JP2001219800A - Front end panel made of thermoplastic resin - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To develop a light front end panel made of thermoplastic resin that is hardly charged and stuck with dust. SOLUTION: The front end panel made of thermoplastic resin constituting a front end module for a vehicle is composed of the thermoplastic resin and an antistatic agent, and has antistatic property.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a front end panel made of thermoplastic resin for vehicles having antistatic properties.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A front end panel for a vehicle made of a resin material has been known in the prior art.
No. 1 and JP-A-6-286657. These resin front end panels have a structure in which a fan shroud, a radiator support, and the like are integrated. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 10-264855 and 11-29069 disclose a front end panel in which a metal reinforcing material is integrated. However, the resin front end panels shown in these documents are excellent in light weight, but are easily dusted by electrification, which may cause a vehicle failure or static electricity generated to cause failure of a vehicle control electronic circuit. There was a problem of doing.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present inventors have made intensive studies to develop a front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin that is lightweight and hard to be charged, and as a result, has reached the present invention.

[0004]

That is, the present invention relates to a front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin constituting a front end module for a vehicle, wherein the front end panel is made of a thermoplastic resin and an antistatic agent. An object of the present invention is to provide a front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin, wherein the panel has an antistatic property.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below. The following description is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, a thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention generally comprises a radiator support (8) for mounting an upper reinforcement (7) on the upper edge of the front end panel and a radiator below the upper reinforcement (7).
It has a shape with a headlamp attachment part etc.
A radiator, a radiator fan, a headlight, or the like is attached to each of these components to form a front end module. The front end panel having antistatic properties of the present invention means that at least a surface portion of the front end panel including a portion connecting the front end panel and the vehicle body is antistatic when the front end panel is viewed in a plane direction. Refers to a structure having antistatic properties only to the upper reinforcement portion described above, or a structure in which only the central portion in the thickness direction of the front end panel has antistatic properties. Not included.

[0007] Usually, the charge prevention of the resin material is mainly performed by preventing the accumulation of electric charges by reducing the surface resistivity (increase in conductivity). However, depending on the kind of the antistatic agent used, the charge generation itself may be reduced. In the thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention, the surface resistivity of the front end panel is smaller than 1 × 10 ¹⁴ Ω · cm, particularly smaller than 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm,
It is desirable to be smaller than × 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm. Normal,
The lower the surface resistivity, the more excellent the anti-static property of the front end panel. If the surface resistivity is smaller than 1 × 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm, the accumulation of electric charges can be almost completely prevented.

[0008] Here, the surface resistivity is 50% humidity, 23 temperature.
The value measured in the state of ° C. is used. Such surface resistivity can be measured by various generally known methods for measuring surface resistivity, such as a voltage-current method and a bridge method. There are a charging method and a method of comparing with a standard resistance.

As a method for manufacturing the front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin having an antistatic property of the present invention, a method of molding a thermoplastic resin into which an antistatic agent is kneaded as a molding material into a shape of the front end panel (No. 1) a method of applying an antistatic agent to one or both surfaces of a thermoplastic resin front end panel formed in advance (second method), or a sheet or film having an antistatic property ( 10) is attached (third method).

The antistatic agent applied to the thermoplastic resin front end panel having antistatic properties of the present invention includes:
Conventionally known various antistatic agents can be applied and are not particularly limited, but typically, a cationic surfactant, an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant And a surfactant such as an amphoteric surfactant and a quaternary ammonium salt. The amount of the antistatic agent used varies depending on the type of the antistatic agent and the desired antistatic property.However, when the antistatic agent is kneaded into the thermoplastic resin and used, it is usually used for the thermoplastic resin. 0.05
About 10% by weight.

[0011] The front end panel manufactured by the first method is characterized in that the antistatic agent uniformly kneaded in the thermoplastic resin bleeds out on the surface to form an antistatic layer on the surface. Almost the entire surface of the panel has antistatic properties, and the front end panel manufactured by the second or third method has a surface portion coated with an antistatic agent, or a sheet or film having antistatic properties. An antistatic property is obtained on the bonded surfaces.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin having antistatic properties according to the present invention will be described. First, a first method of molding using a molten thermoplastic resin into which an antistatic agent has been kneaded (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a molten resin) will be described. FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a mold manufactured by such a method in cross section.
This mold consists of a male and female pair of a male mold (4) and a female mold (5), and usually both molds are connected to a pressing device and the other is fixed and opened and closed in the vertical or horizontal direction. It is possible.

The method of supplying the molten resin into the mold cavity is arbitrary, but generally, a resin supply path (2) provided in the mold.
A resin supply port (3) connected to the resin supply device (1) through the mold is provided on one or both of the male and female mold cavity surfaces (9), and the molten resin (6) is introduced into the cavity from the resin supply port. Is preferable. In this case, an arbitrarily controllable on-off valve is provided near the resin supply port of the resin supply path (2) so that the supply and stop of the molten resin stored in the resin supply device such as an injection machine can be arbitrarily controlled. It may be.

