JP2002193519A - Method for conveying fiber forming body and device used for it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To forcedly peel from a conveying means a preformed body fed from the conveying means such as a conveying belt in a preforming process to a main forming process and smoothly and reliably transfer the preformed body between the processes without applying mold release agent on the conveying means for improving productivity and quality. SOLUTION: This method is to convey the preformed body W2 from the preforming process to the main forming process after a fiber bulk material containing thermoplastic fiber is heated/compressed to be the mat-shaped preformed body W2 in the preforming process. When the preformed body W2 is transferred from the conveying means (conveying belt 24) in the preforming process to the main forming process, the preformed body W2 is conveyed with forcedly peeling it from the conveying means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a preform formed into a mat by heating and compressing a fiber aggregate of a natural fiber and a thermoplastic fiber in a preforming step.
Further, the present invention relates to a conveying method for feeding the material into a main molding step to adjust the shape, and an apparatus used therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a structure for feeding the preformed body from the preforming step to the main forming step, a connecting plate provided between the two steps is used. That transferred once the preform fed from the conveyor belt of the preforming step to the transit plate is sent to the shaping step the preform through the transit plate. In the preformed body that has been heated and compressed in the preforming step, the thermoplastic fibers (resin fibers) of the fiber assembly are softened by heat to have a high viscosity, and are likely to adhere to the above-mentioned transport belt or connecting plate. In order to avoid this adhesion, a release agent is applied to the surfaces of the conveyor belt and the connecting plate.

[0003]

However, if the viscosity of the preformed body is high, the preformed body cannot be peeled off from the conveyor belt and cannot be smoothly transferred onto the connecting plate. In addition, the release agent applied to the surfaces of the conveyor belt and the connecting plate adheres to the surface of the preformed body, which causes quality deterioration. If an apparatus and a process for removing the release agent from the preform are used to solve this problem, the product cost will increase accordingly.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to force a preformed article sent out from a conveying means such as a conveying belt in a preforming step toward a main forming step from the conveying means. To be peeled off,
An object of the present invention is to improve productivity and quality by smoothly and reliably connecting a preform between processes without applying a release agent to a transporting means.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and the invention according to claim 1 is to heat and compress a fiber assembly containing thermoplastic fibers in a preforming step to form a mat. After forming the pre-formed body, a conveying method for sending out the pre-formed body from the pre-forming step to the main forming step, when transferring the pre-formed body from the conveying means of the pre-forming step to the main forming step side The preform is transported while being forcibly peeled off from the transporting means.

According to this configuration, the preformed body sent out from the conveying means in the preforming step toward the main forming step is forcibly peeled off from the conveying means, so that the release means is applied to the conveying means. In addition, the transfer of the preformed body from the preforming step to the main forming step is performed smoothly and reliably, and the productivity is improved. In addition, since the release agent is not used, there is no fear that the release agent adheres to the surface of the preformed body to lower the quality.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the method for transporting a fiber molded article according to the first aspect, wherein the preformed article when transferring from the conveying means in the preforming step to the main molding step is provided. It is characterized in that it is in contact with a rotating member that rotates at a fixed position. By the rotation of the rotating member, the preformed body can be effectively peeled off from the transporting means, and the connection between processes can be made smoother and more reliable.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the method of conveying a fiber molded body according to the second aspect, wherein the rotating member is moved in a direction of movement of the preformed body sent out from a conveying means in the preforming step. It is characterized in that it is rotated in the direction according to. Thereby, the rotation of the rotating member does not become a resistance to the movement of the preform, and the connection between the steps is further smoothly performed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a preform formed by heating and compressing a fiber assembly containing thermoplastic fibers in a preforming step to form a mat is sent from the preforming step to the main forming step. The transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a connecting member that leads to the main forming step is disposed at a position where the preformed body sent out from the conveying unit in the preforming step can be received. A separating means is provided between the transfer means and the connecting member so as to forcibly separate the preform from the transfer means. The method according to claim 1 can be carried out by the transfer device, and the transfer of the preformed body from the preforming step to the main forming step can be performed smoothly and reliably, and the productivity is improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the fiber molded article conveying apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the peeling means includes a rotating member that rotates at a fixed position that can contact the preformed body. Used. By the rotation of the rotating member,
The preform can be efficiently peeled off from the conveying means in the preforming step.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the apparatus for transporting a fiber molded article according to the fifth aspect, wherein the rotating direction of the preformed article sent out from the conveying means in the preforming step is used as the rotating member. A roller that can rotate in a direction corresponding to the direction is used. Thereby, the rotation of the roller does not become a resistance to the movement of the preformed body, and the connection of the preformed body during the process is smooth. Further, since the roller has a small contact area with the preform, the thermoplastic fiber having high viscosity in the preform is less likely to adhere to the roller.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the fiber molded article conveying apparatus according to the sixth aspect, wherein the rotation speed of the roller is set to be higher than the conveying speed of the conveying means in the preforming step. ing. By rotating the roller at a high speed in this manner, the forcible peeling of the preformed body is effectively performed, and the connection between the steps of the preformed body becomes smoother.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the fiber molded article conveying apparatus according to the sixth or seventh aspect, wherein a surface of the roller is coated with a fluorine-based synthetic resin. In this case, it is possible to prevent the thermoplastic fibers, which have been softened by heat and have high viscosity, from adhering to the rollers without applying a release material to the rollers.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. First, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a molding process such as a vehicle door trim board for a material fiber. Natural fibers (vegetable fibers) in the opening and mixing step A shown in this drawing
And a thermoplastic fiber (resin fiber) are spread and mixed to form a fiber aggregate. This fiber assembly is heated and compressed in the next preforming step B to form a mat-shaped preformed body, and then the preformed body is conveyed to the main forming step C to be adjusted to a predetermined uneven shape.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a heating and pressing machine for heating and compressing the fiber assembly in the preforming step B. This heating / pressing machine is a fiber assembly made in the opening and mixing step A from the right side of the drawing, that is, a mat material W
1 is carried in, and the preform W2 is sent out from the left side of the drawing toward the main forming step C. Therefore, a specific configuration of the heating / pressing machine will be described.

