JP2010269520A - Device for molding base material, and method for manufacturing base material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrict thinning of a pre-board due to a local stretch of the part. <P>SOLUTION: A base material molding device for molding a plate-like body W composed of a material containing a vegetable fiber and a thermoplastic resin into a base material K while the plate-like body W is transferred in a suspended state includes: a heater 40 heating the plate-like body W; a preforming mold 10 molding the plate-like body W heated by the heater 40 into a preform W1; a push pin 21 pushing the preform W1 introduced to the set center into the molding center side wherein the set center is the center of both mold surfaces 22a and 24a of the final molding mold 20 in the mold-open state, and the molding center is the center of both mold surfaces 22a and 24a of the final molding mold 20 in the mold-closed state; and the final molding mold 20 molding the preform W1 arranged on the molding center side into the base material K. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate forming apparatus and a method for manufacturing a substrate, in which a plate-like body made of a material containing vegetable fibers and a thermoplastic resin is formed on a substrate while being suspended by a holding device.

Conventionally, a fiber sheet for thermoforming, which is formed by blending almost the same amount of polypropylene resin fiber and vegetable fiber into a mat shape through a blender process and a former process, and then formed into a plate shape by a press machine is known. (See Patent Document 1). As the vegetable fiber, kenaf fiber, jute fiber or the like is used. In particular, when kenaf fibers are used, kenaf has the property of absorbing a large amount of CO ₂ by photosynthesis, and is fast in growth, so it is effective for global environmental conservation.

  In the above-described prior art, the thermoforming fiberboard is heated at 230 ° C. for 60 to 120 seconds by a heater device. After that, by setting a thermoforming fiberboard heated in a cold press mold and closing the cold press mold, a base material for interior having a predetermined curved surface shape is formed. is doing. A molded body obtained by heating a mixture of a thermoplastic resin and a vegetable fiber, such as this interior substrate, and then molding it into a predetermined shape with a cold press mold, It will be simply called a base material.

JP 2001-179716 A

18-20 has shown the manufacturing process of the conventional base material 100 in order.
In order to manufacture the base material 100, first, what is called a preboard 110 in which a material obtained by mixing thermoplastic resin fibers and vegetable fibers is formed into a plate shape by pressing is prepared. In addition, this pre board 110 may be called with another name, such as a fiber board for thermoforming. The preboard 110 is often exported to Japan after producing a vegetable fiber mat by blending with a thermoplastic resin in a foreign country or the like where the vegetable fiber is produced. The reason why the vegetable fiber mat is processed into the pre-board 110 in this way is that the handleability is poor because the apparent volume of the vegetable fiber mat is large.

  The pre-board 110 is heated to a temperature (for example, 180 ° C.) at which the thermoplastic resin contained in the pre-board 110 is melted, and then between the first mold 112 and the second mold 114 which are cold pressing molds. (See FIG. 18). Thereafter, the first mold 112 and the second mold 114 are brought close to each other to perform mold closing (see FIGS. 19 and 20). Thereby, since the thermoplastic resin contained in the preboard 110 is cooled and solidified, it is possible to obtain the base material 100 molded into a predetermined shape.

  However, as shown in FIG. 19, when the first mold 112 has a shape that protrudes greatly toward the second mold 114, the corner 112 a of the first mold 112 and the second mold Since the clearance CL between the mold 114 and the corner portion 114a is very small, the following problem occurs.

  That is, when the first mold 112 and the second mold 114 are brought close to each other, the preboard 110 is sandwiched between the corner 112a of the first mold 112 and the corner 114a of the second mold 114. It will be. In this case, since the preboard 110 is locked (fixed), a portion around the preboard 110 is not drawn into the mold. As a result, when the central portion 110a of the preboard 110 is pressed by the first mold 112, the central portion 110a of the preboard 110 is stretched, and the central portion 110a of the preboard 110 becomes thin.

  When the central part 110a of the preboard 110 becomes thin, troubles such as attaching another member (patch) made of vegetable fiber to the thinned part and repairing it occur. In some cases, the central portion 110a of the pre-board 110 is transparent, so that there is a problem that the commercial value of the base material 100 is significantly reduced.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above situations, Comprising: It aims at regulating that a pre board is partially extended and becomes thin.

