CN110625975A

CN110625975A - Method for making vacuum post-hot-pressing formed EVA middle sole

Info

Publication number: CN110625975A
Application number: CN201810642139.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蔡莉榆
Original assignee: Ctm Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Ctm Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2018-06-21
Filing date: 2018-06-21
Publication date: 2019-12-31

Abstract

A method for manufacturing an EVA middle sole formed by hot pressing after vacuum comprises the following steps: (A) and placing at least one EVA material into at least one forming mold cavity defined by the mold, and closing the mold. (B) Moving the mold into a first space, and vacuumizing the first space. (C) And hot-pressing the mould to vulcanize and mold the EVA material into the EVA insole. (D) And moving the mold into a second space, and cooling the mold to cool and shape the EVA middle sole. By the manufacturing method, no air exists between the EVA material and the mold, so that the defect condition containing small bubbles does not occur in the EVA insole in appearance and inside, the EVA insole is molded into a solid structure, and the production yield of products is improved.

Description

Method for making vacuum post-hot-pressing formed EVA middle sole

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) midsole, in particular to a method for manufacturing an EVA midsole formed by vacuum post-hot-pressing.

Background

In the prior art, the manufacturing process of the EVA insole for manufacturing shoes generally comprises the steps of firstly placing an EVA material into a mold cavity defined by a mold; then, carrying out hot pressing operation on the mould to enable the EVA material to be vulcanized and expanded into an EVA middle sole; and then, cooling the mould to cool and shape the EVA insole, and thus, after the mould is opened and the EVA insole is taken out, the manufacturing can be finished.

However, because the air between the EVA material and the cavity of the mold cannot be removed during the hot pressing process of the EVA midsole, the problem of air inclusion often occurs during the vulcanization and expansion of the EVA material into the EVA midsole, which not only causes the defect of the EVA midsole in appearance including small bubbles, but also causes the problem of an incomplete structure due to the inclusion of bubbles in the EVA midsole.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a method for manufacturing an EVA middle sole formed by vacuum post hot pressing, which can overcome at least one of the defects of the background art.

The invention relates to a method for preparing an EVA middle sole formed by vacuum post hot pressing, which comprises the following steps:

(A) and placing at least one EVA material into at least one forming mold cavity defined by the mold, and closing the mold.

(B) Moving the mold into a first space, and vacuumizing the first space.

(C) And hot-pressing the mould to vulcanize and mold the EVA material into the EVA insole.

(D) And moving the mold into a second space, and cooling the mold to cool and shape the EVA middle sole.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an EVA middle sole by vacuum post hot pressing, which comprises the step (A) of preparing a forming machine and a vacuum pump, wherein the forming machine comprises a machine station unit, a heating unit, a cooling unit, two vacuum door units, two carrying units and a mould, the machine station unit defines a first space and a second space which is lower than the first space in the vertical direction, the first space is provided with two first openings which are oppositely arranged in the front and rear direction, the second space is provided with two second openings which are oppositely arranged in the front and rear direction, the heating unit comprises an upper hot pressing plate which is positioned in the first space, a lower hot pressing plate which is positioned in the first space and a hot pressing plate driver which is arranged on the machine station unit, the hot pressing plate driver is used for driving the upper and lower hot pressing plates to be in non-heating positions which are far away from each other in the vertical direction, and a heating position moving close to each other, the cooling unit including an upper cold platen located in the second space, a lower cold platen located in the second space, and a cold platen driver provided in the machine unit for driving the upper and lower cold platens to move in the up-down direction between a non-cooling position away from each other and a cooling position close to each other, the vacuum door units being oppositely provided in the front-rear direction to the machine unit and respectively corresponding to the first openings, each vacuum door unit having a door frame movably provided in the front-rear direction to the machine unit, a door frame driving module connecting the door frame and the machine unit to each other, a vacuum door movably provided in the door frame in the up-down direction, and two vacuum door drivers spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction and connecting the vacuum door and the machine unit to each other, each vacuum door driver has a first pivot end pivotally connected to the machine unit and a second pivot end pivotally connected to the vacuum door, the vacuum door driver is configured to drive the vacuum door to move in the up-down direction relative to the door frame between an open position not shielding a corresponding one of the first openings and a closed position shielding the corresponding one of the first openings, when the vacuum door is in the closed position, the door frame driving module is configured to drive the door frame to drive the vacuum door to move in the front-back direction relative to the machine unit between a vacuum breaking position and a vacuum position, when the vacuum door is in the vacuum breaking position, the vacuum door does not seal the corresponding one of the first openings, and when the vacuum door is in the vacuum position, the vacuum door hermetically seals the corresponding one of the first openings, the carrying units are oppositely arranged on the machine table unit in the front-back direction, each carrying unit comprises a workbench movably arranged on the machine table unit along the up-down direction and positioned outside the first space and the second space in the front-back direction, a workbench driver arranged on the machine table unit, and a carrier module arranged on the workbench, the workbench driver is used for driving the workbench to move to be adjacent to one of the first space and the second space along the up-down direction, the carrier module is provided with two carrying arms which are arranged on the workbench at intervals in the left-right direction and can be synchronously moved along the front-back direction, and a carrying arm driving mechanism arranged on the workbench, each carrying arm is provided with at least two mould carrying grooves which are arranged at intervals in the front-back direction, the loading arm driving mechanism is used for driving the loading arm to move between a loading-out position outside one of the first space and the second space and a loading position extending into one of the first space and the second space along the front-back direction, and the vacuum pump is communicated with the first space of the machine unit.

