SELF-ADHESIVE EDGEBANDING FOR FURNITURES AND A COEXTRUSION METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THE SAME

Technical Field The present invention relates to edgebandings which are used on the furnitures such as tables, cabinets etc.

In particular, the invention relates to edgebanding with glue layer which may be melt by laser, plasma and hot air, and a co-extrusion method for manufacturing this edgebanding. Prior Art

Edgebandings of different colours and features are used on tables, cupboards and similar furniture. The edgebandings may be of plain or patterned colours. Also, they are manufactured from different materials such as melamine, ABS, PVC, PP After the existing edgebandings are glued onto the chipboard, image deformations occur due to the gap formed on the joint line. In addition, the existing production techniques can not bring solution to this problem when the bond strength between the edgebanding and the chipboard is to be increased.

Another disadvantage is that the glue is first melted in a crucible at high temperature and then applied onto the chipboard and then the edgebanding is pressed onto and adhered to the glued chipboard surface in milliseconds.

It is mandatory to use a metal crucible for the glue, and it is waited at least 1 hour for the melting of the glue and the crucible is cleaned daily because of the dried glues adhering to the inner surface thereof. Time and production losses occur. Worker safety problems occur during cleaning as the crucible is at high temperature. There is not a separate layer of glue on the existing edgebandings, the glue is applied to the chipboard when the edgebanding is applied to the chipboard and the edgebanding is pressed onto the glue in milliseconds. However, if, for example, the furniture manufacturer owns a plasma machine, production is made for that customer using only plasma-melt glue. Therefore, there is no production flexibility.

In the patent search, there has not been found any patent which disclosed the edgebanding of the invention and the co-extrusion method used for this edgebanding. However, some patents in the related technical field are described below.

The patent application TR2010/06145 relates to a PVC edgebanding control device which facilitates the visual inspection of the PVC edgebandings used in furniture production, whether they contain colour differences, scratches and colour differences. European Patent No. EP1641618B1 relates to an edge tape modifying device for trailing an edge tape applicator which applies an edge tape to the edge of a contoured panel of a predetermined thickness by means of a pressure roller which is pressed against the edge of said panel and is displaced there along by means to move said pressure roller. Object of the Invention

The main object of the invention is to develop a self-adhesive edgebanding, which may be applied by using any of the plasma or hot air to increase the adhesion strength between the edgebandings and the chipboard and to provide gap-free joint, and to develop a co-extrusion method to manufacture ABS/PP sheets and laser glue layer simultaneously as a continuous process.

Another object of the invention is to prevent the image defect that occurs on the edgebanding-chipboard joint line.

Another object of the invention is to increase the bonding strength of the edgebanding and the chipboard by at least 25%. Another object of the invention is to provide application flexibility by anyone of the laser, plasma and hot air methods.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate the use of the glue melting crucible used in the prior art for glue melting.

Another object of the invention is to save time, labour and energy lost in the glue melting crucible.

Another object of the invention is to develop self-adhesive edgebanding with high added value with export potential.

In order to achieve the mentioned objectives; edgebanding having at least one sheet layer applied to the chipboard of furniture has been developed, characterized in that said edgebanding comprises

- a glue layer which is applied to the surface of said sheet layer to be adhered to the chipboard surface, and

- a primer layer which is located between the sheet layer and the glue layer and which allows said two layers to adhere to each other.

In order to achieve the mentioned objectives, a method for manufacturing edgebanding having at least one sheet layer applied on the chipboard of furniture has been developed, characterized in that

- the edgebanding is manufactured by a continuous process by means of a co-extrusion line and said co-extrusion method comprises the following steps:

■ a plastic based sheet is formed by means of a sheet extruder,

■ a glue layer is simultaneously formed by means of a glue extruder while forming the sheet layer, ■ a primer layer is simultaneously formed by means of a primer extruder while forming the sheet layer and the glue layer,

■ the sheet layer, the primer layer and the glue layer manufactured by the simultaneous and continuous process are fed into a co-extrusion head and all three layers join together in the co-extrusion head and take the form of a single layer in the integrated structure,

■ the edgebanding having the combined layers exiting the co-extrusion head is shaped by means of a mould and brought to the desired thickness.

