NO780089L - DECORATIVE LAMINATE. - Google Patents

Description

Decorative laminate

This invention relates to a decorative laminate construction;

tion that can. used as decorative trim on k vehicles, *-:f. eg ;V:','. cars, on tools, signs, brands and other surfaces.

Single foils or sheets of transparent film which bear markings and can be used as legend sheets are previously known and described in U.S. Pat. patent 2 200 203. Such products cannot be used

■for forming a composite image of the kind which is formed/.by^lamination-^Vv natet according to the invention.. ; ; ^-^i^i^^^^-i:;.''^: ;'-'v^i;

Also previously known are tape constructions of cellulose material formed by overlying parts of a film containing ■

where streaks of color and they are described in the U.S. patent 2 156 501..

The use of color trims or color stripes. on films .instead f or V. •.';;-);•<

....” separated markings, e.g. dots, also excludes the formation of the type of composite visual pattern ladders that can be produced. '

Also previously known are transparent films which contain or carry markings, such as dots or lines, which are used by draftsmen to produce shading, hatching etc. on drawings or illustrations. Films of this nature are known un-/.' where the trademarks "Letraset" and "Letratone". The marking on such a product is located on the surface of the film and can be easily scratched off the film either to create light effects or to

leave an area of the illustration free so that other details can. get there. These markings are therefore not "protected" in.deh .;L<;>';

meaning which will be explained in more detail below. Sel vom such films can be overlapped to form particularly interestingé.^møristere, ;:,ute-'.

it closes the easy access to the surface markings for easy removal as well as the use of weakly adhesive agents on such films for their use as decorative laminates of long duration.

This invention relates to a decorative laminate comprising a! number of films, of which at least two have applied a pattern formed by a number of protected, separate markings, such as dots, dots, lines, triangles, squares, rectangles, etc. In the construction, the films lie on top of each other and at least one of the films is transparent and contains opaque markings and is arranged as follows y:y;; that at least some of the markings on the transparent fj-lm el-.'"■Vk:"ler films are not located above the markings on at least -''-r:^ the other film. The effect on the viewer is an enjoyable one

composite visual pattern of the markings. The effect which

. produced by means of a special laminate can be varied to a large extent depending on such factors as shape, , size ,- y'^ ?!^. color and distance between the markings on each film and the 'exact' "v:" relative position of the different films in the laminate. The outer surface of one of the films can be covered with pressure-sensitive adhesive; part, preferably with strong bonding power, to allow the laminate to be attached to a desired substrate. By the term "protected" as used above is meant that the separate markings on the films' are not readily accessible on the surface of any of the films, siik;:}Vj:J( that they can be easily removed by scraping etc. In a preferred embodiment, e.g. are the markings on the film in the laminate which will be closest to the final viewer when the laminate is attached to a substrate, arranged behind the film and thus not on its 'outer ■ side. Should the markings be on the side of the film which is closest to the viewer, they would be covered with an appropriate ;.'vv^4;-^ transparent protective layer as protection against light. removal:- The invention will be explained in more detail below by means of. examples and with reference to the drawings, where: Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing two films. which forms ;. part of an embodiment of the laminate according to the invention. They for--. - larger portions show the markings that appear on such films, and the arrow suggests that the films will be arranged so that they lie on top of each other in the laminate. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the laminate produced from films according to fig. 1 and the enlarged part shows the composite pattern image. A part of the composite image is ':formed .of' at least a part of the markings on one of the films while ..other y^ j: v. parts are formed by the markings from the second '.'film or the rfilms.iVrJ

; Fig. 3 shows a cross-section of the laminate taken along the line

in

3-3 on fig. 2, and fig. 4 shows a similar cross-section of a laminate which constitutes another embodiment of the invention.

The laminate construction according to the invention can include two •

or several films, of which at least one is transparent and where-

of at least two contain protected separate markings on the film. By placing the respective films one above the other in the laminate in such a way that at least some of the markings on.;.;

a transparent film is not located above the markings on at least one other film, a complex, decorative pattern is formed here, 3.%'?'of the markings in the laminate..'• -■-The invention can include different embodiments. All films can e.g. be transparent and their number may vary from two to a greater number provided that the size and distance..'.^., of the markings on the film which are located' furthest away from; eri be-yy funnel's eye, still contributes to at least part of the one-" 1-part, composite image. Alternatively, if desired, the film which-is in the laminate somewhere furthest away from a viewer's eye, can be a non- transparent film, so that only the other film or films placed above said one is transparent. Hyisr'.-.-^ such a device is used, it.cannot be transparent ;■ f i lm:.yare^ colored and may contain separated 'markings. In the latter •til-^/Vi^;

trap will one or more transparent films with a. or more • set markings be placed over such a non-transparent film to form the composite image. If the non-transparent-.., film is only colored and contains no markings, at least two transparent films will be placed o ve r.-. the nine and "at least two of these transparent films will then -contain .or: r-;-1, carry separate markings. -'a'-.-r

In principle, the presence of two transparent films, which ..

each contains a pattern of separate, protected markings, ■■ ';\ all that is needed to form a laminate with a. appealing, con- y... composed' image of markings. The use of several films in the laminate v'. contributes to greater costs and need not be preferred for this reason..'