The method for manufacturing the EVA middle sole by vacuum post-hot pressing further comprises a step (E) after the step (D), wherein in the step (E), the mold is moved out of the second space, and the mold is opened to take out the EVA middle sole.

In the step (B), the mold is carried by the carrying arm of one of the carrying units, the table of the one of the carrying units is raised to be adjacent to the first space, then the carrying arm of the one of the carrying units carries the mold to move to the loading position to enter the first space, so that the mold is placed on the top surface of the lower hot pressing plate, then the carrying arm of the one of the carrying units moves to the loading position to exit the first space, then the vacuum door moves to the door closing position first, then moves to the vacuum position to hermetically close the first space, then the vacuum pump is started to vacuumize the first space, so that the interior of the first space is in a vacuum state, and in the step (C), the upper hot press plate is lowered to the heating position, so that the upper and lower hot press plates hot press the mold to vulcanize the EVA material in the mold, so as to vulcanize the EVA material into the EVA midsole, in the step (D), the vacuum door is moved to the vacuum breaking position, then moved to the door opening position, then the table of another carrying unit is raised to be adjacent to the first space, then the carrying arm of the another carrying unit is moved to the loading position to enter the first space, so that the mold is carried by the carrying arm of the another carrying unit to leave the top surface of the lower hot press plate, then the carrying arm of the another carrying unit carries the mold to the loading position to exit the first space, and then the table of the another carrying unit is lowered to be adjacent to the second space, then, the carrying arm of the other carrying unit moves to the loading position to enter the second space with the mold, so that the mold is placed on the top surface of the lower cold-pressing plate, then the carrying arm of the other carrying unit moves to the loading position to exit the second space, and then the lower cold-pressing plate rises to the cooling position, so that the upper and lower cold-pressing plates can perform cooling and shaping operation on the EVA middle sole in the mold.

In the step (A), the mold comprises a lower mold, an upper mold pivoted with the lower mold, and two bearing pieces respectively arranged at the left side and the right side of the lower mold, each bearing piece is provided with two supporting rod parts arranged at intervals along the front-back direction, each carrying arm is provided with two mold bearing grooves arranged at intervals along the front-back direction, and the upper mold and the lower mold are matched to define the forming mold cavity.

The invention relates to a method for preparing EVA middle sole by vacuum post hot pressing, in the step (A), the machine table unit comprises two side plates which are arranged at intervals in the front-back direction, the first openings are respectively formed on the side plates, the vacuum door is provided with a door plate and an airtight ring arranged on the inner side surface of the door plate, the door frame driving module is provided with a plurality of door frame driving pressure cylinders, each door frame driving pressure cylinder is provided with a first cylinder body arranged on the machine table unit and a first piston rod which is arranged on the first cylinder body in a telescopic way along the front-back direction and is connected with the door plate, when the vacuum door is at the vacuum breaking position, the vacuum door and the corresponding one of the side plates are spaced from each other, when the vacuum door is in the vacuum position, the airtight ring of the vacuum door abuts against the corresponding one of the side plates and surrounds the corresponding one of the first openings.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) insole by vacuum post hot-press molding, which comprises the steps of (A) placing at least one large sole with the top glued and an EVA material into a molding mold cavity of a mold, wherein the EVA material is positioned on the top of the large sole, (C) hot-pressing the mold to vulcanize and mold the EVA material into the EVA insole bonded with the large sole, and (D) cooling the mold to cool and shape the EVA insole and combine the EVA insole with the large sole.

