Patent EP-2366540-A1 (EP)
Inventor: STREICHHARDT THOMAS
IPC: B29C48/22
Filed: 2011-03-01
Abstract: The edge strip, which is made of thermoplastic synthetic material in multi-layer structure, for furniture panels, comprises an upper layer made of homopolypropylene, and a coextruded melting layer. The edge strip disposes over highly flowable melting layer in a melting state, where the melting layer has comparable hardness and melting temperature to further layer, so that the edge strip has constant hardness and melting temperature. The thickness of the edge strip is 0.3-4 mm and the visible upper side of the edge strip embosses, prints and/or lacquers and/or is laminated with plastic film. The edge strip, which is made of thermoplastic synthetic material in multi-layer structure, for furniture panels, comprises an upper layer made of homopolypropylene, and a coextruded melting layer. The edge strip disposes over highly flowable melting layer in a melting state, where the melting layer has a comparable hardness and a melting temperature to a further layer, so that the edge strip has a constant hardness and the melting temperature. The thickness of the edge strip is 0.3-4 mm and the visible upper side of the edge strip embosses, prints and/or lacquers and/or is laminated with plastic film or metal film. The edge strip has grains obtained by coextrusion of the same polymers in different color adjustment or by an inhomogeneous distribution of colorants. The edge strip is fabricated in two-layer or multilayer by coextrusion, where the coextrusion of the melting layer takes place both in a process directly with the extrusion of the other layers and/or by a subsequent post-extrusion and/or by a lamination of the melting layer as film on the other layers. The edge strip is realized in two-layer or multilayer by liquid coating, which is fixed by cross-linking or drying. During a multilayer execution, an intermediate layer is provided, which functions as adhesive mediator between the incompatible polymers not combined by coextrusion. The coextruded melting layer is based on a slightly flowing polymer of same chemical basis such as homopolypropylene with a melting flow index of above 50 g/minutes (according to ISO 1133, 230[deg] C, 2.16 kg). The later machining behavior, the hardness and the softening temperature of the edge strip are homogeneously adjusted in the upper layer and the melting layer by using the polymer basis where the visual differences in colors, gloss and/or structure are preventable in the result of the cutting processing of the edge strip after fixing onto the furniture panels. The additives and/or pigments absorbing energy such as light and/or radiation, additives absorbing heat, mineralized filler material or metal particles are added to the melting layer for an optimal absorption of laser radiation and conversion of the laser radiation into heat energy or absorption of supplied plasma energy. The liquid coating is applied on the melting layer of the edge strip, contains the additives and/or pigments absorbing energy such as light and/or radiation, additives absorbing heat, mineralized filler material or metal particles and is thermally and/or chemically cross-linked or dried. The melting layer is provided with an adhesive mediator, which consists of a liquid material mixture, where the main components contain water, organic solvent, binding agent and mineralized filler. The melting layer and/or the intermediate layers have a foamed structure.