Exterior vacuum molded body panels
OwnerFederico G. Jaekelinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Decorative exterior body panels for use on motor vehicles and methods for making the same are presented. Layers of thermoplastic material are sandwiched to produce a laminate. The laminate is then heated and vacuum formed into a selected body panel shape. To further ease the process of production of the vehicle body, the panel may have integral decorative material. Such a panel does not require paint or other extra steps to provide a finished look to the vehicle body. The top layer of the laminate is transparent, allowing the second layer to be seen. The second layer is a decorative material such as fabric or any colored, textured or reflective material.
Claims11
A method of producing an exterior body panel for use on automotive vehicles, comprising:
- providing a decorative layer;
- forming a laminate by providing a thermoplastic material on a top side and on a bottom side of the decorative layer, at least one of the top side and bottom side being substantially transparent;
- heating the laminate;
- conforming the laminate into a desired shape;
- cooling the laminate.
A method of making vacuum formed exterior body panels, comprising:
- providing a layer of decorative material;
- depositing one side of the decorative material a mixture of epoxy and resin which when cured forms a plastic layer that is substantially transparent;
- depositing on an opposite side of the decorative material a mixture of epoxy and resin which when cured forms a plastic layer;
- heating the decorative material and the plastic layers;
- pressing the decorative material, the top plastic layer and the bottom plastic layer in a vacuum mold to form a laminate;
- and
- cooling the pressed laminate.
An exterior body panel for use on automotive vehicles, comprising:
- a substantially transparent outer layer;
- an inner layer;
- and
- a decorative layer sandwiched between the outer layer and the inner layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.