JP2004034517A - Decorative molded body - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a decorative molded body, which is equipped with a printing layer printed by an inkjet system or with an ink receiving layer absorbing and including ink used for the printing and with a decorative surface layer having an external appearance similar to actual wood pattern. <P>SOLUTION: This decorative molded body is equipped with a base, some surface portion of which is made of wood, under the condition that the decorative surface layer imitating wood pattern is provided in some part of the woody portion in the surface thereof. The decorative surface layer has the printing layer formed by the inkjet system printing or the ink receiving layer including the ink employed in the printing. The decorative molded body can be adopted as the steering wheel of a vehicle. In addition, as the wood pattern, a bird's eye-shaped grain, a gem-like grain, a vine grain, a crepe grain, a pure-white grain or a pure-white close grain can be employed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a decorative molded body. More specifically, decorative molding including a printing layer formed by inkjet printing or an ink receiving layer that absorbs and contains the ink used in the printing, and includes a decorative layer having an appearance similar to an actual wooden pattern. About the body. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is widely used for furniture such as tables and chairs, and automobile interior materials such as panels and steering wheels.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, natural wood has a characteristic pattern, and what is called precious wood is prized as a luxury item, and it is used for furniture such as tables and chairs, panel and steering wheel and other automobile interior materials. It is used. The beauty is not only due to the pattern of annual rings, conduits, nodes, etc., but also the slight transmission caused by cellulose, lignin resin etc., the pearl luster shining along the fiber direction etc. It also depends on the nature of the color changing, and the closer you look, the more tired the appearance. The prerequisite for precious wood is not the uniformity of Lauan timber, but rather the pattern brought about by weathered and bent annual rings, winding conduits, nodes and the like.
[0003]
Also, such a characteristic pattern is not formed on the entire tree, and there is a large difference between the root, the trunk, and the tip. Usually, a characteristic pattern is remarkably formed in the vicinity of the root, and a portion used as a luxury product is estimated to be about 10 to 20% of one tree. There is not much problem when this precious wood is used as a large piece, but when it is used for relatively small areas such as furniture handles, dishes, knobs such as doors, and steering wheels of automobiles, it is also used by cutting into a predetermined shape In such a case, the following problem occurs. That is, the characteristic pattern is formed non-uniformly, it is not possible to accurately estimate the internal pattern that appears by cutting, etc., and the characteristic pattern is almost lost after cutting, There are many cases where they are partially offset. For this reason, the value may be greatly impaired, and in some cases, the product must be rejected. This is especially true when used in industrial fields such as automobiles and home appliances. In other words, when a single product is made up of a plate, a figurine, or other tree itself, the value of the product itself only needs to be reduced, but in the industrial field such as automobiles, the overall value is affected by each part. receive. Therefore, the wooden part must also have a certain value, and the lack of a characteristic pattern is a problem.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Normally, wood products are colored with stains etc. after pretreatment such as closing pipes and removing tanning for the purpose of maintaining aesthetics.However, regularity and randomness are due to fiber density, fiber direction, penetration of stain into the inside of the pipe, etc. And are mixed. For this reason, it is not easy to repair missing or uneven patterns due to cutting or the like, except for skilled handwriting. In addition, the conventional printing technique with regularity using a printing plate can produce only uniform ones, and in consideration of randomness, when decorating by moving the printing plate back and forth, left and right, It is not practical in the industrial field because the plate is stained, blurred, and steps are generated. Further, in the industrial field, since there is a cost setting for manufacturing, it is a reality that the disposal is more than the repair by hand.
[0005]
In addition, using a part of the precious wood where no characteristic pattern appears at all, or a tree of the same kind as the precious wood but without the peculiar pattern, print the characteristic pattern of the precious wood on its surface There is also a way to do this. However, a conventional printing technique having regularity using a printing plate is not practical because it is difficult to repair even a partial repair as described above.
