JP2009220445A - Manufacturing method and manufacturing device of sheet pad reinforcing cloth and sheet pad reinforcing cloth - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method and a manufacturing device of sheet pad reinforcing cloth and a sheet pad reinforcing cloth capable of suppressing the occurrence of abnormal noise caused when a forming is bent. <P>SOLUTION: A nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is fixed to a die 20 provided with a plurality of air holes 25 communicated from the outer surface to an inner space 26, and a part of the surface of the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is covered with a front protective cover 70 and a side protective cover 80. Thereafter, the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B, the front protective cover 70 and the side protective cover 80 are covered with a cover material 40, thereby, a closed space 41 is formed with the die 20 and the cover material 40 and the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is heated. After heating the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B, air is exhausted from the closed space 41 via the air holes 25 and the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is processed into a shape along a contour of the die 20. After the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is processed, the cover material 40 is removed and the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B (sheet pad reinforcing cloth 1) is removed from the die 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a manufacturing method, a manufacturing apparatus, and a seat pad reinforcing cloth for a seat pad reinforcing cloth for a vehicle seat.

  A seat pad made of foamed urethane resin or the like serving as a cushion material is used for a vehicle seat. In general, a seat pad is covered with cloth or leather, and the front side is a surface that supports an occupant, and the back side is attached to a support member such as a pipe frame or a spring. Configure. At least a part of the back surface of the seat pad rubs against the support member due to the swinging of the vehicle or the movement of a body such as an occupant. Therefore, conventionally, a seat pad reinforcing cloth is provided as a reinforcing layer on the back surface of the seat pad.

  Since the seat pad reinforcing cloth protects the seat pad from damage, it is formed inseparably from the seat pad so as not to be displaced or peeled from the seat pad. For this reason, in the foam molding process for manufacturing the seat pad, a method of injecting and foaming the resin into the mold with the reinforcing cloth set in advance on the inner surface of the mold and simultaneously molding the seat pad and forming the reinforcing layer is adopted. Yes.

Since the back surface of the seat pad has a complicated shape (for example, the wrapping portions 14 and 15 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12), in order to match this, conventionally, a large number of small pieces are sewn so as to match the shape. What was formed by was used as a reinforcing cloth. However, not only much labor and time are required for cutting and sewing, but also there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a reinforcing fabric that accurately conforms to a desired shape. In order to solve this problem, the applicant of the present application has proposed a manufacturing method of forming a rough-cut nonwoven fabric sheet using a mold having substantially the same outer shape as the seat pad reinforcing cloth.
JP 2006-281768 A

  In the method for producing a sheet pad reinforcing fabric described in Patent Document 1, (1) rough cutting of a felt sheet containing molten fiber, (2) fixing of the rough cut sheet to a mold, (3) heat resistance After the mold is covered with a film having, the inside of the film is heated with high-temperature steam in order to melt the molten fiber of the sheet, and (4) the film is adhered to the sheet to transfer the mold shape to the sheet The seat pad reinforcing cloth is obtained through the five main steps of decompressing the inside and (5) cooling the mold and then removing the molded sheet.

  In this conventional manufacturing method, the entire sheet inside the film is exposed to heated steam in the heating step (3), and the molten fiber melts in the entire sheet. Thereby, in the decompression step of (4), the film adheres along the shape of the mold and the entire sheet is uniformly molded. Therefore, after the cooling demolding step of (5), the entire sheet pad reinforcing cloth Was given rigidity. In order for the seat pad reinforcing cloth to function as a reinforcing layer of the seat pad, it is necessary to have an appropriate rigidity, but depending on the shape, when it is bent by an external force due to its rigidity An abnormal noise sometimes occurred. Such abnormal noise may occur in the state of the molded seat pad reinforcing cloth, or may occur in the state where the urethane resin or the like is foam-molded on the seat pad reinforcing cloth and formed in the seat pad. The vehicle seat seat user is uncomfortable.

  As countermeasures against abnormal noise caused by the rigidity of the seat pad, it is conceivable to suppress the rigidity by changing the shape of the seat pad reinforcing cloth or reducing the content of the molten fiber. However, these measures are not sufficient because they lead to a limitation on the shape of the seat pad reinforcing cloth and a decrease in the overall rigidity. Accordingly, the present invention provides a seat pad reinforcing cloth that can suppress the generation of abnormal noise (bending sound) that occurs when the molded product is bent even when a sheet pad reinforcing cloth having a complicated shape is molded. An object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method, a manufacturing apparatus, and a seat pad reinforcing cloth.

