GB2395832A

GB2395832A - Back-Lit Vehicle Display Panel

Info

Publication number: GB2395832A
Application number: GB0326700A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alistair Hunter Munro
Original assignee: John McGavigan Ltd
Current assignee: John McGavigan Ltd
Priority date: 2002-11-16
Filing date: 2003-11-17
Publication date: 2004-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 2023-11-17
Also published as: GB2395832B; GB0226788D0; GB0326700D0

Abstract

There is disclosed an improved panel, sheet form member or "appliqu" (10) for use, for example, as a display device, decorative device, moulding or facia for use, for example, as an internal or external component part of an automotive vehicle, particularly an instrument panel, instrument cluster or control panel. The appliqu (10) in a preferred embodiment has two upstanding portions integrally formed thereon, each upstanding portion (12) having an ink coating (14) applied to an obverse surface (16) of the upstanding portion (12) . The ink used for the ink coating (14) is formed by dissolving a pigment in a high temperature resin base. The pigment is used to provide a specific colouring to the ink. In addition to the ink coating having a colouring, the ink coating is also partially transparent. Thereby, in use, when the panel (10) is viewed from an obverse side (26), the panel (10) has a first appearance when not illuminated from the reverse side (20), and has a second appearance when illuminated from the reverse side (20)

Description

1 2395832

IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DISPLAY DEVICES

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved panel, sheet form member or "applique'' for use, for example, as a display device, decorative device, moulding or facie.

The invention more particularly, though not exclusively, 10 relates to a panel, sheet form member or applique having at least one integrally formed upstanding portion or "rim", for example, for use as an internal or external component part of an automotive vehicle, e.g. an instrument panel, instrument cluster, control panel or 15 internal facie thereof. À ' BACKGROUND TO INVENTION

. Planar appliques are used for displaying information and for providing added aesthetic appeal, e.g. to the 20 internal environment of automotive vehicles. For example, such appliques are used as speedometers, rev.

counters and/or the like.

A feature that has been added to instrumentation panels or facias, for reasons of aesthetic appeal, are 25 chrome or mirror like rings, which form a rim that surrounds an instrumentation gauge. Typically such rims are provided for the speedometer and engine speed or rev.

counter gauges.

A known method of creating such instrumentation

panels or facias having rims is to mount a separately formed rim or rims on a substantially planar applique.

Individually moulded rims are mounted to the applique by means of ultrasonic welding or heat welding. The applique 5 is typically a flat polycarbonate sheet which may have printing thereon, e.g. dial chaplets. Each of the individually moulded rims is typically formed from an ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic, which is in turn exposed to a vacuum metalisation process in order to 10 give each rim a chrome or mirror like effect.

The process of vacuum metalisation has the disadvantage of having a high fall out rate, as well as being environmentally unfriendly. In addition, the process of mounting the rims to the applique has the 15 disadvantage of requiring additional manufacturing steps and time, which ultimately leads to higher production costs. Further, particularly careful alignment of the applique and rims is required.

It is an object of at least one embodiment of at 20 least one aspect of the present invention to obviate or at least mitigate one or more of the aforementioned problems in the prior art.

The inventors of the present invention have also identified a need in the display panel industry, and 25 particularly the automotive industry for provision of a rim which changes colour when back illuminated. Such a rim has one appearance (e.g. metallised - chrome, silver

or such like) when not back illuminated, and another, different appearance (e.g. primary coloured - blue, red or the like) when back illuminated.

It is an object of at least one embodiment of at 5 least one aspect of the present invention to address such a need in the art.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention 10 there is provided a panel, sheet form member or applique having at least one portion integrally formed thereon, said portion having at least one ink coating applied to at least one surface thereof, a pigment of an ink of said at least one ink coating being dissolved in a high 15 temperature resin base, and wherein when viewed from an Obverse side said portion has a first appearance when not illuminated from a reverse side and has a second appearance when illuminated from said reverse side.

Said portion may have a height or depth of at least 20 4 mm from a surface of the sheet form member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a panel, sheet form member or applique having at least one portion integrally formed thereon, said portion having a height of at least 4 mm 25 from a surface of the sheet form member, and wherein when viewed from an obverse side said portion has a first appearance when not illuminated from a reverse side and

has a second appearance when illuminated from said reverse side.

Said portion may have at least one ink coating applied to at least one surface thereof, a pigment of an 5 ink of said at least one ink coating being dissolved in a high temperature resin base.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a panel, sheet form member or applique having at least one portion thereon, said portion having 10 a height or depth from a surface of the sheet form member, and wherein, in use, when viewed from an obverse side said position has a first appearance when not À -.e illuminated from a reverse side and has a second À appearance when illuminated from said reverse side......