Using such a mold, a thermoplastic resin (6) containing an antistatic agent melt-kneaded by a generally known in-line type resin supply device (1) such as an injection machine is placed in the mold. Supply. Extrusion molding, injection molding, any thermoplastic resin used in press molding can be used as the thermoplastic resin used here, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene,
Acrylonitrile styrene. General thermoplastic resins such as butadiene copolymers, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, and the like, mixtures thereof, and polymer alloys using these thermoplastic resins, and the like. The plastic resin includes all of them.

[0015] Such a thermoplastic resin may contain a filler such as reinforced fiber or talc, if necessary, and may be appropriately compounded with various commonly used additives such as pigments, lubricants, and stabilizers. It may be.

[0016] When filling the molten resin into the mold cavity, the cavity volume and cavity clearance formed by both molds are determined by the volume of the supplied molten resin, the thickness of the final molded body, and the like. The molten resin may be supplied between the molds in which the cavities are completely formed, or the molten resin may be supplied in a state in which the cavities are not formed and the molds are not closed. And the shape of the desired front end panel. The cavity clearance when the molten resin is supplied between the unclosed molds is usually within about +100 mm of the final molded article thickness.

The temperature of the molten resin to be supplied also varies depending on the type of the thermoplastic resin used, the molding conditions, the type of the antistatic agent used, and the like, and an optimal temperature is appropriately set. When a polypropylene resin is used and an imidazoline-type amphoteric surfactant metal salt is used as an antistatic agent, the temperature is about 170 to 300 ° C, preferably about 200 to 280 ° C.

The filling of the molten resin into the mold cavity may be performed by an injection filling method or a method by a mold clamping operation of both molds, and is appropriately selected depending on a desired product form. You. For example, it is also possible to fill the mold cavity with the molten resin while maintaining the mold cavity clearance at the final molded body thickness (FIG. 3) (FIG. 4). In this case, the mold cavity clearance may be instantaneously larger than the thickness of the final molded body during the supply of the molten resin, but this is not a problem in the present method.

In the case of the mold clamping operation of both molds, the supply of the molten resin is started between the unclosed molds whose mold cavity clearance is larger than the final molded body thickness, and the supply of the molten resin is completed. At the same time or after the supply is completed, the molten resin may be filled into the mold cavity by clamping, or the clamping may be started during the supply of the molten resin.

In either method, after filling and solidifying the molten resin in the mold cavity, both molds are opened and the molded product is taken out from the mold (FIG. 5). By such a method, a front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin having antistatic properties can be easily manufactured.

In the case of the second method, it is manufactured by applying a predetermined amount of an antistatic agent to a desired surface of a thermoplastic resin front end panel manufactured in advance. In this case, a front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin is previously manufactured in the same manner as described above except that a thermoplastic resin into which an antistatic agent is not kneaded is used, and an antistatic agent is added to one of the front end panels. The coating may be applied to the entire surface or the required portion of one or both surfaces by a normal coating method using a brush or a spray gun. Upon application, the antistatic agent may be diluted to a desired concentration with an organic solvent, water, or the like, if necessary, depending on its type, and the amount of the antistatic agent is appropriately set to such an extent that a desired antistatic property is obtained.

As a third method, a sheet or film having antistatic properties is bonded to a desired surface of a front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin in advance by using an adhesive or screwing. Although it is good, it is practically advantageous to manufacture a thermoplastic resin front-end panel and, at the same time, laminate a sheet or film having antistatic properties and integrally mold it.

As the sheet or film having an antistatic property used in these methods, a thermoplastic resin in which an antistatic agent as described in the first method is kneaded in a desired amount is generally used. A sheet or film formed into a sheet or film by an ordinary method is used. Further, such a sheet or film may be subjected to an appropriate treatment for enhancing the adhesiveness to a thermoplastic resin as a base material.

In the case where a front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin is manufactured and a sheet or film having an antistatic property is laminated and integrally formed at the same time, it can be manufactured according to the first method described above.

First, a sheet or film (10) having antistatic properties is supplied between the cavities between the male and female dies in an unclosed state. At this time, the sheet or film having antistatic properties may be preformed into a predetermined shape in some cases, and if it is desired to partially bond the sheet or film, the sheet or film is partially placed at a predetermined position on the cavity surface. It is sufficient to arrange and supply them.

In supplying the sheet or film (10) having an antistatic property, the sheet or film is placed on the mold cavity surface (2) or a peripheral portion thereof in order to prevent displacement or wrinkling from the mold surface. May be fixed, in which case, it may be fixed using an adhesive such as a double-sided tape installed on the mold cavity surface or its peripheral portion,
It is also possible to fix by a simple method such as a magic tape. Further, a clamp structure (not shown) for holding the sheet or the film-like material may be provided on the mold cavity surface or its peripheral portion.

