The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 29, 1999
Filed:
Apr. 07, 1995
Patrick Leon Spain, Lowell, IN (US);
Keith Lawson Truog, Crown Point, IN (US);
Avery Dennison Corporation, Pasadena, CA (US);
Abstract
A shaped exterior automotive body part having a contoured decorative outer surface, comprising a supporting substrate sheet and a decorative transfer film bonded to one side of said substrate sheet and conforming to said contoured surface, said decorative transfer film having a clear coat/color coat exterior automotive paint film comprising a flexible outer clear coat layer having a glossy, smooth outer surface, the clear coat layer formed of an optically clear, thermoplastic and thermoformable weatherable polymeric material, and a pigmented color coat of automotive quality paint adhered to an inner surface of said outer clear coat layer, the color coat formed of a thermoplastic and thermoformable polymeric material with pigments distributed therein to provide a layer of color visible to the outer surface of the automotive body part; said supporting substrate sheet comprising a continuous and self-supporting thermoformable polymeric material having contoured surface regions formed by having thermoformed the composite of the substrate sheet and the clear coat/color coat paint film to a finished deep-draw contoured shape of the body part, the decorative transfer film having regions thereof which have been subjected to elongation greater than about 50% during such thermoforming for conforming to said contoured regions of the substrate sheet to provide the outer component of a finished glossy contoured body part having an exterior automotive quality paint finish, including a distinctness-of-image value of at least 60 quantified by instrument measurement of said value.