Preferably the at least one portion is integrally. À.

formed on the sheet form member.......

:-e Said portion may have a height or depth of at least 4 mm from a surface of the sheet from member.

Said portion may further have at least one ink 20 coating applied to at least one surface thereof, a pigment of an ink of said at least one ink coating being dissolved in a high temperature resin base.

Preferably and/or advantageously features common to the first to third aspects are as follows: 25 Provision of a sheet form member having an upstanding portion integrally formed thereon eliminates the need to have individually formed rims affixed to the

sheet form member, thereby reducing the number of manufacturing assembly steps required and the associated costs involved therewith.

Furthermore the feature of providing a first and 5 second appearance provides the added advantage of cosmetic appeal which can be a highly desirable feature.

A further portion(s) of the panel may also have a first appearance when not illuminated from a reverse side and have a second appearance when illuminated from said 10 reverse side.

The sheet form member may be adapted for use as a display panel or decorative panel, for example, À -.. advantageously for an instrumentation panel, control...

panel of an automotive vehicle or alternatively for a....

. 15 fascia of an automotive vehicle. À.

The sheet form member may be printed with a..

À.-- substantially single colour of ink, e.g. black. À I. The at least one portion may have an ink coating applied, e.g. to an obverse side thereof in order to 20 produce a metallic finish.

The metallic finish may be satin silver, chrome, bronze, copper or the like.

The at least one portion may be provided with an aluminium resin coating to produce the chrome finish.

25 Alternatively, the at least one portion may be provided with an ink coating having a non-metallic finish on a obverse side thereof in order produce a wood effect

or the like.

The at least one portion may be provided with a pigmented ink coating on a reverse side thereof, which ink coating is different from the colour applied to the 5 obverse side of the at least one portion.

Preferably the pigment used for an ink used on the reverse side produces a colour such as blue, red, yellow, green, amber or the like.

Preferably the composition of the ink used on the 10 reverse side produces an effect of a luminous halo of light when the sheet form member is illuminated from the reverse side.,.,.

see. The reverse side ink may be of a singular colour;,.., alternatively, the reverse side ink may be more than one 15 colour each colour covering a segment of the portion. '.., Preferably the ink used for both the obverse and reverse side is a high temperature based ink., ' The pigment used in the ink may be of an alkaline ph. 20 Preferably the reverse side and obverse side ink coatings are applied such that the reverse side ink is visible only on the passage of light from a light source located at the reverse side of the sheet form member.

The positioning of a light source behind the 25 applique allows rays of light, emitted from the light source, to penetrate the ink pigment on the reverse side of the sheet form member thereby illuminating said

coloured ink. If the light from behind the sheet form member is of a greater intensity than ambient light falling on the obverse surface, the colour effect visible from the obverse side is the ink coating which is applied 5 to the reverse side of the sheet form member.

The sheet form member may have a colour balancing coating applied upon the reverse side ink. The colour balancing coating may be used to compensate for the varying intensity of light that may occur due to the 10 positioning of the light source.

In an alternative embodiment the second appearance may be created by use of coloured back lighting. That is to say, a coloured light source may be used instead of,.,.

or in addition to, the reverse colour coating....

15 The coloured light source may be a light emitting. À, diode (LED), cold cathode or the like..;.

The sheet form member may be provided with a printed. A design. The printed design may be created by printing on a first and second surface of the sheet form member.

20 Preferably, the height of the portion formed is between about 4 mm and 9 mm.

More preferably the portion height may be between about 4 mm and 7.5 mm.

In one embodiment the portion height may be around 25 7.5 mm.

The portion may be upstanding from an obverse surface of the sheet form member, and may be continuous,

that is to say, form a closed shape. In such case the portion may be termed a "rim", "ring'' or "bezel".

The closed shape may be substantially circular, oval, elliptical or the like or a segmented circle, oval 5 or ellipse. The shapes may be selected from those generally used for display gauges of a facie of an automotive vehicle.

Preferably the portion comprises a first wall, a second wall, and a top part, and preferably has an open 10 base part.

Preferably the base part of the portion has a width from an outside of the second wall to an inside of the.

first wall in the region of 5 mm to 9 mm.

The portion may project from a substantially planar.

15 surface of the sheet form member.. À.

Preferably the portion circumscribes an area of said planar surface....