Next, a molten thermoplastic resin (6) containing no antistatic agent is supplied into a mold. The supply of the molten resin and the supply into the cavity are performed in the same manner as described above, except that the cavity clearance at the start of the supply of the molten resin is larger than the thickness of the final product and the molten resin is not closed. Is supplied (FIG. 6), it is possible to prevent the sheet or the film-like material from being torn or wrinkled. The cavity clearance in this case is appropriately selected depending on the sheet or film used, the state of the molten resin to be supplied, and the like.
It is within the extent.

When the molten resin is supplied between the unclosed molds, the filling of the molten resin into the mold cavities is performed by the mold clamping operation of both molds. This may be performed simultaneously with the completion of the supply, or the mold clamping may be started during the supply. The molten resin is filled into the cavity by pressing the molten resin by mold clamping, and the molten resin is pressed while maintaining the mold cavity clearance at the final molded body thickness, so that the surface of the front end panel made of thermoplastic resin is A sheet or film having antistatic properties is laminated and integrated. (FIG. 7)

After cooling under pressure in this state, both molds are opened, and a front end panel having an antistatic sheet or a film-like material laminated and integrated on its surface is taken out from the mold.
(FIG. 8)

As one embodiment of the thermoplastic resin used for manufacturing the front end panel as described above, the average fiber length is 1
If a molten thermoplastic resin containing reinforcing fibers held at a distance of at least mm is used, the entire molded body is filled with reinforcing fibers, so that a front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin having excellent strength and impact resistance can be obtained. Can be.

When such a molten resin containing a reinforcing fiber is used, the reinforcing fiber having an average fiber length of 3 mm or more and a granular or pelletized thermoplastic resin are melted in an injection machine having, for example, an in-line screw. A method in which a molten resin obtained by kneading is supplied into the cavity, or a thermoplastic resin material containing a reinforcing fiber having a preformed average fiber length of 3 mm or more, for example, a long fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin pellet is melt-kneaded. A method of supplying a molten resin into the cavity is exemplified.

In the latter method, as long fiber reinforced resin pellets, for example, a glass roving impregnated with a melted thermoplastic resin and cooled and solidified is cut into a suitable length, for example, about 3 to 25 mm, and pelletized. What is converted is used suitably.

[0033] Such a long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin pellet may be used alone, or may be used by mixing with a resin pellet comprising a matrix resin of a long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin pellet for adjusting the content of the reinforcing fiber. It may be mixed with other thermoplastic resin pellets in some cases.

Here, as the reinforcing fibers, various types of conventionally known reinforcing fibers such as glass fibers, carbon fibers, and alumina fibers are applied, and glass fibers are most commonly used.

[0035] As such a reinforcing fiber has higher adhesion to the thermoplastic resin as the matrix, the bonding between the fibers via the matrix resin becomes stronger, and the strength of the expanded molded article is improved. In the case of a combination of a polypropylene resin and glass fiber, it is effective to apply a surface treatment to the glass fiber or to add a modifier to the thermoplastic resin to improve its adhesion. Is generally in the range of 10 to 80% by weight, although it varies depending on the desired strength of the front end panel and the like.

[0036]

The front end panel made of the thermoplastic resin of the present invention is excellent in lightweight because the base material is a thermoplastic resin, and is widely used in vehicles by utilizing its excellent antistatic properties. Can be

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an example of a mold in a method of manufacturing a thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a manufacturing process in a method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows manufacturing steps in a method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a manufacturing process in a method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a manufacturing process in a method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a manufacturing process in a method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a manufacturing process in a method for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin front end panel of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (1) Resin supply device (2) Resin supply path (3) Resin supply port (4) Male type (5) Female type (6) Thermoplastic resin (7) Upper reinforcement (8) Radiator support (9) Gold Mold cavity surface (10) Antistatic sheet or film

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4F006 AA12 AA15 AA35 AA36 AA38 AB69 BA07 CA04 4J002 BB031 BB121 BC031 BC051 BD041 BG101 CF061 CG001 CL001 EN136 FD010 FD106 GF00 GN00

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin constituting a front end module for a vehicle, wherein the front end panel is made of a thermoplastic resin and an antistatic agent, and the front end panel has an antistatic property. Features a front end panel made of thermoplastic resin. 2. The thermoplastic resin front end panel according to claim 1, wherein the surface resistivity is less than 1 × 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm. 3. The thermoplastic resin front-end panel according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic resin contains an antistatic agent. 4. The front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin according to claim 1, wherein an antistatic agent is applied to the surface. 5. The thermoplastic resin front end panel according to claim 1, wherein a thermoplastic resin sheet or film having an antistatic property containing an antistatic agent is laminated and integrated. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the antistatic agent is a surfactant.
6. The front end panel made of a thermoplastic resin according to 3, 4, or 5.