WOOD DERIVED MULTILAYER PRODUCT WITH INTEGRATED ELECTRIC CIRCUIT AND MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Abstract

Wood derived multilayer glued or laminated product having an integrated electric circuit, comprising a paper layer and conducting elements of conductive ink deposited on said paper layer, said elements being suitable for forming an electric circuit and said paper layer has a rugosity inferior to 60 m. The paper layer may be of kraft paper. The product may comprise one or more additional kraft paper layers, in particular having a hole for receiving electric components such that the top surface of product remains flat. The product may include a fibreboard substrate of MDF. The paper layer may be a decorative paper layer glued with the circuit facing the substrate. The manufacture process comprises depositing conductive ink elements on a paper layer having rugosity inferior to 60 m for forming an electric circuit; and incorporating, by gluing or laminating, said paper layer into the multilayer product.

Claims

1. A wood-derived multilayer glued or laminated product having an integrated electric circuit, comprising a paper layer and conducting elements of conductive ink deposited on said paper layer, said elements forming an electric circuit and said paper layer having a surface roughness less than 60 m.

2. The product according to claim 1, wherein the surface roughness is between 20 m and 50 m.

3. The product according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the conductive ink is less than 20 m.

4. The product according to claim 1, wherein said paper layer is of kraft paper.

5. Product according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of kraft paper layers.

6. The product according to claim 5, wherein one or more of the plurality of kraft paper layers has a hole for receiving one or more electric components of the electric circuit, whereby the top surface of multilayer product is flat.

7. The product according to claim 1, further comprising a top decorative paper layer.

8. The product according to claim 1, further comprising a fibreboard substrate, wherein said fibreboard is a MDF board, a HDF board or a particle board.

9. The product Prod ii according to claim 1, further comprising a fibreboard substrate, wherein said paper layer is a decorative paper layer attached to said substrate by glue, wherein the conducting elements are disposed on the face of the decorative paper layer facing the substrate.

10. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

13. The product according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the deposited electric components is contiguously connected to one or more of the conducting elements of deposited conductive ink.

14. (canceled)

15. The product according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the conductive ink is arranged to comprise two interdigitated finger electrodes to define a capacitive sensor.

16. (canceled)

17. The product according to claim 1, wherein the paper layer is selected from the group consisting of: plain paper, paper impregnated with melamine resin, kraft paper, kraft paper impregnated with phenolic resin, photographic paper, digital paper, polymeric film, and decorative paper.

18. (canceled)

19. The product according to claim 1, wherein the kraft paper is selected from the group of: plain kraft paper, impregnated kraft paper, and kraft paper impregnated with phenolic resin.

20. The product according to claim 1, wherein the conductive ink is solvent based, aqueous based, or oil based.

21. (canceled)

22. (canceled)

23. (canceled)

24. A process for the manufacture of a wood derived multilayer glued or laminated product having an integrated electric circuit, comprising the steps of: providing a paper layer having a surface roughness less than 60 m; depositing conducting elements of conductive ink on said paper layer for forming an electric circuit; and incorporating, by gluing or laminating, said paper layer into the multilayer product.

25. The manufacturing process according to claim 24, further comprising the steps of: arranging the paper layer with deposited electric circuit on a wood derived substrate; and pressure gluing the substrate with the paper layer having the deposited electric circuit on the face towards said substrate.

26. The manufacturing process according to claim 24, further comprising the steps of: arranging the paper layer with deposited electric circuit on, or under, or between a plurality of additional paper layers; and laminating all the paper layers onto a wood derived substrate.

27. The manufacturing process according to claim 26, further comprising drilling or cutting one or more holes in the additional paper layers in order to compensate for the relief caused by the electric circuit or by any component of the electric circuit, such that the top surface of the final multilayer product is flat.

28. (canceled)

29. The manufacturing process according to claim 24, wherein the conductive ink is deposited by one of printing, offset printing, rotogravure, serigraphy, flexography, rotary serigraphy, inkjet, and spraying.

30. Manufacture process according to claim 24, further comprising clamping the electric component or electric components of the electric circuit onto said conductive elements through the paper layer of the electric circuit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0091] The following figures provide preferred embodiments for illustrating the description and should not be seen as limiting the scope of invention.

[0092] FIG. 1: Schematic representation of the printing technique by serigraphy.

[0093] FIG. 2: Schematic representation of the fabrication process of the profiles.

[0094] FIG. 3: Schematic representation of the profile with integrated flood sensor.

[0095] FIG. 4: Representation of the integration of the sensor on a laminate product.

[0096] FIG. 5: Representation of the integration of light emitters on laminate and compact products.

[0097] FIG. 6: Schematic representation of the perforation of decorative papers, kraft paper, via laser, and connections.