Preferably the sheet form member is substantially planar except for the at least one portion which may be 20 convex with respect to the obverse surface. Producing a sheet form member in this form allows the sheet from member to be immediately workable. Therefore, there is no need to perform additional steps before being able to work with the sheet from member, thus allowing for a 25 further reduction in production costs.

Preferably the first wall is convex in shape when viewed from a front of the sheet form member. The first

wall of said portion may comprise part of a circle having a radius of between about 10 mm and 20 mm.

Preferably the second wall of said portion may be substantially vertical.

5 The second wall may be inclined at a shallow angle to the top part of the portion.

Preferably the top part is angled, the first wall being higher than the second wall and the top portion comprising part of a circle having a radius of about 0.5 10 mm. In a preferred embodiment there are provided two rims extending from the front surface of the sheet form À À -.e member. One rim may be provided for a speedometer gauge,.

À whilst the other rim may be provided for an engine speed -. 15 (rev) counter... À.

À. Advantageously, the sheet form member may be Àe provided with a pressure sensitive adhesive coated on a.

Àe.. second or rear surface (the reverse side).

Preferably a spacing between outside walls of each 20 of the two rims is about 45 mm to 50 mm.

Preferably a planar portion of the sheet form member has a thickness of between 0.25 mm and 0.5 mm.

Preferably the applique is made substantially from a plastics material, e. g. polycarbonate. Alternatively the 25 sheet form member may be made from a blend of polycarbonate and poly-butylene-terraphthalate (PBT) or

from ABS.

The sheet form member may be a laminate, that is to say comprise of two or more layers laminated together.

Preferably there is provided means for reducing 5 effects upon the sheet form member or panel caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Such effects caused by UV radiation can be fading or bleaching of colour, embrittlement, cracking and the like. 10 The means for reducing the effects of W exposure may be in the form of a coating, which may be applied to a portion of the sheet from member.....

À e. Preferably the coating is applied to at least part....

Of an outermost surface of the panel which is preferably..

. 15 on the obverse side. I..

The coating surface may comprise polyvinyldifluoride....

À. or a material based thereon...

Preferably the coating has a thickness of at least about 25pm.

20 The sheet form member may have a silver or chrome ink coating in a substantially central position of the closed shape. The provision of this feature enables light to shine through the ink coating in order to enhance illumination of a pointer. This feature is of course 25 useful when the invention is used in conjunction with a dial or gauge.

The ink coating may take the shape of a circle,

annulus or the like.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a component, e.g. for an automotive vehicle comprising a sheet form member 5 according to the first, second or third aspects of the present invention.

The component may comprise an instrument or gauge assembly. Preferably the component further comprises a rigid 10 backing part having the sheet form member mounted thereto. The sheet form member may be moulded to the backing part. Alternatively, the sheet form member may be A.- glued or otherwise fixed to the backing part...., Preferably the backing part is made from a plastics..

15 material, e.g. polycarbonate or ABS....

The assembly may comprise electrical connectors, electrical tracks, and lights sources in order to provide..

the required back illumination so as to view a second appearance when illuminated from a reverse side.

20 The component may be for an internal part, alternatively the component may be for an external part.

Therefore, the sheet form member and/or component may or may not be exposed to W radiation.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention 25 there is provided an apparatus, e.g. automotive vehicle, including a sheet form member according to the first, second or third aspects of the present invention.

The sheet from member may be located internally, that is to say within the automotive vehicle.

Alternatively, the sheet form member may be located on an external part of the vehicle, that is to say on an 5 exterior surface of the automotive vehicle.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming a sheet form member according to the first, second or third aspects of the present invention, the method comprising the steps of: 10 providing a sheet form member; applying at least one ink coating to an obverse side of a portion of the sheet form member; and forming said portion on said substantially sheet form member.

15 The ink may be applied by any appropriate method, however, a preferred method of applying the ink is by À - screen printing..

À.e The method may include the step of adding a colour balancing layer. Colour balancing is used to compensate 20 for varying intensities of light impacting the ink coating due to the location of a light source. In such cases it is necessary to apply a colour balance layer by overlaying a further ink coating upon the pigmented reverse ink coating. The colour balancing layer has a 25 varying thickness, which will vary in accordance with the position of the ink coating with respect to the bulb, in order that substantially the same intensity of the light

impacts the entire ink coating.

The portion may be formed by a forming process such as "pressure forming". Pressure forming is a process typically including heating the sheet form member, which 5 may be a planar sheet, such that the sheet is able to take the form of a mould to which the sheet is applied.

