JPH04307288A - Preparation of operation display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent such a phenomenon that the remains of paint generated accompanied by laser processing may be left on clear coat or that a reverse character is put out of sight by said remains by applying laser processing before a finish coating process. CONSTITUTION:Light semipermeable white paint is sprayed to the surface of a synthetic resin plate 2 as undercoating forming a printing surface and, after drying, light screening black paint is sprayed. After brown coating 5 is applied, a woodgrain pattern 6 is printed. After a printing process is completed, the printed surface is irradiated with laser beam to trim the printing pattern 6, the brown coating 5 and the black coating 4 in a character or mark shape and the white coating 3 is exposed to display a white character or mark. Finally, clear coat 7 is applied as finish coating in order to protect the printing pattern 6.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Purpose of the invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing, for example, a display panel for operating an air conditioner in an automobile.

0002

[Background of the Invention] In order to make it easier to operate display panels for air conditioners in automobiles at night, characters and symbols displayed on the panels can be seen through the backlight provided on the back of the display panels. There is.

[0003] In general, the structure of such a display panel is such that a transparent synthetic resin plate colored green or the like is provided facing the backlight, and white and black coatings are applied in this order, with some parts of the black coating being applied. By cutting out letters or symbols, white letters are displayed, and because these white letters partially transmit light, they become visible at night when illuminated by a backlight. ing.

One method of manufacturing such an operation display panel is to apply a white coating W and a black coating B in this order on a transparent synthetic resin plate J, as shown in FIG. 7, and then irradiate it with a laser. A laser processing method is applied in which only the black painted part B is trimmed in the shape of a character to display the white character A. Another method is to paint white paint W as shown in Figure 8.
After placing the easy-release agent R in the shape of letters on the transparent synthetic resin plate J having
There is a peeling method in which the black paint B and the easy-release agent R are peeled off to display the white letters A.

[0005] However, with the recent trend towards luxury passenger cars,
There have been requests to enhance the design effect by adding patterns such as wood grain to the operation display panel, and by incorporating curved shapes into parts of the panel itself. In order to meet these demands, it is necessary to print a pattern on top of the black paint, but in this case, the printed surface is weak and easily scratched, so a clear coat is also applied over it. It is necessary to do it.

However, when performing such work, there are several problems in applying the conventional methods as they are. In other words, in the laser processing method, the laser can pass through the clear coat, but when the black painted or printed surface is trimmed by the laser, the paint or printing ink instantly becomes sublimated, and the residue is absorbed into the clear coat. The white letters are smeared with this debris and cannot be seen clearly. It is also possible to apply a peel-off method, but since this method removes part of the black paint with a peel-off tape, the borders of the white letters are dirty and the letters cannot be displayed clearly. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not suitable for displaying fine text.
This is not suitable as a manufacturing method for operation display panels that are being adopted as passenger cars become more upscale.

On the other hand, as another method for attaching a pattern to a panel having a curved surface, in-mold molding is a method that has not been adopted in the past as a manufacturing method for this type of panel. In this method, a film with a pattern printed on it is placed inside a female mold, and the film is molded using an injection method to project the pattern onto the molding surface. Although it is possible to print on curved surfaces with this method, the pattern and the film on which it is printed are inseparable, so when forming white characters with a laser, it is necessary to print on the underside of the film. There is a problem in that debris burned by the laser remains.

[0008] Furthermore, another method of applying a pattern to a panel is a method using hot stamping. However, with this method, the ink that makes up the pattern adheres to the painted surface due to adhesive force or intermolecular bonds, so it is necessary to immediately apply a top coat to protect it. It can be said that they are inseparable. Therefore, it is still necessary to irradiate the laser from above the top coat to form the white letters.
In this case as well, residues burned by the laser remain on the underside of the top coat. In addition, it is impossible or difficult to attach designs to curved surfaces using hot stamping methods.
In this respect as well, the method is inappropriate as a manufacturing method for an operation display panel having a curved surface.