[0006]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has a printing layer formed by inkjet printing or an ink receiving layer containing and containing the ink used in this printing, and has an appearance similar to an actual wooden pattern. An object of the present invention is to provide a decorative molded article having a decorative layer having the same.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The decorative molded article of the present invention includes a substrate having at least a portion of a wooden surface, and a decorative layer imitating a wooden pattern provided on at least a portion of the wooden portion of the surface of the substrate. Wherein the decorative layer has a printing layer formed by ink-jet printing or an ink receiving layer containing ink used for the printing.
Further, it can be a decorative molded body which is a steering wheel of a vehicle.
Furthermore, the decorative molded article wherein the wood pattern is a bird's-eye heather, a ball heather, a grape heather, a shrinkage heather, a pure white heather or a pure white shrinkage heather.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.
At least a part of the surface of the “substrate” is made of wood, and all of the surface may be made of wood. When a part of the base is made of wood, the material constituting the other part of the base is not particularly limited, and for example, metal, plastic, rubber and the like are used. Examples of the metal include iron, aluminum, stainless steel, and copper. Examples of the plastic include ABS resin, acrylic resin, and polycarbonate. Examples of the rubber include chloroprene rubber, isoprene rubber, and natural rubber.
These substrates may be formed by any method and are not particularly limited.
[0009]
The "decoration layer" is not particularly limited as long as it imitates a wood pattern such as wood grain, but this pattern is a bird's-eye heather, a ball heather, a grape heather, a shrinkage heather, a pure white heather or a pure white shrinkage heather. It can be a decorative layer.
This decorative layer is provided on at least a part of a wooden portion on the surface of the substrate, and absorbs a printing layer formed by an inkjet method or an ink used for this printing and contains an ink receiving layer containing the ink. Have. Usually, on the surface of the printing layer or the ink receiving layer, a top coat layer which is made of an acrylic paint, a urethane paint or the like and which is the outermost layer is formed.
In addition, since the surface of the wooden portion of the substrate serving as the decorative portion has a function as an ink receiving layer, if a normal sealer is applied, there is no need to perform a special treatment such as suction stop. Also, printing by the ink jet method can be performed as it is. However, in some cases, printing may be blurred due to ink suction or the like. Therefore, it is preferable to form a colorless and transparent ink receiving layer (undercoat) on the surface of the base. When the ink receiving layer is provided, the ink supplied by the ink jet printing is absorbed by the ink receiving layer and integrated.
[0010]
In the above-mentioned "ink-jet printing", an aqueous (aqueous) or solvent-based (oil-based) ink or the like containing an acrylic resin, a vinyl chloride resin or the like serving as a binder and a colorant such as a pigment or a dye is used. Can be. When water-based ink is used, if the substrate needs to have water resistance, it is preferable to form an ink receiving layer having sufficient water resistance. Such an ink receiving layer may be formed of, for example, an ink containing a cross-linkable resin such as a product name “Pateracol” (manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc.) or an ink containing an oily colorant. Can be. The water resistance can be further improved by making the top coat layer thicker. In addition, the ink receiving layer when using oil-based ink is generally formed using an ink containing a thermoplastic polyurethane resin (uncrosslinked). Further, it can also be formed by a trade name "water-based acrylic HA", "water-based acrylic DM" (both manufactured by Mikuni Paint Co., Ltd.), and a water-based urethane-based emulsion paint.
[0011]
Ink jet printing is particularly useful when printing on a three-dimensional surface, and a desired print layer can be clearly formed on a predetermined portion of a substrate. This printing can be performed by a flat bed type ink jet printer or the like, and since the printable range in terms of spherical surface is 160 to 170 °, usually, a desired print layer can be formed by a small number of times of printing. Even if the number of times of printing is increased due to the shape and pattern of the base, the displacement of the boundary surface of each printed layer is small, and the operation for adjusting this is performed by other conventional printing methods. It is much easier than. Further, the ink jet printing is advantageous in terms of the cost of materials such as plate making and the time and labor required for printing.
