Patent Application
20210040332
This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No(s).108127961 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Aug. 6, 2019 and Patent Application No(s).108145528 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Dec. 12, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present disclosure relates to fouling-proof structures, and in particular to a fouling-proof structure on a synthetic leather material surface.
Use of synthetic leather is wide and increasing steadily year by year. However, the use of synthetic leather in garments, furniture, wall materials and public space is confronted with problems. For example, the surface of synthetic leather is susceptible to dirt or graffiti, which is unremovable and, in consequence, the resultant unattractive appearance of the synthetic leather leads to shortened service life and thus poses an environmental burden. Therefore, it is important to provide a fouling-proof structure effective in preventing dirt, cleaning, and preventing detergent-induced damage. The fouling-proof structure will extend the service life of related products, lower their replacement rates, lessen their impacts on the environment, and thus convert the products into green.
In view of the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a fouling-proof structure.
To achieve at least the above objective, the present disclosure provides a fouling-proof structure, comprising: an alcohol-resistant layer; and a water-based fouling-proof layer disposed on the alcohol-resistant layer, wherein the alcohol-resistant layer is formed by curing an alcohol-resistant combination, and the alcohol-resistant combination comprises polyurethane resin, and wherein the water-based fouling-proof layer is formed by curing a water-based fouling-proof combination, and the water-based fouling-proof combination comprises polyurethane resin, water, polymerized siloxanes, water-based PTFE and silicone oil.
Regarding the fouling-proof structure, the alcohol-resistant combination comprises: 30-50 weight percent of polyether and polyester aliphatic water-based polyurethane resin; and further comprises 40-70 weight percent of water.
Regarding the fouling-proof structure, the alcohol-resistant combination further comprises: 0.01-3 weight percent of wetting agent; 0.01-2 weight percent of aziridine crosslinker; 0.01-1 weight percent of antifoaming agent; and 0.5-2.5 weight percent of polycarbodiimide crosslinker.
Regarding the fouling-proof structure, the alcohol-resistant combination comprises: 70-90 weight percent of hydrolysis-resistant, yellowing-resistant polyether polyurethane resin; and further comprises: 5-15 weight percent of melamine type two-component crosslinker; and 4-15 weight percent of two-component chemical promoter.
Regarding the fouling-proof structure, the alcohol-resistant combination further comprises: 0.01-2 weight percent of matting agent.
Regarding the fouling-proof structure, the water-based fouling-proof combination comprises: 5-40 weight percent of polyether and polyester aliphatic, hydrolysis-resistant, water-based polyurethane resin; 40-70 weight percent of water: 5-30 weight percent of polymerized siloxanes; 1-10 weight percent of water-based PTFE; and 1-10 weight percent of silicone oil.
Regarding the fouling-proof structure, the water-based fouling-proof combination further comprises: 0.1-3 weight percent of isocyanate crosslinker; 0.1-3 weight percent of tackifier; 0.1-3 weight percent of wetting agent; 0.01-3 weight percent of antifoaming agent; 5-15 weight percent of leather slipping agent; and 0.01-1 weight percent of matting agent.
The fouling-proof structure is disposed on a substrate. The alcohol-resistant layer is disposed between the water-based fouling-proof layer and the substrate. Besides, the substrate can be made of fabric, polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In a variant embodiment, the substrate is made of fabric, PU, water-based PU, PVC, semi PU/PVC, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), thermoplastic olefin (TPO), thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV), thermoplastic styrene (TPS), thermoplastic polyether ester elastomer (TPEE), thermoplastic polyamide (TPA), or a combination thereof.
The fouling-proof structure of the present disclosure is applicable to the surface of synthetic leather. None of the hotel ballpoint pen, ballpoint pen or gel pen is able to cause a stain to the surface of the synthetic leather which has the fouling-proof structure of the present disclosure; even if it is, the stain can be easily removed to a great extent with dry cloth, and then the remainder of the stain can also be removed by commercial detergents or alcohol solution, so as to restore the appearance of the surface of the synthetic leather material.
According to the prior art, the conventional fouling-proof structure formed on the synthetic leather surface does not have a basal layer made of an alcohol-resistant material, and thus the structure is likely to be damaged or has its fouling-proof performance quickly decayed when it has wiped with solvent. It is because the bonding between the fouling-proof material and the synthetic leather to be protected is so worse that the layer readily becomes a disposable fouling-proof layer and thus lacks commercial value and practicability.
By contrast, the fouling-proof structure of the present disclosure has a basal layer made of an alcohol-resistant material beneath the water-based fouling-proof material. In a preferred embodiment, the water-based fouling-proof material undergoes a spraying-coating process before the alcohol-resistant layer is curing (reacts with the substrate surface completely), and the two layers are simultaneously cured together (react completely) at high temperature. The alcohol-resistant layer is graffiti-proof. The purpose of the aforesaid processing and reaction process is to avoid a condition: after the alcohol-resistant layer has cured at high temperature completely, the water-based fouling-proof material can no longer be bonded to the alcohol-resistant layer perfectly, thereby causing the fouling-proof layer to detach.