[0098] FIG. 7: Schematic representation of connections for the laminate products, compact products and for the profiles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0099] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the printing process of the sensor and/or matrices, where the printing technique used is serigraphy. The raw material used is preferably silver based conductive ink. Briefly, in serigraphy, the ink is placed on a screen wherein a negative of the pattern which is intended to be printed is blocked, a squeegee being used in order to force the passage of ink through the regions of the screen that are not locked to the substrate. After printing the patterns are subjected to a thermal cure, according to the specifications of the ink.

[0100] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the sensor's integration into the profile, namely in skirting boards and/or wood frames. The profiles are produced with substrates or wood derivatives and coated with decorative papers, namely through the gluing process at low pressure with thermo-adhesives applied by fusion or reactive polymers. In phase 1, the cutting phase, the substrate is chopped into strips according to the width of the profile and cut longitudinally. In phase 2, the framing phase, through the combination of the various cutting blade tools, the longitudinal thinning of the previous substrate strip is performed to give it the outline of the intended cross-profile. The achieved product is called a frame. Prior to stage 3, the coating stage, there is an intermediate cutting phase of the impregnated paper roll with sensorisation printed on the width which it is intended to coat the frame in. In step 3, the coating operation is executed all on a single machine, which consists of: [0101] gluing the paper with printed sensors, through a proper applicator, like for example by hot melt technology using thermal-adhesives or reactive polymers and under controlled temperature and humidity conditions; [0102] proceeding with the simultaneous advancement of the frame and glued paper; [0103] adjusting, under pressure and temperature, the paper to the format of the frame profile, through at least two rollers of a polymeric material; [0104] stabilizing the gluing; [0105] cutting to length for fine tuning the final dimension.

[0106] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the integration of sensor 2 on the profile, in particular on skirting boards and/or wood frames, via the profile with sensor 2 integrated. Sensor 2 is printed on the decorative paper 1, on the face that is facing the substrate or wood derivative of the profile, in other words, of substrate 3. The sensor 2 is located on the exposed face of the profile.

[0107] FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the integration of the sensor on the laminate or compact product. Simply put, the laminate or compact products are produced using a set of sheets of paper impregnated with resin that after subject to high pressure and temperatures form a single product of high resistance. At the top of this set of sheets of paper an impregnated decorative paper 5 is placed and on the base various kraft paper sheets 6 are placed. The larger the number of kraft paper sheets used the higher the thickness of the final material. The thickness of the final product defines if this is a high pressure laminate (HPL) or a compact one. The sensor can be printed, by the techniques previously mentioned, on the face of the decorative paper that is not exposed to surface 5 or on the first sheet of kraft paper constituent of the laminate product 4. The remaining kraft paper sheets 6 are perforated, via laser, in order to expose the electrode of the sensor for connection to the electronics needed for signal acquisition and transmission. After being subject to the pressing the final aspect of this laminate product is identical to that of a laminate or compact product without integrated sensor.

[0108] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the integration of light emitters on the laminate and compact products, with decorative paper 1, with the first kraft with printing of a conductive matrix and placing of the light emitters 7, for example LEDs (light emitting diode), and with kraft paper perforated via laser in the LED area 8. Light emitters can be integrated, for example small dimension LEDs on the laminate and compact products, with the use of a Pick&Place machine and laser perforation of the subjacent papers for the component to resist to high pressure. After being subjected to pressing, the final aspect of this laminate product is identical to a laminate and/or compact product without an integrated light emitter.

[0109] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the perforation of kraft papers, via laser, and connections. The perforation of kraft papers for placement of the light emitters is carried out in a precise way, according to the size of the LED used, in other words, length and width, via laser. With this perforation the LED is perfectly fitted in in the kraft papers, not being visible on the laminate product after the pressing test. This process is important so that the LED resists high pressure pressing. The same typology of process can be used for perforation of kraft paper on the sensor electrodes region for posterior connection to the electronics needed for signal processing.

[0110] FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the connections, for the laminate products, compact products and/or profiles. The connections are made with the use of different types of connectors, so that the sensors and/or printed tracks 9 are not damaged. The connectors are used for driving the signal among the control system, the power supply and the sensors. For this purpose metallic connectors are used whose application can be performed by crimping 11 and/or welding 12 allowing a quick fit in, and/or conductive metallic strips 10 with adhesive properties whose application can be made by gluing, and/or conductive metallic wires fixed on the substrate by crimping 11, welding 12 or both. The same system of connectors is used to make the connection to external AC power systems, through the connections between integrated hardware DC (AC/DC converter) and conventional electric installation.