  The manufacturing method of the seat pad reinforcing cloth of the present invention is fixed by covering a sheet having a rough cut with a mold having a plurality of vent holes communicating with the inner space from the outer surface having substantially the same outer shape as the seat pad reinforcing cloth. A step of covering a part of the surface of the sheet with the first cover by fixing the first cover to the surface of the sheet fixed to the mold, and the sheet fixed to the mold and the surface of the sheet By covering the fixed first cover with the second cover, a step of forming a closed space with the mold and the second cover material, a step of heating the sheet, and from the closed space through the vent hole A step of processing the heated sheet into a shape along the outer shape of the mold by exhausting air; and a step of removing the first cover and the second cover and removing the processed sheet from the mold. .

  According to the manufacturing method of the seat pad reinforcing cloth of the present invention, not only the sheet is hardly heated in the portion covered with the first cover, but also the second cover is deflated and stuck by exhausting from the closed space. The pressure on the applied sheet can also be suppressed. Therefore, even after the sheet is processed into a shape that conforms to the outer shape of the mold, the rigidity of the portion covered with the first cover can be made lower than that of the other portions. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of bending sound by selectively changing the molding conditions of the portion where abnormal noise is likely to occur in the molded seat pad reinforcing cloth to partially reduce the rigidity.

  In the method for manufacturing the seat pad reinforcing cloth, at least a part of the first cover is made of a magnetic material, and in the step of covering a part of the surface of the sheet with the first cover, The cover may be fixed with a magnet. By doing in this way, a 1st cover can be easily and reliably fixed to the position which wants to reduce rigidity partially in the seat pad reinforcement cloth after shaping | molding.

  Further, in the step of heating the sheet, the sheet may be heated by introducing heated air into the closed space. By doing so, the sheet is uniformly heated except for the portion covered with the first cover, so that the entire seat pad reinforcing cloth after molding is formed while selectively providing a portion with reduced rigidity. Stiffness can be increased.

  Further, in the above-described method for producing a seat pad reinforcing cloth, the sheet is a fiber sheet in which low-melting fibers and high-melting fibers are mixed, and at a temperature equal to or higher than a temperature at which the low-melting fibers melt in the step of heating the sheet. The sheet may be heated to a temperature below the temperature at which the high melting point fiber melts. By doing in this way, the low melting point fiber melts and the sheet is softened in the step of heating the sheet. Therefore, the sheet can be easily molded to match the shape of the mold.

  When using the fiber sheet in which the low melting point fiber and the high melting point fiber are mixed, the low melting point fiber of the sheet is preferably mixed by 20 to 60% by weight with respect to the whole sheet. The low melting point fiber of the sheet is more preferably mixed in an amount of 30 to 60% by weight with respect to the entire sheet. By using such a mixing ratio, the seat pad used in an environment where not only the rigidity of the portion covered with the first cover is lower than the other portions but also a large load is applied from a support member such as a spring. Even with the reinforcing cloth, it is possible to impart sufficient rigidity to the entire seat pad reinforcing cloth to withstand such a load and suppress the generation of bending sound.

  The present invention can be described as an invention relating to a method of manufacturing a seat pad reinforcing cloth as described above, and can also be described as an apparatus for manufacturing a seat pad reinforcing cloth as follows.

  That is, the seat pad reinforcing cloth manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has a plurality of vent holes that have substantially the same outer shape as the seat pad reinforcing cloth and communicate with the inner space from the outer surface, and the rough-cut sheet is fixed. A mold, a first cover that covers a part of the surface of the sheet by being fixed to the surface of the sheet fixed to the mold, and a second cover that forms a closed space by covering the mold and the first cover A cover, a heating unit that heats the sheet, and an exhaust unit that exhausts air in the enclosed space.

  In the seat pad reinforcing cloth manufacturing apparatus, the mold may further include a magnet for fixing the first cover, and at least a part of the first cover may be made of a magnetic material. Good.

The invention related to the seat pad reinforcing cloth manufacturing apparatus has technical features corresponding to the invention related to the manufacturing method of the seat pad reinforcing cloth, and has the same functions and effects.
The seat pad reinforcing fabric of the present invention is a seat pad reinforcing fabric that reinforces the seat pad of the seat seat from the back side, and is shaped by melting and fixing a thermoplastic resin to the nonwoven fabric, and has a first rigidity. And a portion having a second rigidity lower than the first rigidity.
In this way, instead of making the entire seat pad reinforcing cloth uniform rigidity, it is possible to partially reduce the rigidity of the part where abnormal noise is likely to occur, and bend while keeping the whole rigidity good. Generation of sound can be suppressed.
A seat pad reinforcing cloth that reinforces the seat pad of the back portion of the seat from the back side, and has a back portion and a side portion that protrudes forward from the left and right of the back portion and wraps around the back surface, and has a second rigidity May be provided on at least one of the lower part of the side part and the back part. In the seat pad reinforcement cloth that reinforces the seat pad of the backrest part, bending noise tends to occur at the lower part and side part of the back part, so the overall rigidity is improved by partially reducing the rigidity at this part The generation of bending sound can be effectively suppressed while maintaining.