  The present invention is a base material forming apparatus for forming a base material while conveying a plate-like body made of a material containing vegetable fiber and a thermoplastic resin in a suspended state, and a heating device for heating the plate-like body, , A preforming die for forming a plate-like body heated by a heating device into a preformed body, and a center of both opposing surfaces of the molding die in the mold open state as a set center, and both opposing of the molding die in the mold closed state When the center of the surface is the molding center, a pushing device that pushes the preform formed at the center of the set toward the molding center, and a main mold that molds the preform disposed at the molding center on the substrate It is characterized by having a configuration comprising.

  According to such a structure, it heats with a heating apparatus with the plate-shaped body suspended, and this heated plate-shaped body is shape | molded by a preforming die into a preform. The preform is introduced into the main mold at the center of the set, and the preform is moved toward the center of molding by a pushing device. Thereby, the preforming body arrange | positioned at the shaping | molding center side can be shape | molded on a base material with this shaping | molding die. That is, the preform is not locked at the center of the set, and the preform can be molded on the substrate with the preform positioned on the molding center side. Therefore, it can control that a pre board is partially extended and becomes thin.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
While holding the preform, push the clamp that is movable between the initial position before being pushed by the pushing device and the pushing position after being pushed by the pushing device, and the clamp that has released the preform. A biasing member that biases from the position toward the initial position may be provided.
According to such a configuration, the preform is sandwiched between the main molds at the indented position, and it is not necessary to hold the preform with the clamp. In preparation for this step, the clamp can be returned to the initial position by the biasing member.

  Moreover, this invention is a manufacturing method of the base material which shape | molds to a base material, conveying the plate-shaped body which consists of a material containing a vegetable fiber and a thermoplastic resin in the state suspended, Comprising: A plate-shaped body is heated. A heating process, a preforming process in which a plate-like body heated in the heating process is molded into a preform by a preforming mold, and a book in which the preform molded in the preforming process is molded into a base material by the molding tool. A molding step, with the center of both opposing surfaces of the molding die in the mold open state as the set center and the center of both opposing surfaces of the molding die in the mold closed state as the molding center, You may shape | mold to a base material in the state which pushed the preformed body introduce | transduced into the set center to the shaping | molding center side.

  If it does in this way, a plate-shaped object will be heated (heating process), and this heated plate-shaped object will be fabricated into a preform by a preforming mold (pre-molding process). Then, the preform is introduced into the center of the set, pushed into the molding center side by the pushing device, and then molded into the base material by the main mold (main molding step). That is, the preformed body is not locked at the center of the set, and the preform can be molded into the substrate in a state where the preformed body is pushed toward the center of molding. Therefore, it can control that a pre board is partially extended and becomes thin.

In the main forming step, after the clamp holding the preform is pushed from the initial position to the pushing position, the clamp releasing the preform may be returned from the pushing position to the initial position by the biasing member.
If it does in this way, after releasing a preform from a clamp in a pushing position, this clamp can be returned to an initial position with a biasing member.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can control that a pre board is partially extended and becomes thin.

3 is a flowchart showing a base material forming step in the first embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the preforming die for preforming a plate-shaped object, and has shown the state before a preforming die closes. It is sectional drawing of the preforming die for preforming a plate-shaped object, and has shown the state after a preforming die closed. It is sectional drawing of the main shaping | molding die for carrying out the main shaping | molding of a preforming body, and has shown the state in which the preforming body was introduce | transduced into the set center in the state before this shaping | molding die closed. It is sectional drawing of the main shaping | molding die for carrying out the main shaping | molding of a preforming body, and has shown the state before the shaping | molding die closed and the preforming body has been arrange | positioned at the shaping | molding center side. It is sectional drawing of the main shaping | molding die for carrying out the main shaping | molding of a preforming body, and has shown the state after this shaping | molding die closed. It is the perspective view which looked at the state by which the plate-shaped object was suspended with the hanger from diagonally forward. It is the front view which looked at the state by which the plate-shaped object was suspended with the hanger from the front. It is the top view which looked at the state by which the plate-shaped object was suspended with the hanger from the upper direction. It is a whole perspective view of a substrate forming device. It is a top view of a base-material molding apparatus. It is the front view which showed the state in which the preforming body was introduce | transduced into the set center of this shaping | molding die. It is the front view which showed the state in which the pushing pin contacted the connection bar via the clamp, and the receiving pin contacted the stopper. It is the front view which showed the state in which the clamp was pushed into the pushing position from the initial position, and the preforming body was pushed in to the shaping center side. It is the front view which showed the state by which the clamp by the cancellation | release pin was cancelled | released in the state which the preforming mold closed. It is the front view which showed the state which the clamp returned to the initial position from the pushing position with the elastic force of the compression spring. It is the front view which showed the state by which the hanger was pulled out above the shaping | molding die by the hanger collection | recovery mechanism. It is sectional drawing of the main shaping | molding die for carrying out the main shaping | molding in the conventional preboard, and has shown the state before this shaping | molding die closes. It is the front view which showed the state before the conventional die was closed in the state which the conventional preboard locked. It is the front view which showed a mode that the center part of the conventional pre board was extended and formed thinly.