The base 10 in this heating / pressing machine is
There are columns 12 extending vertically upward from the four corners of the upper surface, and a fixed surface plate 14 is supported on the top of each column 12. A heating device 15 for heating the mat material W1 from the upper surface is provided on the lower surface of the fixed surface plate 14.
Is provided. The fixed platen 14 is provided with a conveyor belt 16 that is continuous over its upper and lower surfaces. The conveyor belt 16 is hung on a plurality of belt rollers 18 provided on the fixed platen 14. Then, by rotating one of these rollers 18 by a motor or the like, the transport belt 16 moves continuously in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

A movable platen 20 is arranged between the base 10 and the fixed platen 14 so as to be able to move up and down along the columns 12. On the upper surface of the movable platen 20,
A heating device 21 for heating the mat material W1 from below is provided. Also in the movable platen 20, and the over the upper and lower surfaces has a conveyor belt 24 that continuously, the conveyor belt 24 is also subjected to a plurality of belt rollers 26 provided on the movable platen 20. By rotating one of these rollers 26 by a motor or the like, the transport belt 24 continuously moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The operation of raising and lowering the movable platen 20 is controlled by a drive cylinder 22 disposed vertically on the upper surface of the base 10.

Here, the function of the heating / pressing machine in the preforming step B will be briefly described. First, in the state shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the individual transport belts 16 and 24, which are transport means of the fixed surface plate 14 and the movable surface plate 20, are continuously moving in the direction of the arrow. In this state, when the mat material W1 is loaded onto the transport belt 24 of the movable platen 20 from the opening and mixing process A, the mat material W1 is sent by the transport belt 24 to the left in the drawing. In parallel with this, the movable surface plate 20 is pushed up by the drive cylinder 22, and the mat material W1 is heated and compressed by the heating devices 15, 21 to form the preform W2.

Thereafter, the preform W2 is released by lowering the movable platen 20, and the preform W2 is carried out to the main forming step C by the transport belt 24. In this main forming step C, the preform W2 is formed with predetermined irregularities and the shape is adjusted to form a mat base material. This completes a series of molding steps using the fiber assembly as a raw material.

FIG. 2 shows a preform W in a heating and pressing machine.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged configuration view of a transfer device on the side of sending the transfer device 2 to the main forming step C, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the transfer device, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the transfer device, and FIG. It is a block diagram showing the outline of the device. As is apparent from these drawings, a connecting plate 32 is provided on the carry-out side of the heating / pressing machine. This connecting plate 32
Is to cope with a gap (about 140 mm) between the heating / pressing machine in the preforming step B and the next main forming step C. A small-diameter roller used as a rotating member is provided between the connecting plate 32 and a roller 26a of the belt rollers 26 on which the conveyor belt 24 is hung, which roller is located on the discharge side of the heating / pressing machine. A roller 40 is provided. The surfaces of the connecting plate 32 and the roller 40 are coated with a fluorine-based synthetic resin such as tetrafluoroethylene resin (trade name “Teflon”).