In the step (B), the mold is carried by the carrying arm of one of the carrying units, the table of the one of the carrying units is raised to be adjacent to the first space, then the carrying arm of the one of the carrying units carries the mold to move to the loading position to enter the first space, so that the mold is placed on the top surface of the lower hot pressing plate, then the carrying arm of the one of the carrying units moves to the loading position to exit the first space, then the vacuum door moves to the door closing position first, then moves to the vacuum position to hermetically close the first space, then the vacuum pump is started to vacuumize the first space, so that the interior of the first space is in a vacuum state, and in the step (C), the upper hot pressing plate is lowered to the heating position, so that the upper hot pressing plate and the lower hot pressing plate hot press the mold to vulcanize the EVA material in the mold, so that the EVA material is vulcanized and molded into the EVA midsole bonded to the outsole, in the step (D), the vacuum door is moved to the vacuum breaking position, then moved to the door opening position, then the table of another carrying unit is raised to be adjacent to the first space, then the carrying arm of the another carrying unit is moved to the loading position to enter the first space, so that the mold is carried by the carrying arm of the another carrying unit and leaves the top surface of the lower hot pressing plate, and then the carrying arm of the another carrying unit carries the mold to the unloading position to exit the first space, the table of the other transfer unit is then lowered adjacent to the second space, the arm of the other transfer unit is then moved with the mold to the loading position into the second space so that the mold is placed on the top surface of the lower cold-pressing plate, the arm of the other transfer unit is then moved to the unloading position out of the second space, and the lower cold-pressing plate is then raised to the cooling position so that the upper and lower cold-pressing plates can perform a cooling and setting operation on the EVA midsole in the mold.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: according to the invention, after the first space is vacuumized and changed into a vacuum state, the mold is hot-pressed in the first space so as to vulcanize the EVA material in the mold, and in this state, no air exists between the EVA material and the mold, so that the problem that the EVA material is wrapped by air in the process of vulcanizing and expanding the EVA material into the EVA insole can be effectively avoided, the defect of containing small bubbles can not occur in the EVA insole in appearance and inside, the EVA insole is molded into a solid structure, and the production yield of products is improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a first embodiment of a method for manufacturing a vacuum post-hot-press-molded EVA midsole of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a molding machine and a vacuum pump employed in the first embodiment, illustrating two vacuum doors of two vacuum door units of the molding machine in an open door position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating the vacuum door in a closed door position;

FIG. 4 is a combined cross-sectional view of the molding machine illustrating the vacuum door in the closed door position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vacuum door unit;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4 illustrating the vacuum door in a vacuum break position;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, illustrating the vacuum door in a vacuum position;

fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the two transfer units of the molding machine, illustrating the two support arms of the transfer unit in a loading position;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 illustrating the carrier arm in a loading position;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X in FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating the load arm in the load position;

FIG. 12 is a partially exploded perspective view of a mold and two EVA materials of the molding machine;

FIGS. 13-26 are operation diagrams of the mold being intermittently and cyclically transported by the transporting unit, illustrating the implementation steps of the first embodiment;

FIG. 27 is a view similar to FIG. 12 illustrating the EVA material being expanded into two EVA midsoles;

FIG. 28 is a flow chart illustrating a second embodiment of a method for manufacturing a vacuum post hot-press molded EVA midsole of the present invention;

FIG. 29 is a partially exploded perspective view of the mold and two outsole and the EVA material of the molding machine;

FIG. 30 is a view similar to FIG. 29, illustrating the expansion of each EVA material into an EVA midsole joined to a respective outsole to form a sole.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, like elements are represented by like reference numerals.

Referring to fig. 1, a first embodiment of a method for manufacturing a vacuum post-hot-press-molding EVA midsole according to the present invention is shown in fig. 2, 3 and 4, and the method for manufacturing the vacuum post-hot-press-molding EVA midsole is performed by using a molding machine 100 and a vacuum pump 200.

The molding machine 100 includes a machine unit 10, a heating unit 20, a cooling unit 30, two vacuum gate units 40, and two carrying units 50 i, 50 ii, and a mold 60.

The machine unit 10 includes a top base 11, a base 12, a middle base 13, two end plates 14 spaced apart in a left-right direction, and two side plates 15 spaced apart in a front-back direction, the machine unit 10 defines a first space 16, and a second space 17 lower than the first space 16 in a top-bottom direction, the first space 16 has two first openings 161 formed in the side plates 15 and disposed opposite to each other in the front-back direction, and the second space 17 has two second openings 171 disposed opposite to each other in the front-back direction. In the first embodiment, the vacuum pump 200 is connected to the first space 16 of the machine unit 10, and when the first space 16 is sealed, the vacuum pump 200 can vacuumize the first space 16.

The heating unit 20 includes an upper hot press plate 21 disposed in the first space 16, a lower hot press plate 22 disposed on the middle base 13 of the machine unit 10 and disposed in the first space 16, and a hot press plate driver 23 disposed on the top base 11 of the machine unit 10.

In the first embodiment, the hot press board driver 23 is an oil hydraulic cylinder, and the hot press board driver 23 is used for driving the upper hot press board 21 to move between a non-heating position (see fig. 4) far away from the lower hot press board 22 and a heating position (see fig. 18) close to each other along the up-down direction, as shown in fig. 18, when the upper hot press board 21 is at the heating position, the upper and lower hot press boards 21, 22 can hot press the mold 60.

