JP2008105666A - Decorating material and weather strip - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a decorating material and a weather strip capable of suppressing increase in manufacturing cost and having cloth texture to improve the appearance quality. <P>SOLUTION: The weather strip 4 is fitted to a door opening 3 peripheral edge of an automobile door. The weather strip 4 is provided with a trim part 5 having an approximately U-shaped cross section and a hollow seal part 6, and a design lip 18 is extended and formed in the trim part 5. The decorating material 24 comprising a foamed material obtained by foaming TPO is adhered to a design face D of the weather strip 4 including the outer surface of the design lip 18, and this constitutes a decorating part 25. Main components of the TPO are EPDM rubber and PP, and when a weight ratio of TPO is 100, a weight ratio of PP is 12 to 18 and the gloss of the surface of the decorating material 24 is ≥1.2 and ≤1.7. Thus, the gloss of the surface of the decorating material 24 (decorating part 25) can be reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a decoration material provided on a design surface of a vehicle interior product or a weather strip, and a weather strip including the decoration material.

  Conventionally, in order to improve the appearance quality, it has been considered to apply a decorating material to a design surface of an interior product in a vehicle such as an automobile. As interior goods, the ceiling board etc. in a vehicle interior are mentioned, for example.

  Further, a weather strip is provided on the periphery of the door opening of the vehicle. The weather strip includes a trim portion having a substantially U-shaped cross-section that is fitted into a flange at the peripheral edge of the door opening, and a hollow seal portion provided so as to protrude from the trim portion. When the door is closed, the seal portion is pressed against the peripheral edge portion of the door to seal between the door and the body.

  In recent years, in addition to interior products such as ceiling boards, a technique has also been proposed in which a high-quality woven fabric is attached as a decorative material to the design surface of the weather strip as described above. However, sticking of the woven fabric requires a lot of labor and equipment, so that the workability of sticking is deteriorated and the production cost is increased. Therefore, it is conceivable to stick a sheet made of TPO (olefinic thermoplastic elastomer) as a decorating material on the design surface of the weather strip in order to give a feeling of cloth. In this case, a technique of foaming TPO is also considered in order to effectively express the fabric feeling (for example, see Patent Document 1).

However, a decorative material made of foamed TPO has a strong luster due to the presence of an olefin-based resin component (polypropylene or the like) contained in TPO, and there is a possibility that the texture cannot be expressed sufficiently. On the other hand, the surface of the decorative material is made fine by changing the crosslinking system of the rubber component in TPO, adding a filler such as talc, or roughening the inner wall of the extrusion die used when molding the decorative material. It is conceivable to reduce gloss by providing unevenness.
JP 2001-130264 A

  However, if the crosslinking system of the rubber component in TPO is changed or filler is added, processing becomes difficult, and a good foam appearance may not be obtained. In addition, when the inner wall of the extrusion die is roughened, the wall resistance of the inner wall increases locally, so that the material accumulates at a certain location and sometimes the accumulated material may be extruded at once. As a result, there is a concern that the frequency of occurrence of defective products increases, leading to an increase in production costs.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a decorative material and a weather strip that can suppress an increase in production cost and can improve appearance quality. There is.

  In the following, each means suitable for solving the above-described object will be described in terms of items. In addition, the effect specific to the means to respond | corresponds as needed is added.

Means 1. In a sheet-like decorative material made of a foam material, which is affixed to the design surface of a vehicle interior product or weatherstrip and foamed with an olefinic thermoplastic elastomer,
A decorative material, wherein the surface of the foamed material has a gloss of 1.2 to 1.7.