[0012]
In the ink jet printing, a pattern is formed by ejecting ink from pores provided in a nozzle head and attaching the ink as a large number of dots having a diameter of about 50 to 70 μm on a surface to be printed. The number of dots is as large as 360 to 720 dots / inch, and even 1200 dots / inch, and the fineness of each dot is almost equal to the number of dots in normal offset printing and gravure printing.
[0013]
Further, in the present invention, a characteristic pattern of an actual tree is photographed, taken into a computer by a scanner, and a plurality of types (typically, 10 to 20 types) of characteristic patterns are converted into data to be printed by an ink jet method. In the case of mass production, a decorative molded body having a random pattern is obtained.
Ink is sequentially ejected from each of the three primary color and complementary color nozzle heads that move while being controlled by a computer, and a fine pattern similar to a photograph is formed. Further, brightness, shading, etc. can be freely controlled by a computer. Further, since printing can be performed in a non-contact manner, high-precision printing is possible as long as the surface of the base is not very irregular.
[0014]
Inkjet printing is more cost-effective than other conventional printing methods. In the conventional printing method, a printing plate is prepared and printed with a certain color using the printing plate, then a different printing plate is prepared and printed with another color using the printing plate. It is a general practice to gradually produce the final product while repeating the printing of the color tone, and this necessitates complicated operations and steps, which inevitably increases the cost.
[0015]
Further, an automatic printing machine capable of simultaneously printing a large number of colors, such as about 4 to 5 colors, other than the ink jet printing is also provided and used. If the number is small, it cannot be handled. In addition, in order to obtain a desired color tone, many prototypes are required, and costs such as design change, plate change, drawing with color change, plate making, and ink preparation are added and accumulated.
[0016]
According to the ink jet printing, not only drawing but also shading, color tone and the like can be set in the print mode, and the initial cost generated can be greatly reduced. Further, since printing of all colors is completed by one-step printing, a large operating cost is not required. In addition, everything can be processed by computer control, and the characteristic color tone and pattern of an actual tree can be easily formed. Further, since the print film formed by the ink jet printing is very thin, even if the boundary surfaces overlap each other when printing is repeated a plurality of times, it is inconspicuous.
[0017]
In addition, according to the ink jet printing, since it is not necessary to change the plate, printing can be performed only by selecting a pattern similar to each work, without impairing the characteristics of each individual, or with natural grain. Repairs and decorations are possible without compromising the harmony of the building. In addition, the selection work can be performed simply by designating a pattern of an approximate pattern by visually observing the work during printing without stopping the printer.
[0018]
The decorative molded body of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as a wooden pattern is decorated by such inkjet printing, but, for example, furniture such as a table and a chair, a panel, It may be an automobile interior material such as a steering wheel. Above all, it can be a steering wheel.
[0019]
【Example】
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples.
Example 1 (repair of characteristic pattern)
Using a metal core and a flat plate [kind: bird's eye maple (with bird's eye maple)], a metal core 26 as shown in FIG. 1 and wooden portions 21 and 22 joined to the peripheral surface of the metal core portion are formed. A base 2 for a steering wheel provided was prepared. In the base 2, the characteristic pattern of bird's eye maple (bird's eye heather) is exposed in the wooden part 21 in a well-balanced manner, but in the wooden part 22, the characteristic pattern hardly appears. Things.
Then, a characteristic pattern of bird's eye maple was decorated and repaired on the wooden portion 22 of the base by inkjet printing using an aqueous ink as follows.
[0020]
(1) Image processing {circle around (1)} A photograph in which a characteristic pattern on the surface of wood used for manufacturing the base is photographed in advance and a photograph in which the wooden portion 21 of the base is photographed are taken into a scanner.