Example 1

[0111] Moisture/flooding detector profile. Within the scope of this technology, wood derived profiles or skirting boards can be developed capable of detecting moisture/flooding. The flood sensor consists of a interdigitated capacitive sensor printed on decorative paper in a roll-to-roll system by conventional printing techniques and with recourse to solvent based conductive inks. The decorative paper with printed sensorisation is glued by thermal-adhesives applied by fusion or reactive polymers to wood substrates (MDF or HDF, fibreboard) for the development of skirting board/profile capable of detecting the presence of water. On the face that is not exposed of the wood substrate a hole is made for fitting of the electronics for signal acquisition and processing. This includes a wireless communication system for sending alerts to the user in case of flooding or the increasing of the value read by the sensor for values superior to the previously defined. This system also allows a constant control by the end user, by consulting the signals read by the sensor on a database. This control and monitoring can be done on-site or remotely.

[0112] In an embodiment, for detecting floods, interdigitated capacitive sensors with two electrodes and system for signal acquisition and transmission thereof are integrated. This type of sensor allows the detection of the presence of water through the variation of the capacity of the condenser formed between the two electrodes. This sensor, in contact with water, by reaching a previously defined value sends an alert to the user, or to the mobile phone or to the computer and can also close the main water supply of the house, namely it can close doors and/or shutters, according to the user's interest. The communication of this control unit can be, for example, by Bluetooth, wireless network, with local alert, for example by use of domotics, or GSM (global system for mobile communications) or GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), with an alert from a distance, for example with the resort to a smartphone (smart phone).

Example 2

[0113] Laminate and compact products with integrated light emitters. Matrices or conductive tracks with inks on kraft paper are printed on roll-to-roll systems or on sheet-to-sheet systems. Small dimension light emitters on the cells that form the conductive matrix are integrated with resort to Pick&Place systems. Paper blocks for the development of laminate and compact products are built with the following characteristics from the base to the top: [0114] perforated kraft paper for the connection of the electronics to the conductive matrix; [0115] kraft paper with a printed conductive matrix and integrated light emitters; [0116] perforated kraft paper on the area of light emission; [0117] decorative paper.

[0118] This set is subject to high pressure and temperature conditions, giving way to a unique structure with high mechanical resistance. The final product is connected by cable to the electronic systems for the activation of the light emitters according to pre-defined patterns.

Example 3

[0119] Laminate and compact products with light emitters and integrated touch sensors. The light emitters of Example 2 can be activated by touch action on the surface of the laminate or compact product or profile or framed product. The touch sensor is printed on decorative or kraft paper with resort to roll-to-roll or sheet-to-sheet printing techniques with solvent based conductive inks. This decorative or kraft paper with printed sensorisation is an integrated part of the set of papers previously described for the development of laminate or compact products. The subjacent kraft papers are perforated for the connection to the signal acquisition and processing electronics. This entire set is subject to high pressure and temperatures conditions for the development of a unique structure and of high resistance. The laminate or compact products when subject to touch or approach to its surface activate the light emitters that are an integral part of its structure.

Example 4

[0120] kraft paperkraft paper is a type of paper of high resistance with a cellulose base. Examples include papers for printing and writing; fabrics, coffee filters and other consumer products; and specialized applications, such as fibre cement and Japanese washi paper. A particular type of kraft paper used in this technology is referred to as of whitened soft wood, septentrional kraft or NBSK (northern bleached softwood) pulp. It is sought for its diversity of applications, and for its high strength, porosity and other functional advantages. As an example of kraft paper manufacturers the Catalyst Today's Paper, Gascogne Paper, Horizon Pulp and Paper Ltd can be considered, or for example other members of CEPI EurokraftEuropean Association for kraft paper producers, for the Sack Paper Industry and kraft paper for packaging industries.

Example 5

[0121] Conductive inkThe printing ink used contains conductive materials, in particular silver, copper, nickel, carbon, graphite, platinum, polymeric materials, as for example PEDOT:PSS, among others. This ink should have good thermal and mechanical properties in order to withstand the conditions of the process. As an example of manufacturers and suppliers of this type of paint one can consider Heraeus Electronic Materials Division and Agfa.

[0122] The term comprising whenever used in this document is intended to indicate the presence of stated features, integers, steps, components, but not to preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that unless otherwise indicated herein, the particular sequence of steps described is illustrative only and can be varied without departing from the disclosure. Thus, unless otherwise stated the steps described are so unordered meaning that, when possible, the steps can be performed in any convenient or desirable order.

[0123] The disclosure should not be seen in any way restricted to the embodiments described and a person with ordinary skill in the art will foresee many possibilities to modifications thereof. The above described embodiments are combinable. The following claims further set out particular embodiments of the disclosure.