The fouling-proof structure of the present disclosure comprises a water-based fouling-proof layer and an alcohol-resistant layer, and it can be the protective layers on the substrates made of various materials.
In a variant embodiment, it is only when the synthetic leather material which is covered with the fouling-proof structure comprising a water-based fouling-proof layer and an alcohol-resistant layer is wiped repeatedly at least 30 times with alcohol solution or commercial detergents and then begins to decrease the performance of its fouling-proof structure.
In order to clarify the description, the thickness and size of each layer shown in the drawings are enlarged, omitted or schematically depicted. The drawings are not drawn to scale.
To well understand the purpose, characteristics, and effects of this present disclosure, embodiments together with the detailed descriptions and the attached tables of the present disclosure are provided.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the substrate 20 is water-based PU synthetic leather, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In a variant embodiment, the substrate is fabric, polyurethane (PU) leather, water-based PU leather, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) leather, semi PU/PVC leather, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) leather, thermoplastic olefin (TPO), thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV), thermoplastic styrene (TPS), thermoplastic polyether ester elastomer (TPEE), thermoplastic polyamide (TPA), or a combination thereof.
The process of producing the fouling-proof structure 10 in this embodiment is as follows:
The drying temperature and duration in step a) and step b) only serve exemplary purposes and thus must not be interpreted in such a manner to be restrictive of the scope of the present disclosure. Hence, persons skilled in the art can appropriately adjust the drying temperature and duration in step a) and step b) as needed without departing from the scope of the claims of the present disclosure. In a variant embodiment, the drying in step b) takes place at 140-145° C.
In this embodiment, the alcohol-resistant combination and water-based fouling-proof combination are coated by means of spraying-coating, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto; hence, persons skilled in the art can select an appropriate method of coating as needed. According to the present disclosure, the means of coating for use in the method of producing a fouling-proof structure includes but is not limited to: spraying-coating, soaking-coating, showering-coating, painting-coating, rotating-coating, vacuum-coating, rolling-coating and direct coating.
In this embodiment, the alcohol-resistant layer 12 is formed by curing an alcohol-resistant combination A. The constituents of the alcohol-resistant combination A are enumerated in Table 1 below.
In this embodiment, the water-based fouling-proof layer 13 is formed by curing the water-based fouling-proof combination A. The constituents of the water-based fouling-proof combination A are enumerated in Table 2 below.
The product model numbers, suppliers, and weight percents of the constituents enumerated in Table 1 and Table 2 only serve exemplary purposes but must not be interpreted in such a manner to be restrictive of the scope of the present disclosure. Hence, persons skilled in the art can select appropriate product model numbers and suppliers of the constituents and adjust appropriate weight percents as needed without departing from the scope of the claims of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, for exemplary purposes, matting powder is used as the matting agent, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and thus it is feasible to use any other types (for example, liquid) of matting agent. In a variant embodiment, the alcohol-resistant combination does not include any wetting agent, aziridine crosslinker and antifoaming agent. In a variant embodiment, the water-based fouling-proof combination does not include any antifoaming agent and matting agent.
FIG. 2 is a picture taken of the fouling-proof structure 10 and the substrate 20 according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The picture shows four layers arranged from top to bottom as follows: (a) a top layer is the fouling-proof structure 10 which comprises the alcohol-resistant layer 12 and the water-based fouling-proof layer 13; the substrate 20 includes: (b) a surface layer which comprises the surface of water-based PU; (c) a middle layer which comprises water-based PU foam; and (d) fabric.
When it comes to the fouling-proof structure and the process of producing the same, embodiment 1-2 differs from embodiment 1-1 as follows: in embodiment 1-2, the alcohol-resistant layer is formed by curing an alcohol-resistant combination B, and the constituents of the alcohol-resistant combination B are enumerated in Table 1; and the water-based fouling-proof layer is formed by curing the water-based fouling-proof combination B, and the constituents of the water-based fouling-proof combination B are enumerated in Table 2 above.
When it comes to the fouling-proof structure and the process of producing the same, embodiment 1-3 differs from embodiment 1-1 as follows: in embodiment 1-3, the alcohol-resistant layer is formed by curing an alcohol-resistant combination C; the constituents of the alcohol-resistant combination C are enumerated in Table 1 above; and the water-based fouling-proof layer is formed by curing the water-based fouling-proof combination C, and the constituents of the water-based fouling-proof combination C are enumerated in Table 2 above.