  According to the means 1, the gloss of the surface of the foam material is set to 1.2 or more and 1.7 or less. As a result, a texture close to the texture can be expressed, and the appearance quality can be improved. Moreover, the decorating material is formed from the foamed material which foamed the olefin type thermoplastic elastomer (TPO). Therefore, it is possible to produce at a lower cost compared to the case of using a woven fabric. Moreover, since it can color in the desired color, it becomes easy to give the texture close | similar to a cloth feeling. Furthermore, since it has thermoplasticity, it is possible to easily attach the vehicle interior product or weather strip to the design surface, and to improve productivity. In addition, by making TPO foam, some unevenness is generated on the surface of the decorating material, and a texture close to the feeling of cloth can be further expressed.

Mean 2. The olefinic thermoplastic elastomer is mainly composed of an olefinic rubber component and an olefinic resin component,
The decorating material according to means 1, wherein the weight ratio of the olefin resin component is 12 to 18 when the weight ratio of the olefinic thermoplastic elastomer is 100.

  Here, the “main component” refers to a component having the highest weight ratio (mass ratio) in the material (hereinafter the same). In addition to the main components described above, the foamed material may contain additives such as an antioxidant and a light stabilizer, and the remainder of the foaming agent used when foaming TPO.

  According to the above means 2, when the weight ratio of the olefinic thermoplastic elastomer is 100, the weight ratio of the olefinic resin component is 12-18. Therefore, a relatively large amount of the olefin rubber component having high light absorption is contained, and the olefin resin component that causes the gloss is suppressed to a relatively small amount, so that the gloss of the surface of the decorating material is sufficiently increased. Can be suppressed. Thereby, the texture close to the cloth feeling can be expressed effectively, and the appearance quality can be improved. If the weight ratio of the olefin resin component is less than 12, the thermoplasticity is impaired, and there is a possibility that the decorative material cannot be easily extruded and stuck. On the other hand, if the weight ratio of the olefin resin component exceeds 18, the gloss cannot be sufficiently suppressed.

  In addition, what is comprised including the polymer component of rubber | gum, an oil component (process oil etc.), and other various fillers (reinforcing agent etc.) is called "olefin type rubber component." Further, the “olefin resin component” means that almost all is composed of a polymer component of the resin.

Means 3. A trim portion having a substantially U-shaped cross section that is held by a flange at the periphery of the door opening of the vehicle;
In a weather strip provided with a hollow seal portion that protrudes from the trim portion and is pressed against the periphery of the door when the door is closed,
At least a part of the outer surface of the trim portion is provided with a decorative portion made of a foam material obtained by foaming an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, and the gloss of the surface of the decorative portion is 1.2 or more and 1.7 or less. A weatherstrip characterized by

  According to the means 3, basically the same effects as the means 1 can be obtained.

Means 4. A trim portion having a substantially U-shaped cross section that is held by a flange at the periphery of the door opening of the vehicle;
A hollow seal portion that protrudes from the trim portion and is pressed against the periphery of the door when the door is closed,
In a weather strip comprising a lip portion extending from the outer surface of the trim portion,
At least an outer surface of the lip portion is provided with a decorative portion made of a foam material obtained by foaming an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, and the gloss of the surface of the decorative portion is set to 1.2 or more and 1.7 or less. A featured weather strip.

  According to the said means 4, regarding the decoration part of a weather strip, there exists an effect similar to the means 1 fundamentally.

Means 5. The olefinic thermoplastic elastomer is mainly composed of an olefinic rubber component and an olefinic resin component,
The weather strip according to means 3 or 4, wherein when the weight ratio of the olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer is 100, the weight ratio of the olefin-based resin component is 12-18.

  According to the said means 5, the effect similar to the means 2 is show | played fundamentally.

  Means 6. 6. The weather strip according to claim 3, wherein the weather strip is formed of EPDM rubber.