Fig. 1 shows two films 11,12 which are both transparent•and which each contain a number of protected, separate markings. 13,.. which for both films is shown on a larger scale; The files can be seen in even more detail in fig. 3 and 4. ' ' .v.■ : ; ..V'' •' The films may be of any appropriate^."' to;':

material, but plastic films of polyvinyl chloride, polyesters, poly- •'■: ■ acetates etc. preferred. If the film is to be used as a decorative outdoor film, the selected film must have good weather resistance. The movies. on fig. 1 has printed a number of separate, protected markings which may vary in size, species color and distance;• There need not be the same marking patterns on each film. The markings can be printed using conventional printing techniques, e.g. rotogravure printing, on each side of the films although it is preferred that the markings are on the side of::;k;.;. the film which will Y.aex;e furthest away from the viewer and which thereby .will,;/:;; protected against removal or scraping etc. Should the markings'^';'.: be placed on the other side of the film, i.e. the outside of

the top film, the outer side can be covered (after the application of the markings) with an appropriate, transparent, protective film

which protects, the markings against tight. removal. Normally, this embodiment of the invention would not be preferable because of the costs involved.

A layer of suitable pressure-sensitive adhesive (not

shown in fig. 1) is preferably applied to the side of the film that carries the markings and this sub-combination of film, marking and

adhesive is then placed on the second film in the laminate; such that -that T.'X.kJ';| the films can stick to each other. The adhesive selected for use for a particular laminate will be adapted to the final dimensions of the laminate. If the decorative laminate is to be used outdoors -,'■•■ and is to have a long life, the selected adhesive must both have a large

adhesiveness and good weather resistance. The lamination operation can be performed using any known technique.

nod and is indicated by the arrow in fig. 1. • >■:,;•;!;";'; ;/' .^vr''--The laminated product 21 then shows a composite image of' . protected and separated markings on both films. This composite image can is seen in more detail on the detail magnification of Fig. 2, where parts of the composite image are taken from the various markings on the individual films in the laminate.

composite image will, with regard to appearance, depend on

the size, shape, color and spacing of the special' markers. ger .on the films as well as of the exact positioning of the films in relation to each other. By varying one or more of these pårame- ■'J . tere, a person skilled in the art can arrive at a large .number of different.;:''.;

patterns depending on his desired goals. •;-' '-V'<:->>.<y': Fig. 3 shows a section through the laminate "according to : fig;5-2;.me.d^;|^

toj transparent films 31, protected markings 32 (which may be the same or different) on each film, a layer of suitable pressure-sensitive adhesive 33 and release paper 34 to be

in

according to the figure, protect the bottom adhesive layer against contamination, dirt or foreign particles: When the release paper 34 fjerries/lV,

a person can place the decorative laminate on a desired substrate.

Fig. 4 shows another embodiment of the invention, where a

non-transparent film 42 with markings 43 forms the bottom layer of the laminate. A transparent film 41 bearing markings 43fj;\" ø£ lies on the film 42. Adhesive layer 44 and release paper 45 are included in the laminate.

Claims (12)

1. Decorative laminate comprising a number of f i Imer, k . a. r: a k-' terized in that at least two of the films have a pattern formed by a number of separate, protected markings, that the films lie on top of each other and are bound to each other in the laminate, that at least one of the films is transparent and contains opaque marke- .,:,..; rings and at least some of the markings, on a transparent film:K;^;;. is not located above the markings on at least one other, film;lV;#^ so that a composite, ■ visual' pattern, of the markings in the laminate is formed. ■ - ' ■':■•■; 2. Laminate according to claim 1, characterized in that all films in the laminate are transparent. "',, ■-':;;:'::;'!-' -" •;.> '*Vi7£ 3. Laminate according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the films has a pattern with markings..-, - .:.' ''■ >'■'■ '''■:'•'"'^■•Jv^' 4. Laminate according to claim 1, characterized by . that .''. '•. the films in the laminate are transparent plastic films. "v 5. Laminate according to claim 1, characterized in that the laminate consists of two films. r;; ,[ ;. 6. Laminate according to claim 2, characterized in that ; The laminate consists of two films. 7. Laminate according to claim 1, characterized in that the opaque markings are dots. 8. Laminate according to claim 1. characterized by åt;.; _.'■"';• the laminate consists of transparent plastic films and the markings on the..!;-y^.v:y films are dots..'.:'. v •••.":'-' 9 . Laminate according to claim 1, characterized in that the film is of polyvinyl chloride. 10; Laminate according to claim 8, characterized in that the film is made of polyvinyl chloride. IN ll Laminate according to claim 1, c a r a c t e r .• i ser t . in that a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive is arranged on the outside of one of the films, so that the laminate can be attached to a desired substrate. 12. Laminate according to claim 11, characterized in that a layer of release paper is arranged on the outside of the pressure-sensitive adhesive on the outside of one of the films. ,-. ■ > ./!:v:-'^vM