The fouling-proof structure in embodiment 2-1 comprises: an alcohol-resistant layer; and a water-based fouling-proof layer disposed on the alcohol-resistant layer. In this embodiment, the fouling-proof structure is disposed on a substrate, and the alcohol-resistant layer is disposed between the water-based fouling-proof layer and the substrate.
In this embodiment, the substrate is solvent-based PU synthetic leather, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In a variant embodiment, the substrate is fabric, polyurethane (PU) leather, water-based PU leather, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) leather, semi PU/PVC leather, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) leather, thermoplastic olefin (TPO), thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV), thermoplastic styrene (TPS), thermoplastic polyether ester elastomer (TPEE), thermoplastic polyamide (TPA), or a combination thereof.
The process flow of producing the fouling-proof structure in this embodiment comprises the steps as follows:
The drying temperatures and durations in step a) and step b) only serve exemplary purposes but must not be interpreted in such a manner to be restrictive of the scope of the present disclosure. Persons skilled in the art can appropriately adjust the drying temperatures and durations in step a) and step b) as needed without departing from the scope of the claims of the present disclosure. In a variant embodiment, the drying in step b) takes place at 140-145° C.
In this embodiment, the alcohol-resistant combination and water-based fouling-proof combination are coated by spraying-coating, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and thus persons skilled in the art may choose an appropriate way of coating as needed. The way of coating for use in the method of producing a fouling-proof structure according to the present disclosure includes, but is not limited to, spraying-coating, soaking-coating, showering-coating, painting-coating, rotating-coating, vacuum-coating, rolling-coating and direct coating.
In this embodiment, the alcohol-resistant layer is formed by curing an alcohol-resistant combination D, and the constituents of the alcohol-resistant combination D are enumerated in Table 3 below.
In this embodiment, the water-based fouling-proof layer is formed by curing the water-based fouling-proof combination D, and the constituents of the water-based fouling-proof combination D are enumerated in Table 4 below.
The product model numbers, suppliers, and weight percents of the constituents enumerated in Table 3 and Table 4 only serve exemplary purposes but must not be interpreted in such a manner to be restrictive of the scope of the present disclosure. Persons skilled in the art can select appropriate product model numbers and suppliers of the constituents and adjust appropriate weight percents as needed without departing from the scope of the claims of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, matting powder is used as the matting agent for exemplary purposes, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and thus it is feasible to use any other types (for example, liquid) of matting agent. In a variant embodiment, the alcohol-resistant combination does not include any matting agent. In a variant embodiment, the water-based fouling-proof combination does not include any antifoaming agent and matting agent.
When it comes to the fouling-proof structure and the process of producing the same, embodiment 2-2 differs from embodiment 2-1 as follows: in embodiment 2-2, the alcohol-resistant layer is formed by curing an alcohol-resistant combination E, and the constituents of the alcohol-resistant combination E are enumerated in Table 3 above; and the water-based fouling-proof layer is formed by curing the water-based fouling-proof combination E, and the constituents of the water-based fouling-proof combination E are enumerated in Table 4 above.
When it comes to the fouling-proof structure and the process of producing the same, embodiment 2-3 differs from embodiment 2-1 as follows: in embodiment 2-3, the alcohol-resistant layer is formed by curing an alcohol-resistant combination F, and the constituents of the alcohol-resistant combination F are enumerated in Table 3 above; and the water-based fouling-proof layer is formed by curing the water-based fouling-proof combination F, and the constituents of the water-based fouling-proof combination F are enumerated in Table 4 above.
Test
A test is performed on the fouling-proof structure of embodiments 1-1 through 1-3 and 2-1 through 2-3. First, the ability of the fouling-proof structure of embodiments 1-1 through 1-3 and 2-1 through 2-3 is testified by specific staining agents. Next, after a specific period of time has passed, the contaminated fouling-proof structure is wiped. After that, remnants of stains are assessed in terms of their extent, and the result of the assessment is shown in Table 5 below.
Rating system:
Class 5 No evidence of stain present
Class 4 Slight evidence of stain present
Class 3 Noticeable evidence of stain present
Class 2 Considerable evidence of stain present
Class 1 Excessive evidence of stain present
In Table 5, the cardinal number of the class assessment is 0.5. For example, 4.5 indicates that the fouling-proof class stands between class 4 and class 5. After being wiped with 95% ethanol, the fouling-proof structure contaminated by the staining agents enumerated in Table 5 has either no evidence or slight evidence of stain present. Hence, the fouling-proof structure of the present disclosure is capable of performing stain resistibility.
The main differences in synthetic leather processing between the fouling-proof structure of the present disclosure and a conventional fouling-proof material disclosed in the prior art are as follows:
The fouling-proof structure of the present disclosure has advantages as follows:
While the present disclosure has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure set forth in the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 108127961 | Aug 2019 | TW | national |
| 108145528 | Dec 2019 | TW | national |