{Circle over (2)} The background and annual rings of the image read out from the scanner onto the display are deleted, and the junction with the characteristic pattern is blurred to produce a characteristic pattern pattern. At this time, since the shape of the bird's-eye heather is different depending on the direction of tree cutting and the used part, a plurality (about 10 to 20 types) of patterns having a shape that does not cause discomfort are produced.
(3) The image is adjusted using the pattern of (2) according to the shape of the decorative portion of the wooden portion 22.
{Circle around (4)} Correcting the color tone, contrast, shading and flaws, and saving the data.
[0021]
(2) Forming an Ink Receiving Layer The decorative portion of the surface of the wooden portion 22 of the substrate is coated with a receiving layer ink (trade name “Pateracol IJ21” manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc.) to a thickness of 10 to 10%. A 20 μm ink receiving layer was formed, and then dried at 60 ° C. for 10 minutes.
[0022]
(3) Output of stored data and image correction (1) In order to accurately determine the position where the substrate is to be placed, the data was saved in (1) and (4) on printing paper placed on the table of a flatbed ink jet printer. Print based on data.
{Circle around (2)} Place a trial-treated base material on the printed image, adjust the height of the bed, and print directly.
(3) Observe the prototype printed in the above (2), evaluate the image, and predict a portion deemed unnecessary.
(4) The image data is changed so that each part of the image matches the decorated part of the base, the image is deformed, the color tone and the like are adjusted, and the data is saved.
(5) Based on the data stored in (4) above, direct printing is again performed on the test substrate, and the position correction and the angle correction are performed simultaneously.
(6) Observe the prototype and evaluate the image again.
(7) Steps (4) to (6) are repeated until there is no problem in the evaluation, and after the operation is completed, the data is saved.
{Circle around (8)} Based on this data, a characteristic pattern is printed on the decorative portion (wooden portion 22) of the base.
[0023]
As described above, after the operations (1) to (3), by forming the top coat layer on all of the wooden portions, the wooden portion 21 having a characteristic pattern in a well-balanced and natural pattern, and the decorative layer The decorative molded body 1 (see FIG. 2) having almost no sense of incongruity with the wooden portion 23 having the pattern according to the above was visually obtained.
[0024]
Example 2 (decoration on a material without characteristic pattern)
As shown in FIG. 3, a steering provided with a metal core 26 and a wooden part 22 joined to the peripheral surface of the metal core part using a metal core and a flat plate [type: hard maple (without bird's-eye heather)]. 100 bases 2 for wheels were prepared.
A characteristic pattern of bird's-eye maple (bird's eye heather) is printed on the wooden portion 22 of the base 2 by ink-jet printing using an oil-based ink (trade name “Mild Solvent Ink” manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd.). Decorated as follows.
[0025]
(1) Image processing (1) A photograph of a characteristic pattern of bird's eye maple taken in advance is taken into a scanner.
{Circle over (2)} The background and annual rings of the image read out from the scanner onto the display are deleted, and the junction with the characteristic pattern is blurred to produce a characteristic pattern pattern. At this time, since the shape of the bird's-eye heather is different depending on the direction of tree cutting and the used part, a plurality (about 10 to 20 types) of patterns having a shape that does not cause discomfort are produced.
(3) The image is adjusted using the pattern of (2) according to the shape of the decorative portion of the wooden portion 22.
{Circle around (4)} Correcting the color tone, contrast, shading and flaws, and saving the data.
[0026]
(2) Forming an ink receiving layer An ink receiving layer having a thickness of 10 to 20 μm is formed on a decorative portion on the surface of the wooden portion 22 of the base using a receiving layer ink containing a thermoplastic polyurethane resin (uncrosslinked). Formed and then dried at 70 ° C. for 10 minutes.
[0027]
(3) Output of stored data and image correction (1) In order to accurately determine the position where the substrate is to be placed, the data was saved in (1) and (4) on printing paper placed on the table of a flatbed ink jet printer. Print based on data.
{Circle around (2)} Place a trial-treated base material on the printed image, adjust the height of the bed, and print directly.