Pressure forming can use a fluid, e.g. air or gas pressure to force the substrate into the mould by pushing or sucking via increased or reduced pressure on one side 10 of the sheet such that the sheet takes the shape of the mould. Preferably a negative tool is used when the pressure À. forming process is performed. The use of a negative tool means that the portion to be created is formed by 15 applying a pressure to the sheet from member in order to force the sheet form member into recess(es) within the tool. Alternatively the forming process is performed by "match metal forming". Match metal forming is a process 20 of shaping a sheet by use of two moulds between which a normally heated sheet member is placed. One of the moulds is used to force the sheet into the other mould such that the sheet may take a desired form. It has been found that the process of match metal forming has the 25 added advantage of reducing the problem of wrinkles being formed on the substantially planar sheet in the vicinity around the portion.

The substantially planar sheet may be made substantially from a plastics material, e.g. polycarbonate or a mixture or blend thereof.

The substantially planar sheet may be a laminate.

5 That is to say the substantially planar sheet may be made of a number of sheets layered and bonded or adhered together. The substantially planar sheet may have printing on first and second sides thereof.

10 The method may include the step of providing the sheet form member with means for reducing the effects of ultraviolet ( W) radiation, e.g. an applied coating.

Preferably the coating is applied as a composition,.,.

Of an W light absorbing material in a suitable carrier..

15 A suitable W light absorbing material is I..

polyvinyldiflouride. The method may include the further step of applying.. .

an ink coating, in a substantially central position of the closed shape.

20 Preferably the ink coating is semitransparent and may be of a silver of chrome colouring.

The ink coating may take the shape of a circle, annulus or the like.

According to a seventh aspect of the present 25 invention there is provided a substantially planar sheet for use in producing a panel, sheet form member or applique in accordance with the first, second or third

aspects of the present invention, said planar sheet having a first ink coating applied to an obverse surface and a second ink coating applied to a reverse surface thereof and wherein, in use, when viewed from an obverse 5 side the sheet form member has a first appearance when not illuminated from a reverse side and has a second appearance when illuminated from said reverse side.

Preferably the first ink coating has a pigment different to that of a pigment of the second ink coating.

10 Preferably the first and second ink coating are created from inks formed by dissolving of said pigments in a high temperature resin base.

Herein by "high temperature" is meant that the resin has a softening temperature in the region of about 200 C 15 and above.

In one embodiment a high temperature resin base having a softening temperature of about 205 C may be used. The use of a high temperature resin based ink 20 provides the added advantage of producing a sheet form member that can be manipulated by a forming process to produce a raised portion coincident with the ink coating, due to the elastic and high temperature resistant properties of such resin based inks.

25 Preferably the resin base for the coating is a dissolved plastics material. The plastics material may be a polycarbonate material.

Most preferably the plastic material is a copolycarbonate based on a combination of bisphenol A (4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol) and bisphenol TMC (trimethylenecylohexane bisphenol).

5 Preferably the plastics material is dissolved in a non-halogenated solvent such as tolvene, tetrabydrofurane, ethyl acetate or butanone.

Providing a resin based copolycarbonate that is soluble in nonhalogenated solvents provides added 10 ecological advantages when it comes to preparation of solutions or coatings and, more especially, the processing and application of these solutions or coatings.,*.. Preferably the first and second ink coatings are..

-e 15 coincident with one another. À'..

The ink coatings may form a closed shape, and the closed shape may be annular, oval or elliptical or the..

like, or segmented annular, oval, elliptical or the like.

Preferably the closed shaped ink coatings have a 20 width of between about 4 mm to 8 mm between an inside and outside of said shape.

The sheet form member may be provided with a printed design. The printed design may include first and second surface printing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be

described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrams which are: Figure 1 an isometric view of a sheet 5 form member in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 a cross-sectional view of the sheet form member of Figure 1; 10 Figure 3 a detailed view of a portion of the sheet form member of Figure with the addition of a colour À - balancing layer;.

Figure 4 a schematic view illustrating 15 layers of the sheet form member.

of Figure 1 and a direction of light falling thereon;...

Figure 5 a plan view of the sheet form member of Figure 1; 20 Figure 6 a side view of the sheet form member of Figure 1; Figure 7 an enlarged side view of a portion of the sheet form member of Figure 1; 25 Figure 8 a cross-sectional side view of the sheet form member of Figure 1 along line A-A of Figure 5;

Figure 9 an isometric view of a component part including the sheet form member of Figure 1; Figure 10 schematic illustrations of steps 5 involved in a first method of producing the sheet for member of Figure 1; Figure 11 schematic illustrations showing steps involved in a second 10 method of producing the sheet form member of Figure 1; Figures 12(a) and 12(b) isometric and side views of the sheet form member of Figure 1,.,.

prior to forming;.