  According to the present invention, the rigidity of the portion covered with the first cover can be made lower than that of the other portions even after the sheet is processed into a shape along the outer shape of the mold. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of bending sound by selectively changing the molding conditions of the portion where abnormal noise is likely to occur in the molded seat pad reinforcing cloth to partially reduce the rigidity.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As an embodiment of the present invention, a seat pad reinforcing cloth used for a backrest portion of a vehicle seat is taken up, but the present invention is applied to a seat portion of a vehicle seat and other parts using a seat pad reinforcing cloth. be able to.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a seat pad reinforcing cloth manufactured by a manufacturing method or a manufacturing apparatus of a seat pad reinforcing cloth according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 is obtained by molding a rough-cut sheet with a mold 20 to be described later, and has a shape corresponding to a vehicle seat (not shown). Specifically, a back portion 11 corresponding to the surface facing the user's back, and a side portion that wraps around the back surface while holding the user from the left and right by projecting from the left and right of the back portion 11 toward the user (front) 12 and a through hole 13 corresponding to a location where a headrest or the like is attached. Furthermore, as shown in the sectional views of FIGS. 11 and 12, the molded reinforcing cloth 1 includes wraparound portions 14 and 15.

  As a material of the sheet | seat shape | molded by the seat pad reinforcement cloth 1, although a nonwoven fabric can be used, for example, if it is the material which has air permeability, it will not specifically limit. In the following description, the case where a nonwoven fabric is used as the material of the sheet will be taken up. However, the nonwoven fabric sheet before being molded into the sheet pad reinforcing fabric 1 is simply referred to as “nonwoven fabric sheet”, and the nonwoven fabric sheet after molding is referred to as “sheet pad”. It is called “reinforcing cloth”.

When using a nonwoven fabric as a sheet material, it is preferable to use a nonwoven fabric sheet in which low melting point fibers and high melting point fibers are mixed. When such a nonwoven fabric sheet is used, when the nonwoven fabric sheet is heated in the method according to an embodiment of the present invention to be described later, the low melting point fibers are melted and the entire nonwoven fabric sheet is softened. Molding becomes easy. Further, the sheet pad reinforcing cloth 1 that has been cooled and solidified after molding has an appropriate rigidity because the thermoplastic resin component of the low-melting fiber is melt-fixed to the high-melting fiber or the low-melting fiber, and the shape is favorable. Retained.
Here, the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 has a rigidity (second rigidity) of a portion covered with a first cover (a portion where bending sound is likely to be generated) described later, and a rigidity (first rigidity) of other portions. Is lower than. More specifically, at least one of the side portion 12 and the lower portion of the back portion 11 (both in this embodiment) is partially less rigid than the other portions.

  The following materials can be used for the sheet in which the low melting point fiber and the high melting point fiber are mixed.

  First, as the low melting point fiber, one having a melting point lower than that of the high melting point fiber and having a specific softening point and melt viscosity is used. Specifically, hot-melt adhesive fibers that can be mixed with high melting point fibers and melted at a temperature lower than the melting point of the high melting point fibers to fuse the high melting point fibers are used. The thickness of the fiber used is preferably about 1.5 to 10 d (denier).

  Examples of such low melting point fibers include thermoplastic resin fibers such as polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, nylon, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyvinyl chloride. These fibers may be used alone or in combination with a high melting point fiber such as a conjugate type or a core-sheath type structure. The fineness and fiber length of the low melting point fiber are not particularly limited. The melting point of the low melting point fiber is preferably about 100 to 160 ° C. (or the softening point is about 80 to 140 ° C.). Furthermore, the low melting point fiber preferably has steam activity, and is particularly suitable when heated steam is used when heating the nonwoven fabric sheet.

  On the other hand, as the high melting point fiber, for example, polyester, polypropylene, acrylic, nylon or the like is used. The fineness and fiber length of the high melting point fiber are not particularly limited. The melting point of the high melting point fiber may be 180 ° C. or higher (or the softening point is 160 ° C. or higher). Moreover, it is preferable that the difference in melting point (or difference in softening point) between the low melting point fiber and the high melting point fiber is 50 ° C. or more.