  According to the above means 6, since the weather strip is formed of EPDM rubber, it is possible to make the state of sticking the decorating material to the weather strip stronger. Further, if the thermal welding is performed immediately after the vulcanization process in which the EPDM rubber becomes high temperature, it is not necessary to separately provide a heating process for the thermal welding. As a result, sticking of the decorative portion becomes relatively easy, which can contribute to the improvement of productivity and the cost reduction.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a door 2 is provided on the side of an automobile 1 as a vehicle so as to be openable and closable, and a weather strip 4 is attached to the periphery of a door opening 3 on the body side corresponding to the door 2. The weather strip 4 of the present embodiment is formed mainly by an extrusion method, and has an annular shape as a whole.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the weather strip 4 includes a trim portion 5 and a seal portion 6. The trim portion 5 includes a vehicle inner side wall portion 11, a vehicle outer side wall portion 12, and connecting portions 13 that connect both side wall portions 11 and 12, and has a substantially U-shaped cross section as a whole. The trim portion 5 is made of EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer) solid rubber, and a metallic insert 14 is embedded therein.

  A plurality of holding lip portions 15 extending toward the inner side (vehicle inner side) of the trim portion 5 are integrally formed on the inner surface (vehicle inner side surface) of the vehicle inner side wall portion 12, and the inner surface (vehicle outer surface) of the vehicle inner side wall portion 11 is integrally formed. A holding lip portion 16 that extends toward the inner side (vehicle outer side) of the trim portion 5 is integrally formed. A design lip 18 is formed on the connecting portion 13 so as to cover an end of an interior product such as garnish (not shown). The design lip 18 corresponds to the lip portion in the present embodiment. In addition, the insert does not need to be embedded inside. Alternatively, the holding lip may be omitted and the double-sided adhesive tape may be attached to the flange.

  Further, a flange 23 is formed on the periphery of the door opening 3 by joining the inner panel 21 and the outer panel 22 of the body. By fitting the trim portion 5 into the flange 23, the weather strip 4 is It is held at the periphery of the door opening 3.

  On the other hand, the seal portion 6 protrudes and is integrally provided on the vehicle outer side wall portion 12 and is formed in a hollow shape by EPDM sponge rubber. When the door 2 is closed, the seal portion 6 is pressed against the periphery of the door 2 to seal between the door 2 and the body of the automobile 1.

  When the weather strip 4 is attached, the outer surface of the design lip 18 extends from the substantially distal end portion to the proximal end portion, and further to the connecting portion 13 of the trim portion 5 and the connecting portion of the vehicle outer side wall portion 12 to the seal portion 6. Becomes the design surface D appearing in the appearance. On the design surface D, a sheet-like decorating material 24 is stuck, and thereby a decorating portion 25 is configured. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the decorating material 24 is stuck to the front-end | tip of the design lip 18 on the design surface D, and the return part is included.

  The decorating material 24 in the present embodiment is formed from a foamed material obtained by foaming TPO (olefinic thermoplastic elastomer) mainly composed of EPDM rubber, which is olefinic rubber, and PP (polypropylene), which is olefinic resin. Has been. Moreover, the weight ratio (mass ratio) of EPDM rubber and PP is adjusted to be 88:12 to 82:18 (in this embodiment, 85:15). Here, the EPDM rubber is composed of a polymer component of rubber, process oil, and various fillers (reinforcing agents and the like). Therefore, particularly in this embodiment, when the weight ratio of TPO is 100, the weight ratio of PP is adjusted to be 12 to 18 (15 in this embodiment). Thereby, the gloss of the surface of the decorating material 24 is set to 1.2 or more and 1.7 or less (1.5 in this embodiment). When the weight ratio of PP is 12, the gloss is 1.2. When the weight ratio of PP is 18, the gloss is 1.7. Furthermore, the decorating material 24 is colored in white. Of course, the color type colored on the decorating material 24 is not limited to white, and may be any color (for example, red, blue, green, etc.) according to an interior such as garnish. In addition, when indoor interior goods etc. are black type | system | groups, in order to match a color and luster with indoor interior goods etc., it may adjust by adding a black pigment. Further, coloring may be omitted. In addition, in accordance with the interior product, the surface of the decorating material 24 has a cloth-like pattern (for example, a mesh pattern composed of linear grooves provided along the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the decorating material 24, etc. ) May be formed.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the weather strip 4 will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a part of the production line of the weather strip 4, in which the weather strip 4 is produced while proceeding from the left to the right.

