JP2002013592A - Wheel balancer composition and wheel balancer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wheel balancer composition which has a small adverse effect on environment and humans, and can be mounted without using installation equipment and a jig. SOLUTION: A raw material including a high density metal composition and an elastomer component composing matrix is processed by thermoforming for the specific gravity to become 4 or greater. The matrix may be a high density plastic composition. The wheel balancer is formed in strip shape by the thermoforming and a reversible adhesive sheet is fixed on one side of the strip moldings.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a material used for a balancer of an automobile wheel rim, and more particularly, to an environment-friendly wheel balancer that does not use so-called harmful heavy metals such as lead or lead alloy. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique will be described with reference to FIG.
The conventional wheel balancer 10 has been manufactured from lead or a lead alloy. The specific gravity of lead is 11.3, and the specific gravity of the lead alloy used as the wheel balancer 10 for the vehicle wheel rim 20 is generally about 9.5 to 11.4. By the way, the greater the specific gravity of a wheel balancer,
Uses expand. This is because it is possible to cope with a case where a thin type is particularly suitable due to restrictions such as mounting conditions. Since the fabric of the wheel balancer 10 is hard, the fabric is provided with a caulking portion 11 and grooves 12 are formed at predetermined intervals to facilitate cutting. In order to attach the caulking portion 11 to the wheel rim 20, an attaching jig 30 as shown in FIG. 3 and an attaching device as shown in JP-A-9-79933 are required.

[0003]

By the way, when lead or discarded after use and left in a natural environment, it gradually combines with other substances to form water-soluble toxic salts, thereby polluting the environment. Problems have been pointed out. Therefore, the use of lead or lead alloys in automobile wheel balancers and the like tends to be regulated worldwide. In order to improve work efficiency, there is a potential need for a wheel balancer that can be mounted without using a mounting device or jig.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique relating to a wheel balancer that does not use lead and does not require a jig or a mounting device. Here, an object of the present invention described in claims 1 to 3 is to provide a composition for a wheel balancer that has a small adverse effect on the environment and the human body and can be mounted without using a mounting device or a jig. It is another object of the present invention to provide a wheel balancer that can be attached without using an attachment device or a jig, and has a small adverse effect on the environment and the human body.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a material containing a high specific gravity metal component and an elastomer component constituting a matrix is thermoformed so as to have a specific gravity of 4 or more. And a composition for a wheel balancer.

(Explanation of terms) "High specific gravity metal component" means chromium (specific gravity 7.14), manganese (specific gravity 7.43), iron (specific gravity).
7.87), cobalt (specific gravity 8.90), nickel (specific gravity 8.9
1) One type of metal or a mixture (including alloys) selected from the group consisting of copper (specific gravity 8.95), zinc (specific gravity 7.14), and tungsten (specific gravity 19.3). The term “high specific gravity metal” as used in the present invention does not include heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, which have a high possibility of damaging the ecology. As long as the metal powder itself and its reaction product are non-toxic and have a sufficiently high specific gravity, all of them can be used theoretically. However, those whose prices are too high (gold, platinum, etc.) are not practically usable, so the above-mentioned metals are adopted.

The term "elastomer component" refers to one or a mixture of two or more elastomers selected from the group consisting of diene elastomers, olefin elastomers, urethane elastomers, silicone elastomers, fluorine elastomers and polysulfide rubber elastomers. It is. The elastomer portion may be cross-linked (vulcanized) to increase its strength. Here, "diene-based elastomer" refers to styrene-butadiene copolymer, butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, chloroprene rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer, butadiene-styrene block polymer, and the like. Further, "olefin-based elastomer" refers to chlorinated polyethylene, butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, acrylic rubber, ionomer, Refers to soft polyvinyl chloride.

[0008] The specific gravity is limited to "4 or more" because the higher the specific gravity, the wider the range of use conditions, but the elastomer component having a small specific gravity is used as a matrix component, so that it can be empirically determined. It has been adopted as. More preferably, it is "7 or more". It has been experimentally confirmed that the upper limit of the specific gravity is about 13.5 using tungsten to the limit. If it is more than that, there is difficulty in molding. In order to increase the specific gravity, it is preferable to use tungsten. However, on the other hand, if the specific gravity is high to some extent, it can be put to practical use, and an inexpensive balancer can be obtained. For such applications, the use of SUS powder is most preferred. As a result, the method of mixing and using SUS powder and tungsten powder is currently most preferable. It has been experimentally found that when tungsten and SUS powder are used, the lower the specific gravity, the cheaper the total cost until molding.