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure 1 is a sectional view showing the layers of the edgebanding of the invention.

Figure 2 is a representative lateral view of the co-extrusion line enabling the co-extrusion method to be applied.

Figure 3 is a top view of the co-extrusion line enabling the co-extrusion method to be applied.

Reference Numbers

1. Edgebanding

1.1. Sheet layer

1.2. Primer layer

1.3. Glue layer

2. Co-extrusion line 2.1. Sheet extruder

2.2. Primer extruder

2.3. Glue extruder 2.4. Co-extrusion head

2.5. Mould

2.6. Ventilation unit

2.7. Control Panel Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention relates to edgebanding (1 ) having a laser, plasma and hot air melt glue layer (1.3) and a co-extrusion method used for the manufacture of this edgebanding (1 ).

The invention relates to an edgebanding (1 ) with glue layer (1.3) which may melt by laser, plasma and hot air melt and a co-extrusion method for manufacturing this edgebanding (1 ).

Figure 1 is a representative sectional view showing the layers of the edgebanding (1 ) according to the invention. As shown in the figure, edgebanding (1 ); a sheet layer (1.1 ), the glue layer (1.3) applied on the surface of the sheet layer (1.1 ) to be adhered to the chipboard surface, and the primer layer (1.2) between the sheet layer (1.1 ) and the glue layer (1.3), which allows the two layers to adhere together.

The sheet layer (1.1 ) is preferably a plastic-based layer such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP) and has a thickness in the ranges of 0.8mm to 1.2mm.

The primer layer (1.2) is located between the sheet layer (1.1 ) and the glue layer (1.3), allows these two layers to adhere to each other, and may have values ranging from 5 g/m ² to 10 g/m ² .

The glue layer (1.3) may be of different colour and thickness. The glue layer (1.3) will comprise elastomeric material containing chemicals (polyolefins, polymeric elastomers, etc.) that absorb laser light. The glue layer (1.3) will be thickness ranging from 150g/m ² to 200 g/m ² . The glue layer (1.3) will have a meltable character by any of the methods of laser, plasma and hot air. Thereby, application flexibility will be provided by any of the laser, plasma and hot air methods.

The co-extrusion method will be used for the production of the edgebanding of the present invention. The co-extrusion method will be implemented by means of a co-extrusion line (2) shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The co-extrusion line (2) comprises a sheet extruder (2.1 ) forming the sheet layer (1.1 ), a primer extruder (2.2) forming the primer layer (1.2), and a glue extruder (2.3) forming the glue layer (1.3). The co-extrusion line (2) further comprises a co-extrusion head (2.4) which connects layers (1.1 , 1.2, 1.3) from three different extruder (2.1 , 2.2, 2.3) and a mould (2.5) that shapes the material exiting the co-extrusion head (2.4) and brings it to the desired thickness. The temperature of the sheet extruder (2.1 ) is controlled by means of a ventilation unit (2.6). In addition, the operation of the entire co-extrusion line (2), the setting and automation of the values such as temperature and pressure etc. is controlled by a control panel (2.7).

The co-extrusion method is applied as follows. a. A plastic (ABS, PP and the like)-based sheet layer (1.1 ) is formed by means of a sheet extruder (1.1 ). b. A glue layer (1.3) is simultaneously formed by means of a glue extruder (2.3) when forming the sheet layer (1.1 ). c. the primer layer (1.2) is simultaneously formed by means of a primer extruder (2.2) while forming the sheet layer (1.1 ) and the glue layer (1.3). d. All three layers (1.1 , 1.2, 1.3) are manufactured simultaneously and continuously (as continuous process). e. The sheet layer (1.1 ), the primer layer (1.2) and the glue layer (1.3) manufactured by the simultaneous and continuous process are fed into a co-extrusion head (2.4) and all three layers join together in the co-extrusion head (2.4) and take the form of a single layer in the integrated structure. f. The edgebanding (1 ) having the combined layers exiting the co-extrusion head (2.4) is shaped by means of a mould (2.5) to be of the desired thickness and rolled, if necessary, cut and ready for shipment. g. The self-adhesive edgebanding (1 ) can be applied by the furniture manufacturer to the chipboard by any of the laser, plasma and hot air methods.