The connecting plate 32 includes a movable platen 2
It is fixed to the front side of the base member 30 mounted on the front side by screwing. Both ends of the roller 40 are
The individual brackets 34 fixed to the base member 30 support the material during rotation. One end of the roller 40 is connected to a drive shaft of an air motor 38 mounted on the base member 30. The driving of the air motor 38 causes the roller 40 to rotate in the same direction as the rotation of the belt roller 26a, and 4 to 5 times the rotation speed (about 50
0rpm). As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the transport belt 24 is supported from behind by a support plate 28 in front of the belt roller 26a.

As described above, in the preform W2 heated and compressed by the heating / compressing machine, the thermoplastic fibers of the fiber assembly are softened by heat and have a high viscosity.
Therefore, when the preform W2 is transferred from the transport belt 24 to the connecting plate 32, the preform W2 does not easily adhere to the transport belt 24 and peel off. However, in the conveying device of the present embodiment, when the front end of the preformed body W2 adhered to and conveyed to the conveying belt 24 comes into contact with the roller 40, the preformed body W2 bounces due to the high speed rotation of the roller 40. Can be raised. As a result, the preform W2 is forcibly peeled off from the transport belt 24, and is smoothly sent out onto the connecting plate 32 as it is.

The transport speed of the transport belt 24 is about 400 mm /
s, and because the preform W2 has a thickness of about 2 mm and a temperature of about 200 ° C., the front end of the preform W2 may deform and become defective when the front end hits the connecting plate 32. is there. Even in such a situation, by flipping up the preform W2 as described above, the preform W2 can be surely moved without touching the connecting plate 32 at its front end. In order to peel off the preform W2 from the conveyor belt 24, it is conceivable to arrange the connecting plate 32 in a state pressed against the conveyor belt 24 so as to have a function of a scraper. However, by this means, the transport belt 24
With damaging, if such polytetrafluoroethylene is coated on its surface will be peeled off the coating, so rather will promote adhesion of the preform W2 undesirable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a heating / pressing machine.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a configuration of a transfer device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a transport device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a transport device.

Figure 5 is a configuration diagram showing the outline of the conveying device

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a molding process of a door trim board or the like made of fiber.

[Explanation of symbols]

 24 Conveying belt (conveying means) 40 Roller (rotating member) W2 Preformed body B Preforming step C Main forming step

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A fiber aggregate containing thermoplastic fibers is heated and compressed in a preforming step to form a mat-shaped preformed body, and then the preformed body is transported from the preforming step to the main forming step. A fiber forming method, wherein, when transferring the preformed body from the conveying means in the preforming step to the main forming step, the preformed body is conveyed while forcibly peeling off the preformed body from the conveying means. How to transport the body. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the preform is rotated at a fixed position when the preform is transferred from the conveying means in the preforming step to the main forming step. A method for transporting a fiber molded article, wherein 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the rotating member is rotated in a direction corresponding to a moving direction of the preformed body sent from the conveying means in the preforming step. A method for conveying a fiber molded article, comprising: 4. A conveying device for sending out a preformed body formed by heating and compressing a fiber aggregate containing thermoplastic fibers in a preforming step to form a mat from the preforming step to a main forming step, A connecting member leading to the main forming step is arranged at a position where the preformed body sent out from the conveying means in the preforming step can be received, and the preformed body is provided between the conveying means and the connecting member. A transporting device for a fibrous formed body, provided with a peeling means capable of forcibly peeling off from the transporting means. 5. The fiber molded product conveying device according to claim 4, wherein a rotating member that rotates at a fixed position that can contact the preformed material is used as the peeling unit. Transport device. 6. A conveying apparatus of a fiber molded article according to claim 5, as the rotary member, rotatable in a direction matching the direction of movement of the preform is fed from the conveying means of the preforming step A conveying device for a fiber molded body using a simple roller. 7. The fiber molded article conveying device according to claim 6, wherein the rotation speed of the roller is set to be higher than the conveying speed of the conveying means in the preforming step. apparatus. 8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the roller has a surface coated with a fluorine-based synthetic resin.