  First, in the extrusion molding process, the insert 14 is continuously supplied to the rubber extruder 31 together with the EPDM unvulcanized rubber. Then, in a state where the insert 14 is covered with the EPDM unvulcanized rubber, an intermediate molded body 32 (see FIG. 3) that becomes the main body portion of the weather strip 4 is extruded from the die of the rubber extruder 31. At this stage, the portion in which the insert 14 corresponding to the trim portion 5 is embedded is extruded in a substantially flat plate shape in an open state as shown in FIG.

  In the subsequent vulcanization step, the extruded intermediate molded body 32 is guided to a high-frequency vulcanization tank (UHF) 33 and subjected to primary vulcanization. Then, it guides to a hot air vulcanization tank (HAV) 34, secondary vulcanization is performed, and vulcanization is completed.

  Thereafter, the decorating material 24 is welded to the intermediate molded body 32 in the decorating material welding step. More specifically, the decorating material 24 separately molded by an extrusion molding method is fed out and crimped to a portion corresponding to the design surface D of the intermediate molded body 32 that is relatively hot immediately after vulcanization. Thereby, the decorating material 24 back surface fuse | melts and the decorating material 24 is heat-welded. As a result, the decorative portion 25 is formed at a portion corresponding to the design surface D of the weather strip 4. In addition, although the decorating material 24 wound by roll shape is shown in the figure, it is good also as extruding in a sheet form just before crimping | compression-bonding.

  The intermediate formed body 32 that has undergone the decorating material welding step is bent by a bending machine 37 to form a trim portion 5 having a substantially U-shaped cross section. Then, the weather strip 4 is obtained by cutting into a predetermined size by the cutter 38.

  As described above in detail, in this embodiment, when the weight ratio of TPO is 100, the weight ratio of PP is adjusted to 12 to 18 (15 in this embodiment). Accordingly, the olefin-based rubber component having a high light-absorbing property is contained in a relatively large amount, and the olefin-based resin component that causes gloss can be suppressed to a relatively small amount, so that the gloss on the surface of the decorating material 24 is 1.2 or more. 1.7 or less (1.5 in the present embodiment). As a result, it is possible to express a texture closer to the cloth feeling, and it is possible to improve the appearance quality. In addition, when the weight ratio of PP is less than 12, thermoplasticity is impaired, extrusion molding becomes difficult, and there is a possibility that the decorating material 24 cannot be easily attached to the weather strip 4. Moreover, when the weight ratio of PP exceeds 18, there exists a possibility that gloss cannot fully be suppressed. In addition, the weight ratio of the olefin resin component in the conventional TPO was about 100: 30 to 100: 25, and the surface gloss at that time was about 2.9 to 3.4.

  Furthermore, the decorating material 24 adhered to the design surface D of the weather strip 4 such as the outer surface of the design lip 18 is formed from a foamed material obtained by foaming TPO. Therefore, compared with the case where a woven fabric is used as the decorating material 24, production at a low cost is possible. Moreover, since it can be colored to a desired color, it becomes easier to produce a texture close to the texture. Furthermore, since it has thermoplasticity, the decorating material 24 can be easily attached to the design surface D of the weather strip 4, and productivity can be improved. In addition, since the TPO is foamed, some unevenness is generated on the surface of the decorating material 24, so that it is possible to more effectively express the texture close to the cloth feeling.

  In the present embodiment, the weather strip 4 is made of EPDM rubber. Therefore, the decorating material 24 can be more firmly attached to the weather strip 4. Further, since the intermediate molded body 32 having a relatively high temperature immediately after vulcanization is pressure-bonded, a heating process for heat welding is not required separately. As a result, sticking of the decorating material 24 becomes relatively easy, and in this respect as well, productivity can be improved and cost reduction can be realized.