As shown in fig. 2, 3 and 4, the cooling unit 30 includes an upper cold-pressing plate 31 disposed on the middle seat 13 of the machine unit 10 and located in the second space 17, a lower cold-pressing plate 32 located in the second space 17, and a cold-pressing plate driver 33 disposed on the base 12 of the machine unit 10.

In the first embodiment, the cold plate driver is an oil hydraulic cylinder, and the cold plate driver 33 is used to drive the lower cold plate 32 to move in the up-down direction relative to the upper cold plate 31 between a non-cooling position (see fig. 4) away from each other and a cooling position (see fig. 24) close to each other, as shown in fig. 24, when the lower cold plate 32 is in the cooling position, the upper and lower cold plates 31, 32 can cool the mold 60.

As shown in fig. 2, 3 and 4, the vacuum door units 40 are disposed on the stage unit 10 in the front-back direction, and respectively correspond to the first openings 161.

As shown in fig. 5, 6 and 7, each vacuum door unit 40 has a door frame 41 movably disposed on the machine unit 10 along the front-back direction, a door frame driving module 42 interconnecting the door frame 41 and the machine unit 10, a vacuum door 43 movably disposed on the door frame 41 along the up-down direction, and two vacuum door drivers 44 spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction and interconnecting the vacuum door 43 and the machine unit 10.

In the first embodiment, the vacuum door 43 has a door panel 431, an airtight ring 432 disposed on the inner side of the door panel 431, and two pivot rods 433 disposed on the outer side of the door panel 431 at intervals in the left-right direction and extending outward in the left-right direction.

In the first embodiment, the doorframe driving module 42 has four doorframe driving hydraulic cylinders 421, each doorframe driving hydraulic cylinder 421 has a first cylinder 422 disposed on the machine unit 10, and a first piston rod 423 telescopically disposed on the first cylinder 422 along the front-back direction and connected to the door panel 431.

In the first embodiment, the vacuum door drivers 44 are pneumatic cylinders, each vacuum door driver 44 includes a second cylinder 441 and a second piston rod 442 telescopically disposed in the second cylinder 441 along the up-down direction, the second cylinder 441 has a first pivot end 443 pivotally connected to the machine unit 10, the second piston rod 442 has a second pivot end 444 pivotally connected to the vacuum door 43, and preferably, the second pivot end 444 of the second piston rod 442 of each vacuum door driver 44 is pivotally connected to the respective pivot rod 433.

The vacuum door actuator 44 is used for driving the vacuum door 43 to move along the up-down direction relative to the door frame 41 between a door opening position (see fig. 2) for not shielding one of the first openings 161 corresponding to the first opening and a door closing position (see fig. 3 and 4) for shielding one of the first openings 161 corresponding to the first opening.

When the vacuum door 43 is at the door-closed position (see fig. 3 and 4), the door frame driving cylinder 421 of the door frame driving module 42 is used to drive the door frame 41 to move the vacuum door 43 along the front-back direction between a vacuum-breaking position (see fig. 6) and a vacuum position (see fig. 7) relative to the side plate 15 of the machine unit 10. As shown in fig. 6, when the vacuum door 43 is in the vacuum breaking position, the vacuum door 43 is spaced apart from the corresponding one of the side plates 15, and the vacuum door 43 does not seal the corresponding one of the first openings 161; as shown in fig. 7, when the vacuum door 43 is in the vacuum position, the airtight ring 432 of the vacuum door 43 abuts against the corresponding one of the side plates 15 and surrounds the corresponding one of the first openings 161, and the vacuum door 43 hermetically seals the corresponding one of the first openings 161.

As shown in fig. 12, the mold 60 includes a lower mold 61, an upper mold 62 pivotally connected to the lower mold 61, and two supporting members 63 respectively disposed at the left and right sides of the lower mold 61, each supporting member 63 having two supporting rods 631 spaced apart along the front-back direction. In the first embodiment, the upper mold 62 and the lower mold 61 cooperate to define two molding cavities 64.

As shown in fig. 2, 3 and 4, the conveying units 50 i and 50 ii are disposed opposite to each other in the front-rear direction on the machine unit 10, and it should be noted that the conveying units 50 i and 50 ii have the same structure and are disposed in tandem on the machine unit 10.

As shown in fig. 8, 9 and 10, each of the conveying units 50 i and 50 ii includes a worktable 51 movably disposed on the machine unit 10 along the up-down direction and located outside the first space 16 (see fig. 11) and the second space 17 (see fig. 11) in the front-back direction, a worktable driver 52 disposed on the machine unit 10, and a carrier module 53 disposed on the worktable 51.