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing the substrate K. As shown in FIG. 1, in order to manufacture the base material K, after heating the plate-shaped body W consisting of the material which mixed the vegetable fiber and the thermoplastic resin (heating process), the heated plate-shaped body W is changed. The preformed body W1 is preformed (preliminary molding process), and the preformed body W1 is finally molded on the substrate K (main molding process). Thereby, the base material K shape | molded by the predetermined shape can be obtained.

The vegetable fiber contained in the plate-like body W is a plant-derived fiber material. Such a fiber material can be collected from, for example, cotton, hemp, sisal, jute, kenaf and the like. Among these, kenaf is particularly preferable. This is because kenaf is effective for global environmental conservation because it grows quickly and absorbs a lot of CO ₂ . Also, it is possible to collect relatively long and strong fibers from kenaf bast.

  As the thermoplastic resin contained in the plate-like body W, for example, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), or the like can be used. Among these, polypropylene is particularly preferable.

  In order to manufacture the plate-like body W, after making it into a mat shape by blending the material which mixed the vegetable fiber and the thermoplastic resin, the obtained mat body is shape | molded in a plate shape with a hot press. Thereby, the plate-shaped body W which has predetermined | prescribed thickness can be manufactured. Such a manufacturing method of the plate-like body W is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2001-179716 and 2002-371455. The plate-like body W may be referred to by another name such as “fiber sheet for thermoforming” or “pre-board”.

  By heating the plate-like body W, the thermoplastic resin contained in the plate-like body W can be melted. For example, when the thermoplastic resin contained in the plate-like body W is polypropylene, since the melting point of polypropylene is 160 ° C. to 170 ° C., the plate-like body W is heated to a temperature higher than this (for example, 200 ° C.). Thus, the thermoplastic resin contained in the plate-like body W can be melted.

  2 and 3 are cross-sectional views of a preforming mold 10 for preforming the plate-like body W. FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the preforming mold 10 has a pair of molds 12 and 14. Among these, one metal mold | die 12 has the shape where the center part was dented, and the other metal mold | die 14 has the shape where the center part protruded. The pair of molds 12 and 14 are arranged on the left and right so that the mold surfaces face each other. As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of molds 12 and 14 constituting the preforming die 10 can press the plate-like body W suspended in the vertical direction from the front and back surfaces. . Thereby, the plate-like body W is shape | molded by the preforming body W1.

  4, 5, and 6 are cross-sectional views of the main mold 20 for main molding the plate-like body W. FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the main mold 20 has a pair of molds 22 and 24. Among these, one metal mold | die 22 has a shape where the center part was dented, and the other metal mold | die 24 has the shape where the center part protruded. The pair of molds 22 and 24 are arranged on the left and right so that the mold surfaces 22a and 24a face each other. Both mold surfaces 22a, 24a of both molds 22, 24 correspond to “both opposing surfaces” of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the position of the preform W1 disposed at the center of both mold surfaces 22a and 24a is hereinafter referred to as “set center”.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the preform W <b> 1 is arranged in advance on the mold surface 24 a side (molding center side) of the other mold 24 prior to the press work performed by both the molds 22 and 24. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the pair of molds 22 and 24 constituting the main mold 20 can press the plate-like body W suspended in the vertical direction from the front and back surfaces. ing.