[0009]

[Technical matters attempted to be developed] The present invention was made in view of this background, and is based on the above-mentioned laser processing method. This is an attempt to develop a method for manufacturing an operation display panel that can display graphics and images.

0010

[Structure of the invention]

[Means for achieving the object] That is, the method for manufacturing an operation display panel, which is the first invention related to the present application, includes a base coating step in which a transparent base is coated with a light transmissive color and a light blocking color in this order. , a printing process in which an appropriate pattern is printed on the base using a curved surface printing method, and a part of the base of the light-blocking color and the printing surface is trimmed with a laser to expose the base of the light transmissive color, thereby creating the appropriate characters or figures. This is characterized in that a laser processing step for displaying the image and a finishing coating step for applying a transparent coating onto the printed surface are performed in this order.

[0011] Furthermore, the method for manufacturing an operation display panel, which is the second invention related to the present application, includes a base coating step in which a transparent base is coated with a light-blocking color, and a pattern is appropriately formed on the base using a curved surface printing method. There is a printing process in which the light-blocking colored base and part of the printing surface are trimmed with a laser to expose the base to display appropriate characters or figures, and a transparent coating is applied on the printing surface. The finishing coating process is performed in this order.

Furthermore, a method for manufacturing an operation display panel, which is the third invention related to the present application, includes a base coating step in which a light-blocking color is applied to a semi-transparent base, and an appropriate pattern is applied to the base using a curved surface printing method. A printing process that prints a light-blocking colored base and a part of the printing surface using a laser to expose the base and display appropriate characters or figures, and a transparent coating on the printing surface. This is characterized in that the finishing coating process is performed in this order. These inventions aim to achieve the above object.

[0013]

Effects of the Invention In the present invention, since the laser processing step is provided before the finish painting step, there is no possibility that residues of paint etc. sublimated during laser processing will be enclosed between the clear coat formed in the finish painting step. There is no.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained below based on the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an applied state of an operation display panel 1 for an air conditioner, which is an example manufactured by the method for manufacturing an operation display panel of the present invention, and this panel is located approximately at the center of an instrument panel P. It is provided on the left hand side of the handle H. Before explaining the manufacturing method of this operation display panel, the structure of this panel itself will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 2, the operation display panel 1 has a synthetic resin plate 2 serving as a base coated with a white coating 3 which is semi-transparent, and a black coating 4 and a brown coating 5 on top of the white coating 3. Further, a woodgrain-like pattern print 6 is applied thereon, and finally a clear coat 7 is applied as a protective layer for the pattern print 6. The synthetic resin plate 2 is a transparent plate colored green and has a bent surface in part, and has four notches 8 provided for moving various levers R for operating the air conditioner left and right. It is formed by forming. Further, above each notch 8, characters for operating the air conditioner such as "OFF" and "AUTO" are displayed.

[0016] The characters for operating the air conditioner include the black paint 4, brown paint 5, and pattern printing 6 parts that indicate "OFF" and "AUTO".
'', etc., and the white paint 3 underneath is visible, which serves as the character display. The operation display panel 1 has the above-described structure, but a light bulb E is provided on the back side of the panel as shown in FIG. Synthetic resin board 2 that is lit and the light is green
By passing through the part of the white paint 3 cut out in the shape of a letter, the letter appears to glow green, as shown in FIG. 3(b).

The present invention can of course be applied to the case of manufacturing the operation display panel 1 that does not have a curved surface, but since the present invention employs a curved surface printing method as described later, some This embodiment is an operation display panel 1 having a curved surface. In addition, although the above is a general structure of the operation display panel 1, some modified examples include a structure in which the white coating 3, which is a semi-light-blocking color, is not applied, and a structure in which the light bulb E and a synthetic resin plate are used instead. 2 and a synthetic resin plate 2 that is the base.
The structure may be made of a translucent material.

