Claims
- 1. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle, comprising: a rigid structure having a rigidity sufficient for said rigid structure to be used as said exterior panel for a motor vehicle and being formed from at least one thermoplastic material and reinforcement particles dispersed within the at least one thermoplastic material, said reinforcement particles comprising less than 15% of a total volume of the rigid structure, at least 40% of the reinforcement particles having a thickness less than about 50 nanometers, said rigid structure having a coefficient of linear thermal expansion of less than 20×10−6 inches of expansion per inch material per degree Fahrenheit, and a decorative coating layer having at least one coloring agent disposed on the rigid structure and being suitable for use as an exterior motor vehicle finish.
- 2. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least 50% of the reinforcement particles have a thickness of less than about 20 nanometers and at least 99% of the reinforcement particles have a thickness of less than about 30 nanometers.
- 3. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 1, wherein said reinforcement particles comprise one or more materials from a group consisting of montmorillonite, vermiculite, hectorite, saponite, hydrotalcites, kanernite, sodium octosilicate, magadiite, and kenyaite.
- 4. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 1, wherein said at least one thermoplastic is selected from a group consisting of polyolefin, a blend of polyolefins, an engineering thermoplastic, a blend of engineering thermoplastics, and a blend of at least one polyolefin with at least one engineering thermoplastic.
- 5. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 1, wherein said at least one thermoplastic comprises a polyolefin selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, ethylenepropylene copolymers, thermoplastic olefins (TPOs), and thermoplastic polyolefin elastomers (TPEs).
- 6. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least 80% of the reinforcement particles have an aspect ratio of about 50 to about 300.
- 7. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least 90% of the reinforcement particles have an aspect ratio of about 100 to about 200.
- 8. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 1, wherein said reinforcement particles comprise between about 6% to about 15% of the total volume of the rigid structure.
- 9. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 8, wherein said reinforcement particles comprise between about 8% to about 12% of the total volume of the rigid structure.
- 10. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 9, wherein said rigid structure has a coefficient of linear thermal expansion of less than about 15×10−6 inches of expansion per inch material per degree Fahrenheit.
- 11. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 9, wherein said rigid structure has a coefficient of linear thermal expansion of less than about 12×10−6 inches of expansion per inch material per degree Fahrenheit.
- 12. An exterior panel for a motor vehicle in accordance with claim 1, wherein said decorative coating layer having said least one coloring agent comprises an elastomeric acrylic melamine.
Parent Case Info
This application is the national phase of international application PCT/US99/11194 filed May 20, 1999 which designated the U.S.
This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/086,616, filed May 22, 1998.
GOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT AND INTEREST:
The invention in this patent was made with Governmental support under Cooperative Agreement No. 70NANB7H3028 awarded to the Dow Chemical Company and Decoma International of America, Inc. (formerly Magna International of America, Inc.), project ID 1997-02-0047B, project name “NANOCOMPOSITES-NEW LOW COST/HIGH STRENGTH MATERIALS FOR AUTOMOTIVE PARTS,” awarded Sep. 30, 1997 by the United States Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Advanced Technology Program. The Government has certain rights in this invention.
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/US99/11194 |
|
WO |
00 |
Publishing Document |
Publishing Date |
Country |
Kind |
WO99/61281 |
12/2/1999 |
WO |
A |
US Referenced Citations (5)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Derwent World Patent Index Abstract No. 1993-093960 of EP 598836B (Baughman et al) Oct. 15, 1997. |
Derwent World Patent Index Abstract No. 1995-128545 of JP 07053843 A, Feb. 28, 1995. |
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/086616 |
May 1998 |
US |