  In the case of the nonwoven fabric sheet used for the manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention to be described later, the mixture of the low melting point fiber and the high melting point fiber is 20 to 60% by weight of the low melting point fiber (the high melting point fiber 80 to 80% with respect to the whole nonwoven fabric sheet). 40% by weight) is preferably mixed, and more preferably 30 to 60% by weight of low-melting fiber (70 to 40% by weight of high-melting fiber) is mixed with the whole nonwoven fabric sheet. By using such a mixing ratio, the seat pad used in an environment where not only the rigidity of the portion covered with the first cover is lower than the other portions but also a large load is applied from a support member such as a spring. Even with the reinforcing cloth, it is possible to impart sufficient rigidity to the entire seat pad reinforcing cloth to withstand such a load and suppress the generation of bending sound. More specifically, when the mixing ratio of the low-melting-point fibers is less than 20% by weight, there is a possibility that the desired rigidity as the seat pad reinforcing cloth cannot be obtained because the fused portion is reduced. Moreover, when the mixing ratio of the low-melting-point fibers is 30% by weight or more, high rigidity suitable for use can be obtained in an environment where a large load is applied from a support member such as a spring. On the other hand, when the mixing ratio of the low-melting fiber is larger than 60% by weight, not only is it difficult to remove the mold from the mold due to the remarkable rigidity, but also the noise is likely to be generated due to the rigidity too high after the mold removal. Since the sheet surface is plasticized and no fiber remains, rubbing noise is likely to occur when used as a seat pad reinforcing cloth.

  Moreover, as a sheet | seat used for shaping | molding of the seat pad reinforcement cloth 1, even if it uses the sheet | seat which contained the granular thermoplastic resin in the nonwoven fabric, it is the same as the nonwoven fabric sheet which mixed the low melting point fiber and the high melting point fiber An effect can be obtained.

  In the case of a sheet containing a granular thermoplastic resin in a nonwoven fabric, it is preferable to use a granular hot melt adhesive resin (adhesive) as the thermoplastic resin to be included. For example, there are a polyamide resin, a polyester resin, a polyvinyl chloride resin, a polyethylene resin, a polyethylene vinyl acetate resin, a polyurethane resin, a polyvinyl alcohol resin, a polybutyral resin, and the like, and a mixture thereof may be used. The melting point is preferably 70 to 100 ° C. The particle size of the granular hot melt adhesive is preferably 200 μm or less, and the particle size distribution may be changed as necessary.

  Moreover, the sheet | seat of the structure of 2 or more layers by which the nonwoven fabric was laminated | stacked on the at least single side | surface of the resin seepage prevention sheet | seat in which liquids, such as resin, cannot penetrate easily can be used for a sheet | seat. The prevention of resin oozing here means a property that a resin used for molding a sheet pad such as a urethane resin is difficult to penetrate. By using such a material, after molding the seat pad reinforcing fabric, the resin is prevented from seeping out when molding the seat pad and forming the reinforcing layer using urethane resin etc. by the same method as before. it can. As a material for such a low-permeability sheet, for example, a high-density nonwoven fabric with a slow penetration such as a polyurethane film or a urethane resin can be used.

  Next, the manufacturing apparatus of the seat pad reinforcement cloth which concerns on this invention is demonstrated using FIGS.

  2 and 6 are perspective views showing the manufacturing apparatus 2 for the seat pad reinforcing cloth. The seat pad reinforcing cloth manufacturing apparatus 2 includes a mold 20, a base 30 to which the mold 20 is fixed, and a cover member 40 that forms a closed space 41 by covering the mold 20 and fixing the base 20 to the base 30. Cover), an air supply / exhaust unit 50 for supplying and exhausting air to and from the closed space 41, a front protective cover 70 (first cover), and two side protective covers 80 (first cover).

  The mold 20 has substantially the same external shape as the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 and includes a plurality of vent holes 25 communicating from the outer surface to the internal space 26 (see FIGS. 11 and 12). It fixes to this type | mold 20 (refer FIGS. 4-6). More specifically, the mold 20 includes a front surface portion 21, a side surface portion 22, a cylindrical portion 23, a rear surface portion 24, and a plurality of air holes 25 (see FIGS. 11 and 12). The front part 21 of the mold 20 is a part for molding the back part 11 of the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1, and the side part 22 is a part for molding the side part 12 and the wraparound part 15 of the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 (see FIG. 12). Moreover, the cylinder part 23 of the mold 20 is a part for molding the periphery of the through hole 13 of the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1, and the rear surface part 24 is a part for molding the wraparound part 14 of the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 (see FIG. 11). .

  The vent hole 25 is formed so as to communicate with the inner space 26 from the outer surface of the mold 20, and serves as an air flow path when air is supplied to and exhausted from the closed space 41 by the air supply / exhaust unit 50. The ventilation holes 25 are provided at various locations on the front surface portion 21, the side surface portion 22, the cylinder portion 23, and the rear surface portion 24. In addition, in order to make the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 into a shape along the mold 20, it is preferable to provide more air holes 25 in corner portions (A portion in FIG. 11 and B portion in FIG. 12) than other portions. . The material of the mold 20 is not particularly limited, but aluminum is preferably used in terms of workability and thermal conductivity.

  The base 30 includes a base 31, and an air supply support leg 32 and an exhaust support leg 33 that are erected from the base 31 and attached to the mold 20. The air supply support leg 32 and the exhaust support leg 33 are hollow, and communicate with the internal space 26 of the mold 20, thereby connecting the closed space 41 and the air supply / exhaust unit 50 together with an air supply path and an exhaust path inside the base 31 (not shown). It becomes the flow path of the connecting air.