Incidentally, if the structure is such that the white coating 3 is not applied, the light from the light bulb E will be directly seen through the letter-shaped cutout through the transparent synthetic resin plate 2, and the white coating 3 will be visible directly through the transparent synthetic resin plate 2. A different design effect can be obtained than when the Furthermore, if a semi-transparent screen is provided instead of the white coating 3, or if the synthetic resin plate 2 is made of a semi-transparent material, the light from the bulb E will change depending on the screen or the semi-transparent material. Therefore, a further different design effect can be obtained.

Next, a method of manufacturing the operation display panel 1 having the structure described above will be explained. This manufacturing method includes a base coating process, a printing process, a laser processing process, and a finishing coating process in this order.

i) Undercoating process: First, a semi-transparent white paint is sprayed onto the front surface of the synthetic resin board 2 as a base coating to form the printing surface, and after this has dried, the same coating is applied. Spray a light-blocking black paint as a base coat. In addition to white or black, the light semi-transmissive color and the light blocking color may be selected from, for example, lemon color as the light semi-transmissive color, brown as the light blocking color, or the like. In short, any color that allows light from bulb E to pass through synthetic resin plate 2 and a portion of it to the front side of the panel can be adopted as a semi-transparent color, and also blocks all light from bulb E. Any color that can be used as a light-blocking color can be used as a light-blocking color.

[0021] In addition, in this base coating process, in order to enhance the pattern printed in the next printing process and make it more similar to the actual product, a color other than white or black is further applied as a base coat on top of the black coating 4. You can. Incidentally, in this embodiment, the brown coating 5 corresponds to such a base coating, and the brown coating 5 formed by spraying the brown coating, in combination with the wood grain pattern that will be printed later, gives the appearance of the panel. It looks as if it is made of wood.

[0022] If a structure is adopted in which the white paint 3 is not applied as described above, the black paint is not sprayed directly onto the synthetic resin board 2 without spraying the white paint in the above process. That's fine. In addition, in the case where the white coating 3 is not applied, a structure is adopted in which a semi-transparent screen is provided between the light bulb E and the synthetic resin plate 2, as described above, or the synthetic resin plate 2, which is the base, is made of a semi-transparent material. If the structure is such that the synthetic resin plate 2
A semi-transparent screen may be pasted on the surface of the light bulb E, or the synthetic resin plate 2 may be made of a translucent material instead of transparent. Incidentally, if a method is adopted in which white paint 3, which is a semi-transparent color, is not applied, it is not possible to expect clear character display that has a semi-transparent color, but cost reduction and efficient production can be achieved accordingly. Therefore, it is possible to apply a panel that is not coated with a semi-transparent color as appropriate depending on the type of passenger car or the like to which the panel is applied.

ii) Printing process Once the brown paint has dried, a wood grain pattern, for example, is printed over it. Since a part of the synthetic resin plate 2 has a curved surface, this printing method is performed by applying a so-called curved surface printing technique. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, with the water-soluble film 9 printed with a wood grain pattern floating on the water surface, the synthetic resin plate 2 is tilted at a certain angle above the water surface with the painted side facing the water-soluble film 9. hold it. In this state, while maintaining the inclination of the synthetic resin board 2, the entire synthetic resin board 2 is pushed down below the water surface, and the water pressure changes the wood grain pattern onto the synthetic resin board 2.
Transfer while keeping it in close contact with the

iii) Laser processing process When the printing process is completed, the pattern print 6, brown paint 5 and black paint 4 are trimmed into the shape of letters or symbols by irradiating the laser from above the printed surface, and the white paint 3 is trimmed. By exposing it, white characters and symbols are displayed.