"Thermoforming" is mainly extrusion or injection molding. The shape of the molded product may be a belt shape as defined in claim 3, a shape to be easily fixed by caulking by deforming (caulking) to a wheel to be mounted, an outer peripheral edge of a rim, a double-sided adhesive tape or the like. Is formed into a shape that can be easily fixed by using the fixing method described above. In addition, as a result of the experiment, it was found that the production cost was more likely to be reduced by injection molding than by extrusion molding.

If the amount of the high specific gravity component is increased, the fluidity of the composition in a molding machine becomes poor, and molding becomes difficult. In order to enhance the fluidity, the particle size distribution of the added high specific gravity component is made into a two-dispersion type or three-dispersion type distribution, and if necessary, a coupling agent for increasing the degree of bonding between the matrix component and the high specific gravity component is added thereto. If necessary, a small amount of a plasticizer may be added to improve the moldability of the composition (Patent application number = Japanese Patent Application No. 11-5954).
No. 6).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wheel wherein a material containing a high specific gravity metal component and a high specific gravity plastic composition constituting a matrix is thermoformed so as to have a specific gravity of 4 or more. The present invention relates to a composition for a balancer.

(Explanation of terms) The "high specific gravity plastic" is one or a mixture of two or more plastics selected from the group consisting of polyolefin plastics, engineering plastics, and polystyrene plastics. Here, “polyolefin-based plastic” refers to polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and the like. The “engineering plastic” includes polyamide, polyester, polycarbonate, polysulfone, polyphenylene oxide and the like. "Polystyrene-based plastic" refers to GP
Examples include polystyrene, styrene-butadiene-based block polymer, HI polystyrene, AS resin and ABS resin.

When a vinyl chloride polymer is used as the high specific gravity plastic, it is necessary to appropriately select the incineration conditions so that dioxin is not generated by incineration. Further, when a diene rubber is used as the high specific gravity plastic, there is a problem of weather resistance as compared with other materials. However, if direct sunlight is avoided by mounting the balancer inside the rim, diene rubber can sufficiently withstand practical use.

(Matrix) It is advantageous to use an elastomer or plastic having a specific gravity as high as possible for increasing the specific gravity of the product balancer. At the same time, the type 1 product is more preferable than the type 2 product because the mounting is easy and the problem of weather resistance is less likely to occur after the mounting. In this sense, type 1 using chlorinated polyethylene
Is one of the most preferred products in the present invention, and chlorinated polyethylene is one of the most preferred materials for the matrix resin.
Soft polyvinyl chloride resin is also a preferred material in this sense.

(Claim 3) According to a third aspect of the present invention, the composition for a wheel balancer according to the first or second aspect is formed into a belt shape. Note that the “band shape” here is intended to include a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction even if the cross-sectional shape is slightly complicated for convenience such as mounting a wheel. If it is to be formed in a belt shape, the molding cost can be reduced by adopting extrusion molding. In addition, since the mass per length can be determined, it is convenient to measure, cut, and use in the longitudinal direction.

(Claim 4) The invention according to claim 4 is to form a material containing a metal component having a high specific gravity and an elastomer component constituting a matrix into a band shape so as to have a specific gravity of 4 or more. The present invention relates to a wheel balancer having a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet fixed to one side of an object. "Double-sided adhesive sheet"
Fix the adhesive surface on one side to one side of the strip-shaped molded product,
On the other surface, the adhesive surface is protected by a release paper or the like until it is mounted on the wheel to be mounted.

(Claim 5) The invention according to claim 5 is to form a material having a specific gravity of 4 or more containing a high specific gravity metal component and a high specific gravity plastic composition constituting a matrix into a band shape, The present invention relates to a wheel balancer having a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet fixed to one side of an object.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings and embodiments. Hereinafter, in the molded products, those described as "Type 1" are band-shaped molded products, and those described as "Type 2" are shown in FIG.