  The cover material 40 that is the second cover forms a closed space 41 by covering the mold 20 and a first cover (a front protective cover 70 and a side protective cover 80) described later. The cover material 40 is not particularly limited in shape and size as long as it can cover the mold 20, the front protective cover 70, and the side protective cover 80 to which the nonwoven fabric sheet is fixed. For example, a bag-like film can be used. In the form shown in FIG. 6, the cover material 40 is fixed to the base 31, but it may be fixed so as to form a closed space 41 that covers the nonwoven fabric sheet 1 </ b> B or the like. You may make it fix to the air support leg 32 and the exhaust support leg 33. FIG.

  The material of the cover material 40 is heated, and since the expansion and the close contact with the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B and the mold 20 are repeatedly performed by the air supply / exhaust of the air supply / exhaust unit 50, a material that satisfies the performance is selected. The

  In the case of molding a seat pad reinforcing cloth used for a backrest portion of a vehicle seat as shown in FIG. 1, the cover material 40 preferably has an elongation of 300% or more and a thickness of 30 to 100 μm. The degree is preferred. In addition, when molding a relatively simple shape such as a seat pad reinforcing cloth for a seat in a vehicle seat, the elongation of the cover material may be lower than 300%. . Considering these points, as the material of the cover material 40 which is a bag-like film, for example, polyurethane having an elongation of 300% and a thickness of 50 μm can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the air supply / exhaust unit 50 includes an air supply unit 51 (heating unit), an air supply pipe 52 that connects the air supply unit 51 and the air supply path inside the base 30, an exhaust unit 54, An exhaust pipe 53 that connects the exhaust unit 54 and the exhaust path inside the base 30 is provided.

  The air supply unit 51 is a unit that supplies heated air to the internal space 26 of the mold 20 through the air supply pipe 52, the air supply path in the base 30 and the air supply support legs 32, and heats the mold 20 and the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B. It functions as a heating unit. Since the heated air supplied from the air supply unit 51 is supplied to the closed space 41 via the air hole 25 via the internal space 26 of the mold 20, the cover member 40 expands with the supply of the heated air. . The heated air includes not only heated air but also heated steam. When heated steam is used, the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B (particularly, a sheet in which a nonwoven fabric contains a granular thermoplastic resin, or a sheet in which low-melting fibers and high-melting fibers are mixed) is melted and solidified, that is, a reinforcing cloth. The molding time can be shortened.

  The exhaust unit 54 is a unit that exhausts the air in the closed space 41, and passes through the vent hole 25, the internal space 26 of the mold 20, the exhaust support leg 33, the exhaust path (not shown) inside the base 30, and the exhaust pipe 53. Thus, the air in the closed space 41 can be exhausted.

  The front protective cover 70 (first cover) and the two side protective covers 80 (first cover) cover a part of the surface of the sheet 1B by being fixed to the surface of the sheet 1B fixed to the mold 20. .

  The front protective cover 70 shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 includes a cover portion 71 having an edge portion 71 a that follows the shape of the mold 20, a magnet 72 attached to the edge portion 71 a, and a connection that connects the two cover portions 71. Part 73. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the front protective cover 70 suspended from the mold 20 by the string 90 attached to the connecting portion 73 is fixed to the lower front portion of the mold 20 via the magnet 72. Thereby, a part of lower part of the front surface of the sheet 1B fixed to the mold 20 is covered. In the present embodiment, the magnet 72 of the front protective cover 70 is attached to the edge 71a, and at least a part of the front protective cover 70 is made of a magnetic material. By comprising in this way, compared with the case where the whole is comprised with the material which has magnetism, the front protective cover 70 can be easily fixed to the position which the operator intended. Although not shown, a magnet is provided inside the mold 20 at a position where the front protective cover 70 should be fixed. Instead of the magnet inside the mold 20, a magnet or an iron screw may be embedded in the mold 20. The fixing means for the front protective cover 70 may be other than a magnet.

  If a part of the surface of the sheet 1B to be covered by the front protective cover 70 is at an appropriate position to suppress the generation of abnormal noise (bending sound) that occurs when the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 that is a molded product is bent, There is no particular limitation. The cover portion 71 should also have an appropriate number and shape in order to suppress the generation of bending noise, and it goes without saying that the connecting portion 73 is not necessary when the front protective cover is configured with one cover portion. Yes.

  The side protective cover 80 shown in FIG. 6 is a rectangular parallelepiped box shape, and is fixed so as to cover a part of the surface of the sheet 1B in the lower half of the side surface of the mold 20. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and is formed in an appropriate shape to suppress the generation of abnormal noise (bending sound) generated when the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 is bent, and is fixed at an appropriate position. That's fine. Further, the fixing means for the side protective cover 80 may be other than the magnet.