The principle and method of such laser processing will now be briefly explained. First, the principle behind trimming using a laser is that by concentrating the laser beam into a minute area with a focusing lens, the energy density in that area can be increased. , that energy is absorbed by the surface of the workpiece and converted into thermal energy, instantaneously overheating the workpiece itself (in this example, the pattern printing ink, brown paint, and black paint) to a state of overheating above the boiling point. As a result, melting and evaporation occur. At this time, the molten material is explosively ejected and removed by the pressure of the easily vaporized components in the melting zone. In addition, in this embodiment, since the laser beam uses a wavelength that is well absorbed by dark colors such as black and brown, but is reflected by white, pattern printing 6 and brown painting 5, which are dark colors, are used.
And only the black paint 4 is heated, melted, and evaporated, and the white paint 3
remains unheated.

Next, regarding the types of lasers, there are solid lasers such as ruby and YAG, and gas lasers such as CO2, and there are also pulse application type and continuous application type, etc., but the selection of these lasers depends on An appropriate laser can be adopted based on the composition of the paint or ink, the thickness of the coating film, the size and thickness of the characters, etc. Furthermore, the laser processing method is to scan the laser along the letter to be trimmed.
In addition to the ngraving method, there is also dot matrix marking, which continuously forms dots to form characters.
There are the g method and the mask marking method, in which a laser beam passes through a mask cut out in the shape of a letter, is condensed by a focusing lens, and is irradiated onto the workpiece, but an appropriate method can be selected depending on the thickness of the letter, etc.

iv) Finish painting process Unlike the painted surface, the printed surface has a thin ink layer as a coating,
Since it easily peels off or gets scratched due to rubbing etc., it is necessary to apply a coating to protect the pattern printing 6, and therefore a clear coat 7 is applied as a finishing coating.

[0028]

[Effects of the Invention] In the present invention, since the laser processing step is provided before the finishing painting step, there is no possibility that the residue of paint etc. caused by the laser processing remains between the clear coat and the white letters become difficult to see due to the residue. Nor.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the front of a driver's seat of an automobile to which an operation display panel manufactured according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a separated coating film of an operation display panel manufactured according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view and a front view of a portion of the operation display panel manufactured according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a skeletal cross-sectional view showing step by step a base coating step in the method for manufacturing an operation display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing each of the printing process, laser processing process, and finishing coating process.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing how a water-soluble film is printed on a surface coated with a base coat.

FIG. 7 is a skeletal cross-sectional view showing step-by-step a conventional method for manufacturing an operation display panel.

FIG. 8 is a skeletal cross-sectional view showing step by step another manufacturing method of the conventional operation display panel manufacturing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Operation display panel 2 Synthetic resin board 3 White paint 4 Black paint 5 Brown paint 6 Pattern printing 7 Clear coat 8 Notch part 9 Water-soluble film E Light bulb H Handle P Instrument panel R Lever

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claim 1: A base coating process in which a transparent base is coated with a light transmissive color and a light blocking color in this order; a printing process in which an appropriate pattern is printed on the base using a curved surface printing method; A laser processing process that displays letters or figures as appropriate by trimming the blocking color base and part of the printing surface with a laser to expose the semi-transparent color base, and finishing by applying a transparent coating on the print surface. A method for manufacturing an operation display panel, characterized in that a painting step is performed in this order. 2. A base coating step in which a transparent base is coated with a light-blocking color; a printing process in which an appropriate pattern is printed on the base using a curved surface printing method; and a base-coating process in which a transparent base is coated with a light-blocking color. A special feature is that a laser processing step is performed in which characters or figures are displayed as appropriate by trimming the base with a laser to expose the base, and a finishing coating step is performed in which a transparent coating is applied on the printed surface, in this order. A method for manufacturing an operation display panel. 3. A base coating step in which a light-blocking color is applied to a translucent base, a printing process in which an appropriate pattern is printed on the base using a curved surface printing method, and a base-coating process in which a light-blocking color is applied to the base and the printing surface is coated with a light-blocking color. It is characterized by a laser processing step in which a part is trimmed with a laser to expose the base to display letters or figures as appropriate, and a finish painting step in which a transparent coating is applied on the printed surface, which are performed in this order. A method for manufacturing an operation display panel.