15 Figure 13 schematic illustrations of the I..

method steps of making the sheet form member of Figure 1 having printing on a obverse and reverse side of a raised 20 portion; and Figure 14 a side view of the component art of Figure 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

25 Referring initially to Figure 1, there is provided a panel, sheet form member or "applique'', generally represented by reference numeral 10, according to a first

embodiment of the present invention.

The panel 10 has two upstanding portions 12 integrally formed thereon, each upstanding portion having an ink coating 14 applied to an obverse, or front, 5 surface 16 of the upstanding portion 12.

The ink used for the ink coating 14 is formed by dissolving a pigment in a high temperature resin base.

The pigment is used to provide a specific colouring to the ink.

10 In addition, to the ink coating having a colouring, the ink coating is also at least partially translucent.

Thereby, in use, when the panel 10 is viewed from an À coo. obverse side 26, the panel 10 has a first appearance when a'..'.

À not illuminated from a reverse side 20 and has a second..

--e 15 appearance when illuminated from the reverse side 20. A..

Each upstanding portion 12 has a height 22 which is greater than 4 mm, and, in this embodiment, around 7.5 mm above the front surface 16 of the panel 10.

In the embodiment shown, the upstanding portions 12 20 are continuous, forming a circular closed shape ring on the front surface 16 of the panel 10, for use as a decorative panel, for example, for an instrument panel of an automotive vehicle. The raised portions 12 may alternatively be of any other shape generally used for 25 the surround that outlines display gauges of automotive vehicles. Also referring to Figure 2, in this embodiment the

panel is provided with a first ink coating 14 on the front surface 16 of the panel 10, the ink coating 14 having a metallic finish. On the reverse side 20 of the panel 10 there is provided a second ink coating 24, which 5 provides a different appearance than that of the first ink coating 14. In this embodiment the second ink coating 24 is a luminous colour such as blue, red, yellow, or amber. Therefore, in use, the panel 10 has a first metallic appearance when viewed from the obverse side 26 10 of the panel 10 when not illuminated from the reverse side 20 and, when illuminated from the reverse side 20, produces a 'halo' of coloured light when viewed from the obverse side 26..'..

The provision of a light source 28 behind the panel 10 allows rays of light 30, emitted from the light source I..

28, to penetrate the second coloured ink coating 24 in order to illuminate the second ink coating 24. If the..

light created by the light source 28 is of a greater intensity than the ambient light falling on the obverse 20 surface 16, the appearance visible from the obverse side 26 is that of the coloured ink coating 24.

Referring now to Figure 3, the panel 10 can be further provided with a colour balancing coating 32 applied upon the second ink coating 24. The colour 25 balancing coating 32 is used to compensate for varying intensities of light that can occur due to the positioning of the light source 28. The colour balancing

coating 32 has a varying thickness and is provided in order to compensate for the varying intensity of light impacting on the reverse side of the panel 10. If a colour balancing coating 32 was not applied, then the 5 resultant effect seen on the obverse side, when back illuminated, would be a varying intensity of the coloured ink due to the uneven distribution of light.

The effect of light falling on the panel of Figure 3 is shown diagrammatically in Figure 4.

10 Ambient light or daylight is shown by arrows A falling on the obverse side of the panel 10 (the left hand side in the Figures). The light A reflects from me particles in the ink coating 14 so that the eye is aware.

Only of the colour effect of the ink coating 14...

-e 15 When, however, a source of illumination is provided A. to produce light rays (arrows B) from the rear of the....

a..- panel to fall on the reverse side thereof. The rays (B) pass through the second ink coating 24 on the reverse side of the panel 10 with sufficient intensity that the 20 colour effect of the first ink coating 14 is suppressed to the extent that the colour effect produced by the first ink coating 14 has been diminished to the point where the eye cannot detect it.

It will be appreciated that a coating 15 of a 25 material to reduce the effects of exposure to ultraviolet radiation can be provided on the outermost obverse surface in each arrangement.

l In an alternative embodiment the second appearance is created by use of coloured back light. That is to say, the coloured back light is used instead of, or in addition to, the reverse colour coating. The coloured 5 light source may be an light emitting diode LED, or cold cathode. The panel 10 may be provided with a printed design.

The printed design may be created by printing on a first and second surface of the panel 10.