  As described so far, the sheet pad reinforcing cloth manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment is not a press processing apparatus, and thus does not require a mold having uneven surfaces. Further, a special type such as a slide core type is not required for forming the wraparound portions 14 and 15 having complicated shapes as shown in FIGS. This saves the cost and time of mold production.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the seat pad reinforcement fabric of this invention is demonstrated using FIGS. 4-13. In addition, in the following description, the case where a seat pad reinforcement cloth is manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B used in the present invention (ie, the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 before molding) is preliminarily roughened into a developed form of the vehicle seat pad reinforcing cloth used. Supplied. By cutting in this way, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of cutting out unnecessary portions after molding the seat pad reinforcing cloth.

  The cut nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is covered with a mold 20 as shown in FIG. 5, and then fixed with a magnet (not shown). The magnet is attached in advance to the inner surface of the mold 20, and the nonwoven fabric sheet 1 </ b> B is fixed by placing another magnet on the nonwoven fabric sheet 1 </ b> B placed on the mold 20. Alternatively, a magnet or an iron screw may be embedded in the mold 20 and fixed to a member that holds the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B from the outside using a magnet. By fixing the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B in this way, it is possible to prevent the nonwoven fabric sheet from coming off during supply / exhaust of heated air by the air supply / exhaust unit 50. In this way, the roughly cut sheet 1B is covered and fixed on the mold 20 having a plurality of vent holes 25 having substantially the same outer shape as the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 and communicating from the outer surface to the internal space. In addition, in FIG. 5, the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is shown as transparent for description.

  After fixing the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B to the mold 20, as shown in FIG. 6, the front protective cover 70 and the two side protective covers 80 are fixed in place with magnets. Thereby, by fixing the front protective cover 70 and the two side protective covers 80 to the surface of the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B fixed to the mold 20 as a first cover, a part of the surface of the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is the first surface. Cover with a cover. Further, the non-woven sheet 1B fixed to the mold 20 and the front protective cover 70 and the side protective cover 80 fixed to the surface of the non-woven sheet 1B are covered with the cover material 40, thereby being blocked by the mold 20 and the cover material 40. Create a space

  Although not an indispensable step, after forming the closed space 41 by covering the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B with the cover material 40 (in other words, before the step of heating the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B described later), it is shown in FIG. Thus, it is preferable to perform preliminary exhaust for exhausting the air in the closed space 41 through the vent hole 25 of the mold 20. By carrying out this preliminary exhaust, the air in the closed space 41 is once exhausted, so that the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B can be brought into close contact with the mold 20 by the cover material 40, and the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is brought into the shape of the outer surface of the mold 20. It becomes easy to mold together.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8, after the closed space 41 is formed by the mold 20 and the cover material 40 (or after the above-described preliminary exhaust), the air supply unit 51 (heating unit) of the air supply / exhaust unit 50. The nonwoven fabric sheet 1 </ b> B and the mold 20 are heated by supplying heated steam (or heated air) to the interior of the mold 20. At this time, since the heating steam is supplied to the closed space 41 through the vent hole 25 of the mold 20, the cover material 40 expands.

  After heating the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B, the exhaust unit 54 is operated to exhaust air from the closed space 41 as shown in FIG. When the exhaust unit 54 operates, the air in the closed space 41 flows into the mold 20 through the nonwoven fabric sheet 1 </ b> B having air permeability and the vent holes 25 of the mold 20. The interior of the mold 20 communicates with the exhaust unit 54 through the exhaust support leg 33, the exhaust path of the base 31, and the exhaust pipe 53, so that the air in the closed space 41 can be exhausted. As shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG. 10, the swelled cover material 40 is shrunk so as to be sucked by the mold 20 due to air exhaust, and the nonwoven fabric sheet 1 </ b> B that is heated and has high plasticity is formed of the cover material 40. It is deformed so as to be sucked into the mold 20 in accordance with the shrinkage. In this manner, air is exhausted from the closed space 41 through the vent hole 25 of the mold 20, and the heated nonwoven fabric sheet 1 </ b> B comes into close contact with the mold 20 and is processed into a shape along the outer shape of the mold 20.

  In addition, since the part covered with the front protective cover 70 and the side protective cover 80 in the heated nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is not pressed by the cover material 40, not only the sheet is hardly heated, but also from the closed space 41. It is also possible to suppress the pressure applied to the sheet by the cover material 40 being squeezed and stuck by exhaust. Accordingly, in the portion covered with the front protective cover 70 and the side protective cover 80, it is possible to prevent the melted resin from being firmly fixed by the cover material 40 as in the other portions. Even after processing into the shape, the rigidity of the portion covered with the front protective cover 70 and the side protective cover 80 can be made lower than that of the other portions. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of bending sound by selectively changing the molding conditions of the portion where abnormal noise is likely to occur in the molded seat pad reinforcing cloth 1 to partially reduce the rigidity.