(Example 1) First, a metal powder mixed at the following weight ratio is obtained. Tungsten: SUS = 0.22: 99.78 (w /
w) SUS powder is prepared by mixing powder having an average particle diameter of 40 μm and powder having an average particle diameter of 10 μm in a ratio of 4: 6. Tungsten powder is prepared by mixing tungsten powder having an average particle diameter of 3 μm with average particle diameter. It was prepared by mixing 120 μm tungsten powder at a ratio of 5: 5.

The specific gravity of the mixed metal powder is 7.76. This mixed metal powder and chlorinated polyethylene as a matrix component were mixed with 4.4 wt.
%. The chlorinated polyethylene used had a chlorine content of 5% or less, a specific gravity of 1.1 and a secondary transition temperature of -70 ° C or less.

After the above-mentioned SUS powder, tungsten powder and chlorinated polyethylene pellets were mixed with a tumbler, the mixture was first extruded under the following extruder conditions to prepare pellets. Screw diameter = 40 mm Screw compression ratio = 1: 2 Screw rotation speed = 105 rpm Barrel temperature = 110 to 130 ° C. Here, pellets to be used as a composition for a wheel balancer are completed.

Next, the pellets were extruded under the following conditions to prepare a wheel rim balancer. Screw diameter = 40 mm Screw compression ratio = 1: 3 Screw rotation speed = 90 rpm Barrel temperature = 110 to 130 degrees Celsius Here, the cross-sectional shape of the product = 3 × 20 mm, the specific gravity of the product: 7.47. (Type 1) A barrel balancer 40 is obtained. This band-shaped wheel balancer 40 was cut with scissors, and affixed to the inside of the wheel rim with double-sided tape.

(Example 2) First, a metal powder mixed in the following weight ratio is obtained. Tungsten: SUS = 33.5: 66.5 (w / w) SUS powder is composed of SUS powder having an average particle size of 40 μm and an average particle size of 1
0 μm SUS powder was mixed at a ratio of 4: 6, and the tungsten powder was prepared by mixing a tungsten powder having an average particle diameter of 3 μm and a tungsten powder having an average particle diameter of 120 μm in 5:
It was prepared by mixing at a ratio of 5. Here, a mixed metal powder having a specific gravity of 9.69 is completed.

Next, 2.2 wt% of chlorinated polyethylene was prepared as a matrix component into 97.8 wt% of the high specific gravity component mixed metal powder described above. The chlorinated polyethylene used had a chlorine content of 5% or less, a specific gravity of 1.1 and a secondary transition temperature of -70 ° C or less.

After the above-mentioned SUS powder, tungsten powder and chlorinated polyethylene pellets were mixed by a tumbler, the mixture was first extruded under the following extruder conditions to prepare pellets. Screw diameter = 40 mm Screw compression ratio = 1: 2 Screw rotation speed = 50 rpm Barrel temperature = 180 to 210 degrees Celsius Here, pellets to be a wheel balancer composition are completed.

Next, the pellets were extruded under the following conditions to prepare a wheel rim balancer. Screw diameter = 40 mm Screw compression ratio = 1: 3 Screw rotation speed = 70 rpm Barrel temperature = 110 to 130 degrees Celsius Here, the cross-sectional shape of the product: 3 × 20 mm, specific gravity equivalent to a conventional commercial product: 9.50 A wheel balancer as a strip-shaped molded product (type 1) is obtained. This band-shaped wheel balancer was cut with scissors, and affixed to the inside of the wheel rim with double-sided tape.

Example 3 First, a metal powder mixed at the following weight ratio is obtained. Tungsten: SUS = 55.4: 44.6 (w / w) SUS powder is an SUS powder having an average particle size of 40 μm and an average particle size of 1
0 μm SUS powder was mixed at a ratio of 4: 6, and the tungsten powder was prepared by mixing a tungsten powder having an average particle diameter of 3 μm and a tungsten powder having an average particle diameter of 120 μm in 5:
It was prepared by mixing at a ratio of 5. Here, a mixed metal powder having a specific gravity of 11.6 is completed.