(3) Observe the prototype printed in the above (2), evaluate the image, and predict a portion deemed unnecessary.
(4) The image data is changed so that each part of the image matches the decorated part of the base, the image is deformed, the color tone and the like are adjusted, and the data is saved.
(5) Based on the data stored in (4) above, direct printing is again performed on the test substrate, and the position correction and the angle correction are performed simultaneously.
(6) Observe the prototype and evaluate the image again.
(7) Steps (4) to (6) are repeated until there is no problem in the evaluation, and after the operation is completed, the data is saved.
{Circle around (8)} Based on this data, a pattern of a characteristic pattern is printed on the decorative portion (wooden portion 22) of each base. At this time, the play of the movable receiving jig (1 to 20 mm in the left, right, front and rear directions) of the base is adjusted for each individual printing, so that the same pattern does not come to the same position to secure randomness.
[0028]
As described above, after the operations (1) to (3), the top coat layer is formed on all of the wooden portions to have a characteristic pattern in a well-balanced manner. The decorative molded body 1 (see FIG. 4) including the indistinguishable wooden portion 23 was obtained. It should be noted that none of the 100 substrates obtained had exactly the same pattern or the like, and individual randomness could be secured.
[0029]
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the present invention depending on the purpose and application. For example, even in a substrate for a wooden interior panel of a vehicle, by adopting the ink jet printing, it is possible to easily repair a characteristic pattern of a wood surface, such as a cut or a non-uniform pattern, after cutting. Wooden interior panel having a well-balanced pattern.
Also, if you take a picture of the flat pattern of the flat plate before cutting, take it into a computer using a scanner, and print the data as it is at the same position as that after cutting by ink-jet printing, almost the same pattern as before cutting Can be reproduced, and an appearance that is less uncomfortable can be obtained.
Furthermore, when the pattern of the wooden portion is significantly shifted, a simple mask made of paper, a protective sheet, a plastic plate, a metal plate, or the like is placed on a portion of the surface of the work that does not need to be printed, so that the mask can be easily masked. Can correct the bias of the pattern. Alternatively, a partially offset pattern may be created in advance.
In addition, when a work requiring a pattern other than the registered pattern appears during mass production of the decorative molded body, the work can be dealt with by adding a pattern each time because the work is controlled by the computer.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
Since the decorative molded article of the present invention is provided with the decorative layer having an appearance similar to an actual wooden pattern, the decorative molded article visually gives a sense of quality similar to a natural one. In addition, in the case of inkjet printing, restrictions on the three-dimensional shape of the substrate are small. That is, since non-contact printing is performed, printing can be performed even when there is a certain degree of irregularities on the substrate or the like. Further, image data corresponding to a printing plate in the conventional printing method can be created, corrected, and stored almost without limit, the cost is low, and it is very convenient when a new pattern is added. In the conventional printing method, considerable man-hours and costs were required from planning to manufacturing, but in the case of inkjet printing, no matter how many times planning, prototyping and evaluation were repeated, the cost was much lower than the conventional method, and A new product can be completed in a short time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a base.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a decorative molded body.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a base.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a decorative molded body.
[Explanation of symbols]
1; decorative molded body; 2; base; 21; wooden part with a pattern; 22; wooden part with little or no pattern; 23; wooden part with a decorative layer; 26; core metal.

Claims (3)

A decorative molded body comprising: a base having at least a part of a wooden surface; and a decorative layer imitating a wooden pattern provided on at least a part of the wooden portion of the surface of the base. A decorative molded article, characterized in that the decorative layer has a printing layer formed by inkjet printing or an ink receiving layer containing ink used for the printing. The decorative molded article according to claim 1, which is a steering wheel of a vehicle. The decorative molded article according to claim 1, wherein the wood pattern is a bird's-eye heather, a ball heather, a grape heather, a shrinkage heather, a pure white heather or a pure white shrinkage heather.

Images