  After the air in the closed space 41 is exhausted and cooled to a temperature at which the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B maintains its shape, the cover material 40 is removed, and the front protective cover 70 and the side protective cover 80 are further removed as shown in FIG. The molded nonwoven fabric sheet 1 </ b> B (that is, the seat pad reinforcing cloth 1) is removed from the mold 20. In addition, although the cooled nonwoven fabric sheet 1B has a certain amount of rigidity, since it does not become a hindrance in removing from the mold 20, it can be easily removed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the sheet pad reinforcing cloth manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment described above, the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is heated using heated steam (or heated air), but the nonwoven fabric sheet 1B is heated by a heater or the like. 1B may be heated.

  Hereinafter, the Example and comparative example of the seat pad reinforcement cloth manufactured with the manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of the seat pad reinforcement cloth which concern on this invention are demonstrated with those evaluation results and measurement results.

As a sheet used for manufacturing the seat pad reinforcing fabric, a felt obtained by needle-punching a non-woven sheet obtained by mixing the following low-melting fiber and high-melting fiber was used.
Low melting point fiber: 100% polyester, fiber length 38 mm, fiber thickness 4.4D (decitex), melting point 110 ° C. (softening point 90 ° C.)
High melting point fiber: 100% polyester, fiber length 51 mm, fiber thickness 1.7D (decitex), melting point 200 ° C. (softening point 180 ° C.)

Moreover, the temperature of the heating steam used for molding was higher than the melting point of the low-melting fiber and lower than the melting point of the high-melting fiber. Specifically, the following molding conditions were used.
・ Heating steam temperature (steam temperature): 100 ° C
・ Heating steam supply time: 12 seconds

First, in order to examine the influence of the content of the low melting point fiber and the presence or absence of the protective cover on the rigidity and bending sound of the spring receiving material (sheet pad reinforcing cloth) after molding, Examples 1-4 and Comparative Examples 1-4 A felt (nonwoven fabric sheet) was prepared. Table 1 shows the felt specifications and the spring receiving material molding conditions according to Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4. In the molding condition, “with cover” means that the front protective cover 70 and / or the side protective cover 80 covers a specific portion on the surface of the felt (the portion where bending sound is generated in the conventional manufacturing method) and molds the spring receiving material. "No cover" indicates the case where the spring receiving material is molded without using the protective cover as in the conventional case.

Spring receiving materials according to the above-described examples and comparative examples were created by the above-described seat pad reinforcing cloth manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method, and spring receiving rigidity, spring receiving bending sound and seat pad bending sound were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 2. In Table 2, “◯” means “good” as a spring receiving material, “Δ” means “pass” as a spring receiving material, and “x” means “failure” as a spring receiving material. Here, the favorable spring receiving rigidity is, specifically, an evaluation based on a measurement result by a handle ohm method which is a measuring method of rigidity (stiffness) defined in JIS L1069. It means that the numerical value of the portion not covered with the protective cover in FIG. In addition, good spring receiving bending sound means that no sound was generated when the spring receiving material after bending was bent. Good seat pad bending sound means urethane resin or the like on the spring receiving material. This means that no sound was generated when the sheet was bent in a state where it was foam-molded into a seat pad.

  As can be seen from the evaluation results shown in Table 2, when the content of the low melting point fiber is 30 to 60% by weight, the spring receiving material (sheet pad reinforcing cloth) after molding has sufficient rigidity, and the spring It was confirmed that the generation of receiving bending sound and seat pad bending sound was suppressed.

Next, in order to compare the influence of the protective cover (the front protective cover 70 and / or the side protective cover 80) on the rigidity distribution in the spring receiving material (seat pad reinforcing cloth) after molding, Examples 5 to 8 and Comparative Examples A felt (nonwoven fabric sheet) according to 5 was prepared. Table 3 shows the felt specifications and the spring bearing molding conditions in Examples 5 to 8 and Comparative Example 5.

In the same manner as in Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4, the spring pad material according to the above Examples and Comparative Examples was prepared by the above-described seat pad reinforcing cloth manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method, and the handle of JIS L1069 The rigidity of the portion not covered with the protective cover and the portion covered with the protective cover was measured by the ohmmeter method. The results are shown in Table 4.

  As can be seen from the measurement results shown in Table 4, when the content of the low melting point fiber is 20 to 60% by weight, the portion not covered with the protective cover is given high rigidity of 0.2N or more, and the protective cover A relatively low rigidity is given to the portion covered with. From this measurement result, in the spring support material (seat pad reinforcing cloth) after molding, the rigidity of the part covered with the protective cover is made lower than the other parts to suppress the generation of bending noise, while supporting members such as springs Therefore, it was confirmed that sufficient rigidity can be imparted to a portion to which a large load is applied in order to suppress the generation of bending sound.