  As the main mold 20 for main molding the preform W1, a cold press mold is used. The “cold press” here means press molding performed without positively heating the mold surface of the main mold 20, but the mold surface 22 a of the main mold 20 by processing heat or frictional heat. 24a is heated to some extent. By pressing the heated plate W with the main mold 20 (cold press die), the thermoplastic resin contained in the plate W is cooled and solidified. Thereby, the base material K shape | molded by the predetermined shape can be obtained (refer FIG. 6). In FIG. 6, the position of the base material K arranged at the center of both mold surfaces 22 a and 24 a is hereinafter referred to as “molding center”.

  The base material K thus obtained is lightweight and high in strength, and therefore can be used as a base material for vehicle interior materials. For example, the base material K can be used for door trims, instrument panels, seat back boards, partition boards, console boxes, pillar garnishes, quarter trims, and the like.

  As can be seen from a comparison between FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the clearance CL <b> 1 of the pair of molds 12 and 14 constituting the preforming mold 10 is larger than the clearance CL <b> 2 of the pair of molds 22 and 24 constituting the main mold 20. Is also set larger. For example, when CL2 is 5 mm, the clearance CL1 is set to 10 mm, which is larger than that. Therefore, instead of forming the plate-like body W into the base material K at a time, the plate-like body W is first formed into the preformed body W1, and then the preformed body W1 is formed into the base material K. Thus, it is possible to form in steps (in two steps).

  Further, the preform W1 introduced to the center of the set in the main molding step is moved to the center of the molding to perform the main molding, so that the preform W1 is locked in the middle of closing the molds 22, 24. This can be avoided, and it can be regulated that the central portion of the base material K is stretched and thinned after press working. The mechanism for moving the preform W1 from the set center to the molding center will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the hanger 30 for holding the plate-like body W in a suspended state. FIG. 8 is a front view of the hanger 30. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the hanger 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the hanger 30 includes a shaft 32 made of a metal pipe-like member such as iron or aluminum. The length of the shaft 32 is formed larger than the lateral width of the plate-like body W. Two clamps 34 for sandwiching the upper edge portion of the plate-like body W are attached to the lower portion of the shaft 32. Two rollers 36 mounted on a slide rail 62 described later are attached to the upper portion of the shaft 32. The two rollers 36 are attached to the upper portion of the shaft 32 via an attachment member 38 formed in a substantially L shape in a side view. The clamp 34 and the attachment member 38 are fixed by a bolt 32A that penetrates the shaft 32 in the vertical direction.

  The clamp 34 has a pair of clamping members made of a metal plate member such as iron or aluminum. Both the clamping members are configured such that the upper edge of the plate-like body W can be clamped by opening and closing the lower end thereof with the hinge 35 as a fulcrum. A spring member 37 is attached between the upper end portions of the both clamping members, and the lower end portions of the both clamping members are urged by the spring member 37 in the closing direction with the hinge 35 as a fulcrum. An anti-slip groove (see FIG. 12) for restricting the plate-like body W from falling downward is formed on the inner surface side of the lower end portions of both clamping members.

  The pair of clamps 34 arranged on the left and right are connected to each other by a connecting bar 31 extending in the left-right direction. In addition, a stopper 33 that extends in the left-right direction is disposed behind the connecting bar 31 in a facing state. The connecting bar 31 can be translated in the front-rear direction between an initial position on the shaft 32 side and a pushing position on the stopper 33 side. Here, the “front-rear direction” refers to a direction perpendicular to the axis passing through the axis of the shaft 32 and along the horizontal direction.

  Further, a compression spring (an example of an “urging member” of the present invention) 39 is mounted between the connecting bar 31 and the stopper 33. For this reason, the clamps 34 integrally connected to the connecting bar 31 are always urged forward by the elastic force of the compression spring 39, and are pushed from the initial position to the pushing position when receiving a pressing force from the front. It has become. The initial position refers to the position of the clamp 34 in the natural state (the position of the clamp 34 in FIG. 12), and the pushed-in position refers to the clamp that is pushed backward from the initial position against the elastic force of the compression spring 39. 34 (the position of the clamp 34 in FIG. 14).

  FIG. 10 is an overall perspective view of a base material forming apparatus for forming the base material K, and FIG. 11 is a plan view of the base material forming apparatus. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the base material forming apparatus includes a heating device 40 that heats the plate-like body W. The heating device 40 can transport the plate-like body W inside the heating furnace 42 and the hot-air circulating heating furnace 42 that can uniformly heat the plate-like body W by passing it inside. And a conveying device 44. The internal temperature of the heating furnace 42 is set to 200 ° C., for example, and the plate-like body W can be heated to melt the thermoplastic resin contained in the plate-like body W.