10 Referring now to Figures 5 and 6, the panel 10 has printing on the front surface 16 and/or a reverse surface 18. The printing in this instance corresponding to data relating to engine speed (rev) counter and speed of.

vehicle... 15 The panel 10 is made of a polycarbonate plastics is., material which is about 0.375 mm thick, which means the panel 10 is pliable such that it may take the shape of a., surface which is notcompletely flat and to which the panel 10 is affixed in use.

20 The reverse surface 18 of the panel 10 is coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive in order that the panel 10 can be attached to a backing part 64 and thereby mountable to casing 38, so as to form a component 40 that is used to create the facie of an instrument panel of an 25 automotive vehicle, as shown in Figure 9.

Rings 34,36 formed by the upstanding portions 12 are spaced apart such that outside walls of each of the two

rings 34,36 are about 45 mm apart.

In addition, the surfaces 16,18 of the panel 10 form a substantially flat planar surface, a portion of which planar surface is surrounded by the rings 34,36 which 5 have a diameter of about 51 mm.

Referring now to Figure 7, there is shown detail of the raised or upright portion 12. It can be seen that the upright portion 12 comprises a first wall 44, a second wall 46, a top part 48 and has an open base 50.

10 In this embodiment the base 50 has a width from the inside of the first wall 44 to the outside of the second wall 46 of 6.8 mm.....

In addition, the first wall 44 is convex in shape...

when viewed from a front of the panel 10, the first wall 15 44 having a radius of about 13 mm..',.

The second wall 46 of the upright portion 12 is substantially vertical having only a shallow incline to...

the top part 48, creating an angle of about 92O between the first surface 16 of the panel 10 and the second wall 20 46. The top part 48 is also angled, the first wall 24 being slightly higher than the second wall 46. In addition, the top portion 48 has a radius of typically 0.5 mm.

Referring now to Figure 9, there is shown a 25 component part 40. The component part 40 comprises panel 10, a backing piece 37, a light source (not shown), and a casing 38. The panel 10 is affixed to the backing

piece 37 in order to stiffen and provide a more resilient panel 10. The resilient panel is then mounted to the casing 38. The panel 10 can be affixed to the backing piece 37 by a suitable moulding technique.

5 Referring next to Figure 10, there is illustrated a first method of forming a sheet form member 10 as shown in Figure 1. This method is known as match metal forming. The steps involved in producing the panel 10 are to provide a substantially planar sheet which can be 10 a polycarbonate substrate. A design is then applied to the panel 10 by first surface and/or second surface À printing. The next step can then involve applying a hard.

or protective coat layer 58 to protect the ink design laid down on the panel 10...

15 When the panel 10 is ready to be shaped, that is to À::::e say have upstanding portions 12 created in the substrate.

À. 10. The substrate 10 is exposed to a match metal forming process which involves heating the substrate 10 and shaping or forming the substrate 10 by use of two dies 20 59,60 between which the substrate 10 is sandwiched.

Alternatively a high pressure forming process may be used. The resultant shaped substrate or formed applique 62 may then be moulded or affixed to a backing piece 64 or component part 40 to which the design and shape of the 25 formed applique is required, by use of a moulding tool 66. In one embodiment the raised portions 12 are coated

with an ink having a chrome aluminium pigment giving the raised portions 12 a mirror type finish.

The height of the upstanding portions 12 can typically be between 4 mm and 9 mm. The base 50 can be 5 between 5 to 9 mm and the radius of the first wall 44 can be between 10-20 mm.

In an alternative method of forming the substrate from which the panel 10, is created can be a laminate, and this method is as shown in Figure 11. This method is 10 known as lamination. After printing has been applied to the relevant surfaces of a first substrate layer 68 an adhesion promoter 70 is applied to a reverse surface 72 of the substrate 68 a second substrate layer 74 is applied to the reverse surface of the first substrate 15 layer 68 to create a laminate 76. The laminate 76 is then passed through heated pressure rollers and the resultant laminated sheet 76 is exposed to the match metal forming or high pressure forming process so as to create the required shape.

20 Providing a panel 10, having upstanding portions 12 integrally formed thereon eliminates the need to create individually formed rims and then affix the rims to the panel 10, thereby reducing the number of manufacturing assembly steps and the associated costs involved 25 therewith. In addition, the process of match metal forming has the added advantage of alleviating or reducing the problem of wrinkles being formed on the

planar sheet in the vicinity around the first and/or second walls 44,46 of the upstanding portion 12.

Referring to Figures 12(a) and (b), there provided a panel 10 of Figure 1 prior to forming of the 5 portion 12. The panel 10 has an ink coating 14 applied to a front obverse surface 16 thereof. The ink coating 14 is a high temperature resin based ink which is plastics based and typically copolycarbonate based, the copolycarbonate comprising a combination of bisphenol A 10 and a new bisphenol, bisphenol TMC.

