering element 6, of FIG. 6A, the covering element 6 is raised so that it is flush with the plane of the opening of the cavity. Then, preferably, is placed and fixed on the surface of the covering member 6 opposite the outside, opposite the cavity, a transparent body 7 with a gloss effect, such as a fine, precious or semi-precious stone or a cut mineral material, for example glass, corundum, diamond, topaz, quartz

FIG. 7B shows from above the skin and the decorative elements fixed, the core 5 and the covering element 6 being seen in transparency through the body 7.

According to another variant, with reference to FIG. 9, there is secured to the surface opposite to that intended to comprise the cavity 4, that is to say against the lower face 3, a reinforcement piece 8 such as another skin. The piece extending at least to the right of the cavity. This variant is applicable in particular to fragile skin, not very thick, such as snakeskin.

Claims

Method for fixing decorative elements made of gemstone or mineral material, with a decorative effect and having shine effects or the like, on a piece of leather goods, such as a skin, in which a cavity (4) is created in the thickness of said skin, characterized in that:

the cavity is made by removal of material to make a recess or cavity (4) so as not to negligibly affect the physical integrity of the skin,

a core (5) consisting of a powdery material such as powder and / or flake mixed with a binder such as glue is deposited in the cavity;

- Covering said core by a covering element (6) based on powder and / or flakes and a binder such as glue.

Method according to claim 1, characterized in that during the deposition of the core (5) in said cavity, the core is secured to the cavity, in particular by the adhesive constituting the binder of the core.

Process according to Claim 2, characterized in that the cavity (4) is hollowed out in the leather goods part at a depth of between 10% and 80% of the thickness of the part and preferably between 40 and 60% of the said thickness. .

Method according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that said core (5) only partially fills the cavity (4) and in that it has a height such that it does not exceed the upper face of the piece of leather goods.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the covering element (6) consists of a powder material or a mixture of different powder materials and / or flakes such as metal, in particular precious metal, mother-of-pearl, plastic, mineral matter.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the covering element (6) protrudes from the upper surface of the piece of leather goods, a height of between 0.1 mm and 10 mm and preferably between 1 and 5 mm.

7. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the covering element (6) is substantially flush with the upper surface of the piece of leather goods.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that there is also reported a transparent body (7) with a gloss effect, such as a fine or precious stone or semi-precious cut or a glass body .

9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the binder or glue used for the core (5) is of the epoxy polymer type or a UV cell with methacrylic acid ba, and whose viscosity is adjusted according to the piece of leather goods.

10. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the core (5) consists of mineral powder having a hardness of at least 7 on the Mohs scale, and preferably a hardness of 9 or 10 on this scale.

1 1. Piece of leather goods, characterized in that it is obtained by the method according to one of the preceding claims.

12. Piece of leather goods made from a skin and comprising decorative elements consisting of gem or mineral material, decorative effect and having shine effects or the like, characterized in that it comprises:

one or more cavities (4) hollowed out in the thickness of said skin, the cavity (s) being made (s) by removal of material, so as not to negligibly affect the physical integrity of the skin; ,

a core (5) which is deposited in the cavity and an element (6) covering said core.

13. Piece of leather goods according to one of claims 1 1 or 12, characterized in that the com bears moreover, su r covering element (6), a body (7) transparent in particular shine effect, such as a fine, precious or semi-precious stone or a cut mineral material, in particular glass, corundum, diamond, topaz, quartz.