  The conveying device 44 is constituted by two chain conveyors 46a and 46b arranged in parallel, and the two chain conveyors 46a and 46b are driven in synchronization. Both ends of the shaft 32 constituting the hanger 30 are placed on the upper surfaces of the two chain conveyors 46a and 46b. Thereby, the conveying apparatus 44 can convey the plate-shaped body W hold | maintained in the state suspended by the hanger 30 in the inside of the heating furnace 42. FIG. In addition, the conveyance direction of the hanger 30 in the conveyance apparatus 44 shall be described as "front".

  Inside the heating furnace 42, a preforming die 10 for pre-forming the plate-like body W is installed. The conveying device 44 and the preforming die 10 are installed at an offset position inside the heating furnace 42. The “offset position” here means “a position where the central axes are separated from each other”. Specifically, the central axis P1 of the transport device 44 and the central axis P2 of the preforming die 10 are in the horizontal direction. This means that the position is far away.

  A main mold 20 is installed below the preforming mold 10. The preforming mold 10 and the main mold 20 are arranged at an offset position. Here, the “offset position” means “a position where the central axes are separated from each other”. Specifically, the central axis P2 of the preforming mold 10 and the central axis P3 of the main mold 20 are vertically moved. It means the position away in the direction.

  In addition, the heating furnace 42 is formed in a substantially L shape (see FIG. 11) in a plan view, and can accommodate both the transport device 44 and the preforming die 10 disposed at the offset position. The main mold 20 is installed below the preforming mold 10 and outside the heating furnace 42.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the base material forming apparatus includes a hanger delivery mechanism 80 for delivering the hanger 30 from the transport device 44 to the slide rail 62. The hanger delivery mechanism 80 includes two arms 81, and the two arms 81 can lift both ends of the shaft 32 constituting the hanger 30 from below.

  Further, the base material forming apparatus includes a plate-like body transfer mechanism 60 for transferring the plate-like body W from the transport device 44 to the preforming die 10. The plate-like body transfer mechanism 60 has a slide rail 62 arranged substantially vertically and substantially horizontally in plan view with the transport device 44 in front of the transport device 44, and the transport direction of the hanger 30 placed on the slide rail 62. It is constituted by a horizontal movement mechanism 64 that can move in a substantially vertical and horizontal direction.

  The hanger 30 conveyed to the preforming mold 10 by the horizontal movement mechanism 64 is delivered to the vertical transfer mechanism 50 by a delivery mechanism (not shown) similar to the hanger delivery mechanism 80. As shown in FIG. 12, the vertical transfer mechanism 50 includes two substantially L-shaped support arms 52 and a rack and pinion mechanism 54 that drives the two support arms 52 in the vertical direction. The plate-like body W or the preformed body W1 can be transported from the preforming die 10 to the main forming die 20 by the vertical transfer mechanism 50.

  The hanger 30 conveyed to the main mold 20 by the vertical transfer mechanism 50 is recovered by the hanger recovery mechanism 70 after releasing the preform W1. A plate-like body W before molding is attached to the hanger 30 collected by the hanger collection mechanism 70, and is again put into the heating furnace 42 from the inlet side 41 of the heating device 40 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the hanger collection mechanism 70 is disposed adjacent to the vertical transfer mechanism 50. The hanger collection mechanism 70 includes a collection tray 72 that receives both ends of the shaft 32 of the hanger 30, a rack and pinion mechanism 74 that drives the collection tray 72 in the horizontal direction, and the like.

  Now, the preform W1 held by the clamps 34 of the hanger 30 is introduced into the center of the set shown in FIG. As described above, the set center is the center of both mold surfaces 22a and 24a of both molds 22 and 24. Therefore, when the preform W1 arranged at the set center is pressed with both molds 22 and 24 as it is. There is a possibility that a part of the substrate K is stretched and thinned.