It is a perspective view of a seat pad reinforcement cloth. It is a perspective view of the manufacturing apparatus used for manufacture of a seat pad reinforcement cloth, and is a figure showing the state where the front protection cover was removed. It is a perspective view of the front protection cover which is a part of manufacturing apparatus used for manufacture of a seat pad reinforcement cloth. It is a figure which shows the rough-cut nonwoven fabric sheet which is a sheet pad reinforcement cloth before a process. It is a figure explaining the step which fixes the rough-cut nonwoven fabric sheet to a type | mold. It is a figure explaining the step which covers the type | mold with which the nonwoven fabric sheet, the front surface protection cover, and the side surface protection cover were fixed with a cover material. It is a figure explaining the step which exhausts air from the enclosed space formed with a type | mold and a cover material, after covering with a cover material. It is a figure explaining the step which supplies heating steam (heating air) to the interior space of a model. It is a figure explaining the process which processes a nonwoven fabric sheet into the shape along the external shape of a type | mold by exhausting air from the enclosed space formed with a type | mold and a cover material. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the step which processes a nonwoven fabric sheet into the shape along the external shape of a type | mold. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the seat pad reinforcement cloth, type | mold, and front protective cover along the XI-XI line of FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the seat pad reinforcing cloth and the mold along the line XII-XII in FIG. 9. It is a figure explaining the step which removes a sheet | seat pad reinforcement cloth formed by removing a cover material and processing a nonwoven fabric sheet from a type | mold.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Seat pad reinforcement cloth, 1B ... Nonwoven fabric sheet, 11 ... Back part, 12 ... Side part, 13 ... Through-hole, 20 ... Type | mold, 21 ... Front part, 22 ... Side part, 23 ... Cylindrical part, 24 ... Rear part, 25 ... vent hole, 26 ... internal space, 30 ... base, 31 ... base, 32 ... air supply leg, 33 ... exhaust support leg, 40 ... cover material (second cover), 41 ... closed space, 50 ... air supply / exhaust Unit: 51 ... Air supply unit (heating unit), 52 ... Air supply pipe, 53 ... Exhaust pipe, 54 ... Exhaust unit, 70 ... Front protective cover, 80 ... Side protective cover.

Claims (8)

Covering and fixing the rough-cut sheet on a mold having a plurality of ventilation holes that have substantially the same outer shape as the seat pad reinforcing cloth and communicate with the internal space from the outer surface;
Covering a part of the surface of the sheet with the first cover by fixing a first cover to the surface of the sheet fixed to the mold;
Forming a closed space with the mold and the second cover by covering the sheet fixed to the mold and the first cover fixed to the surface of the sheet with a second cover; ,
Heating the sheet;
Processing the heated sheet into a shape along the outer shape of the mold by exhausting air from the closed space through the vent hole;
Removing the first cover and the second cover, and removing the processed sheet from the mold. At least a portion of the first cover is made of a magnetic material;
The method of manufacturing a seat pad reinforcing cloth according to claim 1, wherein in the step of covering a part of the surface of the sheet with the first cover, the first cover is fixed with a magnet.   The method for manufacturing a seat pad reinforcing cloth according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the step of heating the sheet, the sheet is heated by introducing heated air into the closed space. The sheet is a fiber sheet in which low melting point fibers and high melting point fibers are mixed,
4. The sheet heating method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of heating the sheet, the sheet is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than a temperature at which the low-melting fiber melts and equal to or lower than a temperature at which the high-melting fiber melts. The manufacturing method of the seat pad reinforcement fabric of description. A mold having a plurality of vent holes that have substantially the same outer shape as the seat pad reinforcing cloth, communicated from the outer surface to the inner space, and to which the roughened sheet is fixed,
A first cover that covers a part of the surface of the sheet by being fixed to the surface of the sheet fixed to the mold;
A second cover that forms a closed space by covering the mold and the first cover;
A heating unit for heating the sheet;
An apparatus for manufacturing a seat pad reinforcing cloth, comprising: an exhaust unit that exhausts air in the enclosed space. The mold further includes a magnet for fixing the first cover,
6. The apparatus for manufacturing a seat pad reinforcing cloth according to claim 5, wherein at least a part of the first cover is made of a magnetic material. A seat pad reinforcing cloth for reinforcing the seat pad of the seat seat from the back side,
The thermoplastic resin is melt-fixed to the nonwoven fabric and shaped,
A seat pad reinforcing cloth comprising a portion having a first stiffness and a portion having a second stiffness lower than the first stiffness. A seat pad reinforcing cloth that reinforces the seat pad of the back portion of the seat from the back side,
A back portion and a side portion that projects forward from the left and right of the back portion and wraps around the back surface;
The seat pad reinforcing cloth according to claim 7, wherein the portion having the second rigidity is provided on at least one of the side portion and the lower portion of the back portion.

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