The worktable actuator 52 is used for driving the worktable 51 to move in the up-down direction to be adjacent to one of the first space 16 (see fig. 11) and the second space 17 (see fig. 11), in the first embodiment, the worktable actuator 52 is an oil hydraulic cylinder, and the worktable actuator 52 includes a third cylinder 521 disposed on the machine unit 10, and a third piston rod 522 telescopically disposed in the third cylinder 521 in the up-down direction and connected to the worktable 51.

The carrier module 53 has two carrier arms 54 spaced apart in the left-right direction and provided on the table 10 so as to be synchronously movable in the front-rear direction, a connecting cross bar 55 connected between outer ends of the carrier arms 54 in the front-rear direction in the left-right direction, and a carrier arm driving mechanism 56 provided on the table 51.

In the first embodiment, each of the carrier arms 54 has two mold carrying grooves 541 spaced apart in the front-rear direction, and the mold carrying grooves 541 of the carrier arms 54 are respectively used for removably carrying the carrier bar portions 631 of the mold 60 (see fig. 12).

In the first embodiment, the carrier arm driving mechanism 56 has two rack portions 561 integrally disposed on the bottom side of the carrier arm 54, a hydraulic motor 562 disposed on the worktable 51, a transmission shaft 563 extending in the left-right direction and rotatably disposed on the worktable 51, and two driven gears 564 respectively disposed at two ends of the transmission shaft 563 and engaged with the rack portions 561, the hydraulic motor 562 has an output shaft 565 and a driving gear 566 disposed on the output shaft 565 and engaged with one of the driven gears 564, so that the driving gear 566 of the hydraulic motor 562 can drive the driven gear 564 to drive the carrier arm 54 to move in the front-back direction via the rack portions 561.

The arm driving mechanism 56 is used for driving the arm 54 to move along the front-back direction between a loading position (see fig. 4 and 8) located outside the one of the first space 16 (see fig. 4) and the second space 17 (see fig. 4) and a loading position (see fig. 9 and 11) extending into the one of the first space 16 (see fig. 11) and the second space 17 (see fig. 11), and it is understood that the movement of the arm 54 relative to the second space 17 (see fig. 4 and 11) is used for representation.

Referring to fig. 1, the first embodiment of the method for manufacturing the vacuum post-hot-press-molding EVA midsole according to the present invention comprises the following steps:

step 310 (see fig. 1): as shown in fig. 12 and 13, the worker opens the upper and lower dies 62 and 61 of the mold 60 to place the two EVA materials 400 in the molding cavities 64, respectively, and then closes the mold 60 (see fig. 14). In the first embodiment, each EVA material 400 is in the form of a sheet, but not limited thereto.

Step 320 (see fig. 1): as shown in fig. 17, the mold 60 is moved into the first space 16, and the first space 16 is evacuated.

In the first embodiment, as shown in fig. 13 and 14, the mold 60 is carried by the carrying arm 54 of one of the carrying units 50 i, the table 51 of the one of the carrying units 50 i is raised to be adjacent to the first space 16, then, as shown in fig. 15, the carrying arm 54 of the one of the carrying units 50 i carries the mold 60 to the loading position to enter the first space 16, the table 51 of the one of the carrying units 50 i is slightly lowered to the mold carrying groove 541 of the carrying arm 54 to disengage from the lever portion 631 of the mold 60, so that the mold 60 is placed on the top surface of the lower hot press plate 22, then, as shown in fig. 16, the carrying arm 54 of the one of the carrying units 50 i is moved to the unloading position to exit the first space 16, then, as shown in fig. 17, the vacuum door 43 is lowered to the door closing position and then moved inward to the vacuum position (see fig. 7), the first space 16 is hermetically sealed, and then the vacuum pump 200 is activated to vacuumize the first space 16, so that the interior of the first space 16 is in a vacuum state.

Step 330 (see fig. 1): as shown in fig. 18, the mold 60 is hot pressed to vulcanize each EVA material 400 (see fig. 12) into an EVA midsole 500 (see fig. 27).

In the first embodiment, the upper hot press plate 21 is lowered to the heating position, so that the upper and lower hot press plates 21, 22 hot press the mold 60 to perform the vulcanization operation on the EVA material 400 (see fig. 12) in the mold 60, so that the EVA material 400 (see fig. 12) is vulcanized and molded into the EVA midsole 500 (see fig. 27).

Step 340 (see fig. 1): as shown in fig. 24, the mold 60 is moved into the second space 17, and the mold 60 is cooled, so that the EVA midsole 500 (see fig. 27) is cooled and set.