  For this reason, the movable die 22 on the movable side of both the dies 22 and 24 is provided with a pushing pin (an example of the “pushing device” of the present invention) 21 that pushes the clamp 34 from the initial position to the pushing position. . As shown in FIG. 13, the push pin 21 can advance and retract in the horizontal direction from the vertical surface 22 b of the movable mold 22. The vertical surface 22b of the movable mold 22 is disposed above the same mold surface 22a. The tip of the push pin 21 protruding from the vertical surface 22 b of the movable mold 22 can contact the connecting bar 31 via the clamp 34.

  On the other hand, a receiving pin 23 is provided on the fixed mold 24 on the fixed side of the molds 22 and 24. As shown in FIG. 13, the receiving pin 23 can advance and retract in the horizontal direction from the vertical surface 24 b of the fixed mold 24. The vertical surface 24b of the fixed mold 24 is disposed above the same mold surface 24a. The tip of the receiving pin 23 protruding from the vertical surface 24 b of the fixed mold 24 can contact the stopper 33.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the hanger 30 is sandwiched between the pressing pin 21 and the receiving pin 23 from both sides. From this point, when the movable die 22 is closed toward the fixed die 24, the push pin 21 approaches the receiving pin 23 side as the movable die 22 moves, as shown in FIG. The pushed connection bar 31 also moves from the initial position to the pushed position. Then, as the connecting bar 31 moves, the preform W1 held by the clamp 34 is pushed from the center of the set toward the center of molding.

  When the connection bar 31 approaches the stopper 33, the compression spring 39 is further compressed, and when the compression spring 39 is completely contracted, the connection bar 31 can no longer approach the stopper 33. Therefore, after the compression spring 39 is fully contracted, the pressing pin 21 and the receiving pin 23 are appropriately retracted with respect to both the vertical surfaces 22b and 24b, thereby pushing the preform W1 toward the forming center side. When the preform W1 reaches the molding center side, the retraction of the receiving pin 23 is stopped, and only the pushing pin 21 is retreated. Thus, both molds 22 and 24 reach the mold closed state.

  The molds 22 and 24 are provided with a pair of holding pins 25 that hold the upper portion of the preform W1 from both the left and right sides. Both holding pins 25 are arranged below the push-in pins 21 and the receiving pins 23. Both holding pins 25 can be advanced and retracted in the horizontal direction from both vertical surfaces 22 b and 24 b of both molds 22 and 24. At the tips of both holding pins 25, pad portions 25a that come into contact with the preform W1 are provided.

  As the molds 22 and 24 are closed, the holding pins 25 approach each other, and at least before the hanger 30 releases the preformed body W1, the upper part of the preformed body W1 is held by the both holding pins 25. It is like that. Furthermore, the operation of both holding pins 25 is interlocked with the operation of the push-in pins 21 and the receiving pins 23, and the upper part of the preform W1 held by the clamps 34 is vertically moved until both the molds 22 and 24 are closed. It can be held in a posture.

  As shown in FIG. 15, when the molds 22 and 24 are closed, it is no longer necessary to hold the preform W1 by the hanger 30, so that the preform is held by the clamp 34 of the hanger 30. Release W1. For this reason, both molds 22 and 24 are provided with a pair of release pins 26 for releasing the holding state by the clamps 34. Both release pins 26 can be moved back and forth in the horizontal direction from both vertical surfaces 22b and 24b of both molds 22 and 24.

  When the holding of the clamp 34 is released by both release pins 26, the push pin 21 and the release pin 26 on the movable die 22 side retract to the vertical surface 22 b side of the movable die 22. Along with this, the clamp 34 receives the elastic force of the compression spring 39 and moves from the pushing position toward the initial position. During this time, the clamp 34 moves toward the initial position while being sandwiched between the release pin 26 on the movable die 22 side and the connecting bar 31 that receives the elastic force of the compression spring 39, so the clamp 34 remains released. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, when the clamp 34 reaches the initial position, the upper portion of the preform W1 is detached from the clamp 34.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 17, the hanger 30 is pulled upward from between the vertical surfaces 22 b and 24 b of the molds 22 and 24 by the vertical transfer mechanism 50, and both end portions of the shaft 32 are collected in the collection tray 72. After the hanger 30 is delivered to the hanger collection mechanism 70, the rack and pinion mechanism 74 transports the hanger 30 in the horizontal direction. The plate-like body W to be molded next is attached to the hanger 30 thus collected, and is again put into the heating furnace 42 from the inlet side 41 of the heating device 40 as shown in FIG.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described subsequently. The plate-like body W is attached to the hanger 30 and is put into the heating furnace 42 from the inlet side 41 of the heating device 40. The plate-like body W is heated inside the heating furnace 42 while being transported by the transport device 44 (heating process). The heated plate W is transferred from the transport device 44 to the preforming die 10 by the plate transfer mechanism 60. The plate-like body W transferred to the preforming die 10 is pressed from both the front and back surfaces by a pair of molds 12 and 14 constituting the preforming die 10 (preliminary molding step).