Next, 2.9 wt% of high density polyethylene as a matrix component was mixed with 97.1 wt% of the high specific gravity component mixed metal powder described above. The specific gravity was 11,3.

After the above-mentioned SUS powder, tungsten powder and high-density polyethylene pellets were mixed in a tumbler, the mixture was first extruded under the following extruder conditions to prepare pellets. Screw diameter = 40 mm Screw compression ratio = 1: 2 Screw rotation speed = 60 rpm Barrel temperature = 180 to 210 degrees Celsius Here, pellets to be a composition for a wheel balancer are completed.

Next, the pellets were injection molded under the following conditions. Injection molding machine manufactured by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (product number P165 /
75) Barrel temperature = 160-210 degrees Celsius Mold temperature = 60 degrees Celsius Injection pressure = 50% Primary injection speed = 30% Secondary injection speed = 20%

Here, a wheel-shaped balancer as a strip-shaped molded product (type 2) having a specific gravity of the product of 9.47 is obtained. In this wheel balancer, the caulked portion was caulked with a stainless steel (specific gravity: 7.75) jig and fixed inside the wheel rim.

When the following four specific gravities are obtained by changing the mixing ratio of the SUS powder and the tungsten powder, a strip-shaped molded product (type 2) based on a thickness of 4 mm and a width of 20 mm is used. , Four lengths are completed. For specific gravity 4.35, length 29 mm For specific gravity 5.00, length 25 mm For specific gravity 6.00, length 21 mm For specific gravity 7.00, length 18 mm Any molded product can be used as a balancer, but the manufacturing cost is It was found that the lower the specific gravity, the lower the suppression, but the higher the specific gravity, the easier it is to handle.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the process from the manufacture of the type 1 wheel balancer to the fixing to the rim. Pellets made of the mixed metal powder prepared in Example 1 or Example 2 and chlorinated polyethylene as a matrix component are introduced into the hopper 40.
The extruder 41 extrudes the belt-shaped wheel balancer composition 50. After the extruded composition 50 is cooled in the cooling device 42, the double-sided tape fixing device 60
Then, the adhesive surface opposite to the release paper 52 of the double-sided tape 51 is fixed to one surface of the belt-shaped composition 50. Then, the double-sided tape 51 with the release paper 52 is
Is wound up to a predetermined length.

As shown in FIG. 2, since the wheel balancer wound by the winding device 70 is manufactured by extrusion molding, the weight per unit length can be determined. Therefore, the required weight can be obtained by measuring the length.
The wheel balancer manufactured in this manner can be easily cut with industrial scissors, unlike the one made of a lead alloy. After cutting, the release paper may be peeled off and fixed inside the wheel rim 20.

[0035]

According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide a composition for a wheel balancer which has a small adverse effect on the environment and the human body and can be mounted without using a mounting device or a jig. did it. According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide a wheel balancer that has little adverse effect on the environment and the human body and can be mounted without using a mounting device or a jig.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a manufacturing process of a wheel balancer.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a procedure for using a wheel balancer.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Wheel balancer 11 Caulking part 12 Groove 20 Wheel rim 30 Mounting jig 40 Hopper 41 Extruder 42 Cooling device 50 Composition for wheel balancer 51 Double-sided tape 52 Release paper 60 Double-sided tape fixing device 70 Winding device

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A composition for a wheel balancer, wherein a material containing a high specific gravity metal component and an elastomer component constituting a matrix is thermoformed so as to have a specific gravity of 4 or more. 2. A material containing a high specific gravity metal component and a high specific gravity plastic composition constituting a matrix,
A composition for a wheel balancer, which is thermoformed as described above. 3. The composition for a wheel balancer according to claim 1, wherein the composition is formed into a belt shape. 4. A wheel in which a material containing a high specific gravity metal component and an elastomer component constituting a matrix is formed into a belt shape having a specific gravity of 4 or more, and a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet is fixed to one surface of the band-shaped product. Balancer. 5. A wheel in which a material having a specific gravity of 4 or more containing a high specific gravity metal component and a high specific gravity plastic composition constituting a matrix is formed into a belt shape, and a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet is fixed to one surface of the band-shaped product. Balancer.