In the first embodiment, as shown in fig. 19, the vacuum door 43 is moved outward to the vacuum breaking position (see fig. 6), and then moved upward to the door opening position, the table 51 of another carrying unit 50 ii is raised to be adjacent to the first space 16, then, as shown in fig. 19 and 20, the arm 54 of the another carrying unit 50 ii is moved to the loading position to enter the first space 16, the table 51 of the another carrying unit 50 ii is raised slightly to the mold carrying groove 541 of the arm 54 to lift the lever portion 631 of the mold 60, so that the mold 60 is carried by the arm 54 of the another carrying unit 50 ii to be away from the top surface of the lower hot press plate 22, then, as shown in fig. 20, the arm 54 of the another carrying unit 50 ii carries the mold 60 to the unloading position to be withdrawn from the first space 16, and then, as shown in fig. 21, the table 51 of the other handling unit 50 ii is lowered to be adjacent to the second space 17, then, as shown in fig. 22, the carrying arm 54 of the other handling unit 50 ii moves to the loading position with the mold 60 to enter the second space 17, the table 51 of the other handling unit 50 ii is lowered slightly to the mold carrying groove 541 of the carrying arm 54 to disengage from the pin portion 631 of the mold 60, so that the mold 60 is set on the top surface of the lower cold-pressing plate 32, then, as shown in fig. 23, the carrying arm 54 of the other handling unit 50 ii moves to the loading position to exit the second space 17, and then, as shown in fig. 24, the lower cold-pressing plate 32 is raised to the cooling position, so that the upper and lower cold-pressing plates 31 and 32 can perform cooling and setting operations on the EVA 500 (see fig. 27) in the mold 60.

Step 350 (see fig. 1): as shown in fig. 25, 26 and 27, the mold 60 is removed from the second space 17, and the mold 60 is opened to remove the EVA midsole 500.

In the first embodiment, as shown in fig. 25, the loading arm 54 of one of the carrier units 50 i is moved to the loading position into the second space 17, and then, the table 51 of one of the carrying units 50 i is slightly raised to the mold carrying groove 541 of the carrying arm 54 to lift the supporting rod portion 631 of the mold 60, so that the mold 60 is carried by the carrier arm 54 of one of the transfer units 50 i away from the top surface of the lower cold plate 32, and then, as shown in fig. 26, the carrier arm 54 of one of the transfer units 50 i carries the mold 60 to the unloading position to exit the second space 17 for mold opening, and thus, that is, a state similar to that shown in fig. 13 can be returned, as shown in fig. 27, after the operator opens the upper and lower molds 62, 61 of the mold 60, the EVA midsole 500 may be removed and new EVA material 400 (see fig. 12) may be placed again in the mold cavity 64 of the mold 60.

In this way, the present invention can use the carrying units 50 i and 50 ii to intermittently and cyclically carry the mold 60 between the lower hot pressing plate 22 and the lower cold pressing plate 32, so as to mold the EVA material 400 (see fig. 12) in the mold 60 into the EVA midsole 500 (see fig. 27).

From the above description, the advantages of the present invention can be summarized as follows:

the present invention first uses the vacuum pump 200 to vacuumize the first space 16 into a vacuum state, then, the mold 60 is heated in the first space 16 by the upper and lower hot press plates 21 and 22, so as to vulcanize the EVA material 400 in the mold 60, so that the EVA material 400 is vulcanized and molded into the EVA middle sole 500, since the first space 16 is already in a vacuum state, there is no air between the EVA material 400 and the mold 60, and therefore, during the process of vulcanizing and expanding the EVA material 400 into the EVA middle sole 500, the EVA material 400 does not have the problem of air entrapment, the defect of the EVA midsole 500 with small bubbles in appearance can be effectively prevented, and the EVA insole 500 can be effectively prevented from containing bubbles, so that the EVA insole 500 is formed into a solid structure.

Referring to fig. 28, 29 and 30, a second embodiment of the present invention is similar to the first embodiment, and the difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is:

step 310 (see fig. 28): as shown in fig. 29, the worker opens the upper and lower molds 62, 61 of the mold 60 to place the two outsole 600 with the top glued and the EVA material 400 into the molding cavities 64, respectively, and then closes the mold 60 (see fig. 14) with each EVA material 400 on top of a respective outsole 600. In the present embodiment, the top of the outsole 600 is glued by an adhesive (not shown), but not limited thereto.

Step 330 (see fig. 28): as shown in fig. 18, the mold 60 is hot pressed to vulcanize each EVA material 400 (see fig. 29) into the EVA midsole 500 (see fig. 30) that is bonded to the respective outsole 600.

In the present embodiment, the upper hot press plate 21 is lowered to the heating position, so that the upper and lower hot press plates 21, 22 hot press the mold 60 to perform the vulcanization operation on the EVA material 400 (see fig. 29) in the mold 60, so that the EVA material 400 (see fig. 29) is vulcanized and molded into the EVA midsole 500 (see fig. 30) respectively bonded to the outsole 600.

Step 340 (see fig. 28): as shown in fig. 24, the mold 60 is moved into the second space 17, and the mold 60 is cooled, so that each EVA midsole 500 (see fig. 30) is cooled and set and combined with the respective outsole 600 (see fig. 30) to form a sole 700 (see fig. 30).

