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AssigneeAvery Dennison Corporation
InventorsHoward H. Enlow, John J. Markey, John E. Roys, Keith L. Truog, Frederick Young
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A process for making a protective and decorative surfacing film comprises extrusion coating a solventless polymeric material from an extruder die to form an optically clear first layer on a polyester carrier sheet traveling past the extruder die opening. The extrusion coated first layer is immediately cooled on the carrier sheet to harden it, followed by applying a pigmented second layer to the first layer. The composite paint coat is transferred to a reinforcing backing sheet, after which the carrier sheet is separated from the paint coat to expose the outer surface of the first layer as a high gloss surface with a high distinctness-of-image, providing a transparent protective outer coat for the pigmented second layer. The pigmented second layer can be solvent cast and dried or extruded and hardened as a separate coating on the first layer. The composite paint coat can be bonded to a coextruded size coat and semi-rigid plastic substrate panel to form a thermoformable laminate. Techniques are disclosed for producing extruded clear films of exceedingly high optical clarity using a closed air flow transport and HEPA filtration system that removes airborne particles from the resin handling and extrusion process, thereby preventing micron-sized contaminants naturally present from many sources from entering the process and degrading ultimate film quality.
An extruded polymeric film of high transparency essentially free of defects formed by solventless extrusion as a thin film of essentially uniform thickness, in which the extruded film comprises a blend of PVDF or PVDF copolymer and acrylic resins, the film having an average of 3 defects or less per measured area of 1,248 sq. inches in a film extruded at a thickness of approximately one mil in which the defects have a measurable size in the range of about 0.4 to 1.0 mm2.
An extruded laminate comprising a coextruded semi-rigid polymeric backing sheet and bonding layer bonded to a decorative film layer which includes an extruded outer clear coat film formed by solventless extrusion, in which the clear coat film surface of said laminate has an average of no more than 3 defects in a test area of 24×36 inches in which the measurable size of a defect is in the range of about 0.4 to 1.0 mm2.
An extruded polymeric film of high transparency with a low defect count, the extruded film formed by solventless extrusion as a thin optically clear film of essentially uniform thickness in the range from about one to three mils, in which the extruded polymeric film comprises a blend of PVDF or PVDF copolymer and acrylic resins, the extruded clear film having an average defect per area count of 3 defects or less per measured area of 1,248 sq. inches in which the size of a defect is in the range of about 0.4 to 1.0 mm2.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.