  Furthermore, since the decoration part 25 is colored, black which is the material color of the EPDM rubber can be hidden. As a result, the concealability of the base color is improved, and a beautiful appearance and an excellent texture can be obtained.

  In addition, it is not limited to the description content of the said embodiment, For example, you may implement as follows. Of course, other application examples and modification examples not illustrated below are also possible.

  (A) In the said embodiment, although the decorating material 24 was affixed with respect to the design surface D of the trim part 5 and the design lip 18, you may affix on the design surface of another site | part. For example, the design lip 18 may be omitted, and the decorating material 24 may be attached to all or part of the design surface of the trim portion 5. Moreover, you may affix the decorating material 24 with respect to the design surfaces of vehicle interior goods (garnish, a ceiling board, etc.) other than the weather strip 4. FIG.

  (B) In the said embodiment, although TPO which has PP and EPDM as a main component is used as a foaming material which comprises the decorating material 24, other olefin resin materials, such as PE (polyethylene), and EPR (ethylene) -TPO mainly composed of other olefin rubber components such as -propylene copolymer) may be used.

  (C) In the above embodiment, the weather strip 4 provided on the periphery of the door opening 3 on the body side corresponding to the (side front) door 2 is embodied, but the rear door, the back door, the luggage door (trunk lid), The present invention can also be applied to a weather strip provided on the opening peripheral edge of a door that faces another door such as a roof door (sliding roof panel). Moreover, it is applicable also to the weather strip attached to a door, a glass run, etc.

  (D) In the above embodiment, the weather strip 4 is attached over the entire periphery of the door opening 3, but it does not necessarily have to be the entire periphery. For example, it may be a weather strip that is partially attached. . Moreover, you may be provided with the mold forming part partially.

It is a perspective view which shows a motor vehicle. It is sectional drawing which shows the weather strip in one Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the intermediate molded object of a weather strip. It is a schematic diagram which shows a part of production line of a weather strip.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automobile, 2 ... Door, 3 ... Door opening, 4 ... Weather strip, 5 ... Trim part, 6 ... Seal part, 18 ... Design lip, 24 ... Decoration material, 25 ... Decoration part, D ... Design surface .

Claims (5)

In a sheet-like decorative material made of a foam material, which is affixed to the design surface of a vehicle interior product or weatherstrip and foamed with an olefinic thermoplastic elastomer,
A decorative material, wherein the surface of the foamed material has a gloss of 1.2 to 1.7. The olefinic thermoplastic elastomer is mainly composed of an olefinic rubber component and an olefinic resin component,
The decorating material according to claim 1, wherein when the weight ratio of the olefinic thermoplastic elastomer is 100, the weight ratio of the olefinic resin component is 12-18. A trim portion having a substantially U-shaped cross section that is held by a flange at the periphery of the door opening of the vehicle;
In a weather strip provided with a hollow seal portion that protrudes from the trim portion and is pressed against the periphery of the door when the door is closed,
At least a part of the outer surface of the trim portion is provided with a decorative portion made of a foam material obtained by foaming an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, and the gloss of the surface of the decorative portion is 1.2 or more and 1.7 or less. A weatherstrip characterized by A trim portion having a substantially U-shaped cross section that is held by a flange at the periphery of the door opening of the vehicle;
A hollow seal portion that protrudes from the trim portion and is pressed against the periphery of the door when the door is closed,
In a weather strip comprising a lip portion extending from the outer surface of the trim portion,
At least an outer surface of the lip portion is provided with a decorative portion made of a foam material obtained by foaming an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, and the gloss of the surface of the decorative portion is set to 1.2 or more and 1.7 or less. A featured weather strip. The olefinic thermoplastic elastomer is mainly composed of an olefinic rubber component and an olefinic resin component,
The weather strip according to claim 3 or 4, wherein when the weight ratio of the olefinic thermoplastic elastomer is 100, the weight ratio of the olefinic resin component is 12-18.