Step 350 (see fig. 28): as shown in fig. 30, the mold 60 is removed from the second space 17 (see fig. 26), and the mold 60 is opened to take out the outsole 700.

Thus, in addition to the same purpose and effect as those of the first embodiment, since there is no air between the EVA400 and the outsole 600, the second embodiment can ensure that the EVA midsole 500 and the outsole 600 are tightly bonded together, and effectively reduce the problem of the outsole 600 debonding when the sole 700 is used at a later date.

In summary, the method for manufacturing the vacuum post-hot-press-molding EVA midsole of the present invention can not only prevent the molded EVA midsole from having defects in appearance, but also form the EVA midsole into a solid structure without air bubbles therein, thereby improving the yield of the EVA midsole, and thus the object of the present invention can be achieved.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an EVA middle sole formed by vacuum post-hot pressing is characterized in that:

the preparation method of the EVA middle sole formed by hot pressing after vacuum comprises the following steps:

(A) placing at least one EVA material into at least one forming mold cavity defined by a mold, and closing the mold;

(B) moving the mold into a first space, and vacuumizing the first space;

(C) hot-pressing the mould to vulcanize and mold the EVA material into an EVA insole; and

2. The method for manufacturing EVA insole by vacuum post-hot-press molding according to claim 1, wherein: in the step (a), a forming machine and a vacuum pump are prepared, the forming machine includes a machine unit, a heating unit, a cooling unit, two vacuum door units, two carrying units, and the mold, the machine unit defines the first space and the second space lower than the first space in the up-down direction, the first space has two first openings oppositely disposed in the front-back direction, the second space has two second openings oppositely disposed in the front-back direction, the heating unit includes an upper hot pressing plate located in the first space, a lower hot pressing plate located in the first space, and a hot pressing plate driver disposed in the machine unit, the hot pressing plate driver is used for driving the upper and lower hot pressing plates to move between a non-heating position far away from each other and a heating position close to each other in the up-down direction, the cooling unit comprises an upper cold pressing plate positioned in the second space, a lower cold pressing plate positioned in the second space, and a cold pressing plate driver arranged on the machine station unit, the cold pressing plate driver is used for driving the upper cold pressing plate and the lower cold pressing plate to move between a non-cooling position and a cooling position, wherein the non-cooling position is far away from each other, the cooling position is close to each other, the vacuum door units are oppositely arranged on the machine station unit in the front-back direction and respectively correspond to the first openings, each vacuum door unit is provided with a door frame movably arranged on the machine station unit in the front-back direction, a door frame driving module connecting the door frame and the machine station unit with each other, a vacuum door movably arranged on the door frame in the up-down direction, and two vacuum door drivers which are mutually spaced in the left-right direction and mutually connecting the vacuum door and the machine station unit with each other, each vacuum door driver has a first pivot end pivotally connected to the machine unit and a second pivot end pivotally connected to the vacuum door, the vacuum door driver is configured to drive the vacuum door to move in the up-down direction relative to the door frame between an open position not shielding a corresponding one of the first openings and a closed position shielding the corresponding one of the first openings, when the vacuum door is in the closed position, the door frame driving module is configured to drive the door frame to drive the vacuum door to move in the front-back direction relative to the machine unit between a vacuum breaking position and a vacuum position, when the vacuum door is in the vacuum breaking position, the vacuum door does not seal the corresponding one of the first openings, and when the vacuum door is in the vacuum position, the vacuum door hermetically seals the corresponding one of the first openings, the carrying units are oppositely arranged on the machine table unit in the front-back direction, each carrying unit comprises a workbench movably arranged on the machine table unit along the up-down direction and positioned outside the first space and the second space in the front-back direction, a workbench driver arranged on the machine table unit, and a carrier module arranged on the workbench, the workbench driver is used for driving the workbench to move to be adjacent to one of the first space and the second space along the up-down direction, the carrier module is provided with two carrying arms which are arranged on the workbench at intervals in the left-right direction and can be synchronously moved along the front-back direction, and a carrying arm driving mechanism arranged on the workbench, each carrying arm is provided with at least two mould carrying grooves which are arranged at intervals in the front-back direction, the loading arm driving mechanism is used for driving the loading arm to move between a loading-out position outside one of the first space and the second space and a loading position extending into one of the first space and the second space along the front-back direction, and the vacuum pump is communicated with the first space of the machine unit.

3. The method for manufacturing an EVA midsole formed by hot pressing after vacuum molding according to claim 2, wherein: the method for manufacturing the vacuum post-hot-press-molding EVA midsole further comprises a step (E) after the step (D), wherein in the step (E), the mold is moved out of the second space, and the mold is opened to take out the EVA midsole.