The ratio of the bisphenol components determines the properties of heat resistance, or glass transition temperature which increase with the bisphenol TMC content. In addition, as the bisphenol TMC content of À. 15 the copolycarbonate increases so does its solubility in non- halogenated solvents, due to the more pronounced..

À. aliphatic nature of the copolycarbonate.

The ink coating 14 is, therefore, made from a copolycarbonate material dissolved in a non-halogenated 20 solvent having a chrome aluminium pigment added thereto.

The ink coating 14 is applied to the panel 10 such that it creates an annular design closed shape having a width of typically 8 mm.

The panel 10 can also have a design applied by first 25 and/or second surface printing.

In one embodiment the panel 10, which has the ink coating 14 applied to it, may be subjected, e.g. to a

l match metal forming process, as described herein above, in order to create upstanding portions that are coincident with the ink coating 14. That is to say, the panel 10 has chrome like rims integrally formed 5 therewith. The application of an ink coating 14 of a high temperature resin based ink to a planar sheet form member provides the added advantage of producing a sheet form member that can be manipulated by a forming process, such 10 as match metal forming, to produce raised portions coincident with the ink coating, due to the elastic and high temperature resistance of such resin based inks.....

Figure 14 of the drawings which is an exploded side view of Figure 9, illustrates a panel as described in any I..

15 of the examples given above, which has been formed so as to be contoured, i.e. not flat as in the original sheet...

material, and has been mounted to a casing 38, which also supports a source of illumination for example, the bulb 28. It will be understood that the Figure is purely 20 diagrammatic and can represent any suitable mounting and support means such as may for example be appropriate for inclusion in a vehicle dashboard or fascia display, an information panel for varying data between alternative display modes, variable-appearance decorative panels for 25 commercial, retail or similar premises, point-ofsale displays as well as for domestic and industrial appliances, instrument panels, and the like.

Various modifications may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention, for example, the panel 10 may be laminated as described herein above. In addition, the step of applying the 5 additional coat of ink can be applied on the reverse side of the laminated sheet before the match forming process is performed as shown in Figure 13. The additional coat of ink being an opaque ink that mirrors the printing of the ink coating 14 on the obverse surface 16. Finally, 10 it will be appreciated that although in the disclosed embodiments the "appliques" are envisaged for use in the À À -.. automotive industry, the appliques could find use in many....

Other industries, e.g. electronics/white goods..

. À:::

Claims

1. A panel, sheet form member or applique having at least one portion integrally formed thereon, said portion having at least one ink coating applied to at least one 5 surface thereof, a pigment of an ink of said at least one ink coating being dissolved in a high temperature resin base, and wherein when viewed from an obverse side said portion has a first appearance when not illuminated from a reverse side and has a second appearance when 10 illuminated from said reverse side.

À::::.

2. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in...

À claim 1, wherein said portion has a height or depth of at..

least 4 mm from a surface of the sheet form member... À.

À.. À Àe

3. A panel, sheet form member or applique having at...

e. least one portion integrally formed thereon, said portion having a height of at least 4 mm from a surface of the sheet form member, and wherein when viewed from an 20 obverse side said portion has a first appearance when not illuminated from a reverse side and has a second appearance when illuminated from said reverse side.

4. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in 25 claim 3, wherein said portion has at least one ink coating applied to at least one surface thereof, a pigment of an ink of said at least one ink coating being

dissolved in a high temperature resin base.

5. A panel, sheet form member or applique having at least one portion thereon, said portion having a height 5 or depth from a surface of the sheet form member, and wherein, in use, when viewed from an obverse side said position has a first appearance when not illuminated from a reverse side and has a second appearance when illuminated from said reverse side.

6. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in À claim 5, wherein the at least one portion is integrally....

formed on the sheet form member..

--.. :-. 15

7. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in either of claims 5 or 6, wherein said portion has a...

height or depth of at least 4 mm from a surface of the sheet form member.

20

8. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed any of claims 5, 6 or 7, wherein said portion has at least one ink coating applied to at least one surface thereof, a pigment of an ink of said at least one ink coating being dissolved in a high temperature resin base.

9. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a further portion(s) of the

panel has a first appearance when not illuminated from a reverse side and a second appearance when illuminated from said reverse side.

5

10. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the sheet form member is adapted for use as a display panel or decorative panel for an instrumentation panel, control panel or facie of an automotive vehicle.

11. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in À - any preceding claim, wherein the sheet form member is....

printed with a substantially single colour of ink such as black... À::::

12. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in...

any preceding claim, wherein the at least one portion is an ink coating applied to an obverse side thereof in order to produce a metallic finish.

13. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in claim 12, wherein the metallic finish is satin silver, chrome, bronze or copper.

25

14. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in claim 13, wherein the at least one portion is provided with an aluminium resin coating to produce a chrome

finish.

15. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the at least one portion 5 is provided with an ink coating having a non-metallic finish on a obverse side thereof in order produce a wood effect.

16. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the at least one portion is provided with a pigmented ink coating on a reverse À À - side thereof, which ink coating is different in colour....

from a colour of the ink coating applied to the obverse..

side of the at least one portion.:. '.

À. 15 À.

À..

17. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in claim 16, wherein the composition of the ink used on the reverse side produces an effect of a luminous halo of light when the sheet form member is illuminated from the 20 reverse side.

18. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in either of claims 16 or 17, wherein the reverse side ink is of a single colour, or the reverse side ink is of more 25 than one colour, each colour covering a segment of the at least one portion.

19. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any of claims 16 to 18, wherein the inks used for both the obverse side and the reverse side are high temperature based inks.

20. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any of claims 16 to 19, wherein the reverse side and obverse side ink coatings are applied such that the reverse side ink is visible only on the passage of light 10 from a light source located at the reverse side of the sheet form member. À.

À-.e

21. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in,.,.

any of claims 16 to 20, wherein the sheet form member has À.

15 a colour balancing coating applied upon the reverse side..

À.e ink. À.

22. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any of claims 1 to 21, wherein the second appearance is 20 created by use of coloured back lighting.

23. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any preceding claims, wherein the height of the portion formed is between about 4 mm and 9 mm.

24. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the at least one portion is

upstanding from an obverse surface of the sheet form member and is continuous forming a closed shape.

25. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in 5 claim 24, wherein the closed shape is substantially circular, oval or elliptical.

26. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the at least one portion 10 comprises a first wall, a second wall, a top part and has an open base part.....

27. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in, any preceding claim, wherein the portion projects I..

15 forwardly from a substantially planar surface of the sheet form member.

.: À..

28. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein there are provided two 20 portions extending from a front surface of the sheet form member one rim being provided as a speedometer gauge, whilst the other rim being provided as an engine speed (rev) counter...CLME: 25

29. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the applique is made substantially from a plastics material selected from

polyearbonate, a blend of polycarbonate and poly butylene-terraphthalate (psT) or from ABS.

30. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in 5 any preceding claim, wherein the sheet form member is a laminate, comprising of two or more layers laminated together.

31. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed 10 in claim 24, wherein the sheet form member has a silver or chrome ink coating in a substantially central position . Of the closed shape, wherein, in use, light is enabled to À shine through the ink coating in order to enhance.

:- illumination of a pointer.:..

Àe-

32. A panel, sheet form member or applique as claimed in clam 31, wherein the ink coating takes the shape of a circle or annulus.

20

33. A component for an apparatus such as an automotive vehicle comprising a panel, sheet form member or applique according to any of claims 1 to 32.

34. A component as claims in claim 33, wherein the 25 component comprises an instrument or gauge assembly, panel or cluster.

35. A component as claimed in either of claims 33 or 34, wherein the component further comprises a rigid backing part having the sheet form member mounted thereto.

36. An apparatus, such as an automotive vehicle, including a panel sheet form member or applique according to any of claims 1 to 32.

10

37. A method of forming a sheet form member according to any of claims 1 to 32, the method comprising the steps of: À providing a sheet form member; ÀÀeÀ applying at least one ink coating to an obverse side..

15 of a portion of the sheet form member; and.

forming said portion on said substantially sheet form member.

38. A substantially planar sheet for use in producing a 20 panel, sheet form member or applique in accordance with any of claims 1 to 32, said planar sheet having a first ink coating applied to an obverse surface and a second ink coating applied to a reverse surface thereof and wherein, in use, when viewed from an obverse side the 25 sheet form member has a first appearance when not illuminated from a reverse side and has a second appearance when illuminated from said reverse side.

39. A panel, sheet form member or applique as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

40. A component comprising a panel, sheet form member or applique as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10

41. An apparatus comprising a panel, sheet form member or applique as hereinbefore described with reference to he. the accompanying drawings '..

fee-

42. A method of forming a panel, sheet form member or:....

15 applique as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings À-

43. A substantially planer sheet for use in the manufacture of a panel, sheet form member or applique as 20 hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.