4. The method for manufacturing an EVA midsole formed by hot pressing after vacuum molding according to claim 2, wherein: in the step (B), the mold is carried by the carrying arm of one of the carrying units, the table of the one of the carrying units is raised to be adjacent to the first space, then the carrying arm of the one of the carrying units moves to the loading position into the first space with the mold so that the mold is placed on the top surface of the lower hot platen, then the carrying arm of the one of the carrying units moves to the unloading position to exit from the first space, then the vacuum door moves to the door closing position first and then moves to the vacuum position to hermetically close the first space, then the vacuum pump is started to vacuumize the first space to make the inside of the first space into a vacuum state, and in the step (C), the upper hot platen is lowered to the heating position, in step (D), the vacuum door moves to the vacuum breaking position first, then moves to the door opening position, then the workbench of another carrying unit rises to be adjacent to the first space, then the carrying arm of another carrying unit moves to the loading position to enter the first space, so that the mold is carried by the carrying arm of another carrying unit and leaves the top surface of the lower hot pressing plate, then the carrying arm of another carrying unit carries the mold to move to the loading position to exit the first space, and then the workbench of another carrying unit descends to be adjacent to the second space, then, the carrying arm of the other carrying unit moves to the loading position to enter the second space with the mold, so that the mold is placed on the top surface of the lower cold-pressing plate, then the carrying arm of the other carrying unit moves to the loading position to exit the second space, and then the lower cold-pressing plate rises to the cooling position, so that the upper and lower cold-pressing plates can perform cooling and shaping operation on the EVA middle sole in the mold.

5. The method for manufacturing an EVA midsole formed by hot pressing after vacuum molding according to claim 2, wherein: in the step (a), the mold includes a lower mold, an upper mold pivotally connected to the lower mold, and two supporting members respectively disposed at left and right sides of the lower mold, each supporting member has two supporting rod portions spaced along the front-rear direction, each carrying arm has two mold carrying grooves spaced along the front-rear direction, and the upper mold and the lower mold cooperate to define the molding cavity.

6. The method for manufacturing an EVA midsole formed by hot pressing after vacuum molding according to claim 2, wherein: in the step (a), the machine unit includes two side plates disposed at an interval in the front-rear direction, the first openings are respectively formed in the side plates, the vacuum door includes a door plate and an airtight ring disposed on an inner side surface of the door plate, the door frame driving module includes a plurality of door frame driving cylinders, each door frame driving cylinder includes a first cylinder disposed on the machine unit and a first piston rod disposed on the first cylinder in a retractable manner along the front-rear direction and connected to the door plate, the vacuum door is spaced apart from one of the corresponding side plates when the vacuum door is in the vacuum breaking position, and the airtight ring of the vacuum door abuts against the corresponding one of the side plates and surrounds the corresponding one of the first openings when the vacuum door is in the vacuum position.

7. The method for manufacturing an EVA midsole formed by hot pressing after vacuum molding according to claim 2, wherein: step (A) the big end of at least one top rubberizing with the EVA material is put into in the shaping die cavity of mould, the EVA material is located on the top of big end in step (C), hot pressing the mould makes the EVA material vulcanize the shaping into with big end bonding together the EVA insole in step (D), the cooling the mould makes the EVA insole cool off the design and with big end combines.

8. The method for manufacturing EVA insole by vacuum post-hot-press molding according to claim 7, wherein: in the step (B), the mold is carried by the carrying arm of one of the carrying units, the table of the one of the carrying units is raised to be adjacent to the first space, then the carrying arm of the one of the carrying units moves to the loading position into the first space with the mold so that the mold is placed on the top surface of the lower hot platen, then the carrying arm of the one of the carrying units moves to the unloading position to exit from the first space, then the vacuum door moves to the door closing position first and then moves to the vacuum position to hermetically close the first space, then the vacuum pump is started to vacuumize the first space to make the inside of the first space into a vacuum state, and in the step (C), the upper hot platen is lowered to the heating position, making the upper and lower hot press plates hot press the mold to vulcanize the EVA material in the mold to vulcanize the EVA material into the EVA midsole adhered to the outsole, in step (D), the vacuum door moves to the vacuum breaking position, then moves to the door opening position, then the worktable of another carrying unit rises to be adjacent to the first space, then the carrying arm of another carrying unit moves to the loading position to enter the first space, so that the mold is carried by the carrying arm of another carrying unit to leave the top surface of the lower hot press plate, then the carrying arm of another carrying unit carries the mold to move to the loading position to exit the first space, then the worktable of another carrying unit descends to be adjacent to the second space, then, the carrying arm of the other carrying unit moves to the loading position to enter the second space with the mold, so that the mold is placed on the top surface of the lower cold-pressing plate, then the carrying arm of the other carrying unit moves to the loading position to exit the second space, and then the lower cold-pressing plate rises to the cooling position, so that the upper and lower cold-pressing plates can perform cooling and shaping operation on the EVA middle sole in the mold.