  As shown in FIG. 12, the preform W1 preformed by the preforming die 10 is transferred from the preforming die 10 to the main forming die 20 by the up-down direction transfer mechanism 50, and both the dies 22, 24 are used. It is introduced into the center of the set which is the center of the surfaces 22a, 24a. Next, as shown in FIG. 13, prior to the mold closing operation of both molds 22, 24, the push pin 21 extends from the vertical surface 22 b and contacts the connecting bar 31 via the clamp 34. Further, the receiving pin 23 extends from the vertical surface 24 b and contacts the stopper 33.

  When the mold closing of both the dies 22 and 24 is started, the clamp 34 at the initial position is pushed toward the pushing position by the pushing pin 21 and the compression spring 39 is compressed against the elastic force. As shown in FIG. 14, when the clamp 34 reaches the pushing position, the compression spring 39 is completely contracted. In parallel with this, both holding pins 25 extend from both vertical surfaces 22b and 24b and sandwich the upper portion of the preform W1 from the left and right sides. Further, when both molds 22 and 24 are closed, the preform W1 is pushed toward the molding center while the clamp 34 is held in the pushing position while the pushing pin 21 and the receiving pin 23 are properly retracted.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 15, after the preform W1 is pushed into the molding center side, the preform W1 is pressed by both molds 22 and 24 from both the front and back surfaces. When the preform W1 is pressed by both dies 22, 24, the release pin 26 extends from the vertical surface 22b to release the clamp 34 in order to collect the hanger 30. When the push pin 21 and the release pin 26 are retracted to the vertical surface 22b side, the clamp 34 is returned to the initial position while the clamp 34 is released by the elastic force of the compression spring 39 as shown in FIG.

  Thus, when the clamp 34 is detached from the preform W1, the hanger 30 is lifted upward by the vertical transfer mechanism 50 and both ends of the shaft 32 are placed on the collection tray 72, as shown in FIG. The hanger 30 is conveyed in the horizontal direction by the hanger collection mechanism 70. After the pressing by the two dies 22 and 24 is completed, the two dies 22 and 24 are opened and the base material K is removed. Thereby, it can prevent that a part of base material K is extended and formed thinly. As a result, it is possible to obtain a base material K molded into a shape corresponding to the mold surfaces 22a and 24a of both molds 22 and 24 (main molding step).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the preform W1 is formed in the state where the preform W1 is disposed on the molding center side in the main molding step, the preform W1 is formed while the main mold 20 is being closed. It is possible to restrict the base material K from being thinned after being pressed by being locked and extending the central portion of the preform W1.

  Further, since the hanger 30 is collected by the hanger collecting mechanism 70 during the press, the hanger 30 can be efficiently used with a small number of hangers 30. In addition, since the compression spring 39 is provided on the hanger 30 and the clamp 34 is automatically returned from the pushing position to the initial position by the elastic force of the compression spring 39, it is not necessary to manually return the clamp 34.

  Further, the heated plate-like body W can be formed stepwise in two steps of a pre-forming step and a main forming step. Thereby, an excessive force is applied to the plate-like body W softened by heating, and the plate-like body W is torn, or the plate-like body W is locally stretched and the back side is transparent. Can be prevented.

  Further, since the preforming mold 10 is set inside the heating furnace 42, both mold surfaces 12 a and 14 a of both molds 12 and 14 are sufficiently heated inside the heating furnace 42. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the preform W1 from being cooled by the preforming die 10, and it is not necessary to reheat the preform W1 before main molding. As a result, there is no reheating step for the preform W1, and energy consumed for reheating can be eliminated.

  Further, since the main mold 20 is disposed below the pre-molding mold 10, the pre-molding mold 10 and the main mold 20 can be arranged in a vertically stacked state, and the installation space for the base material molding apparatus Can be reduced.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) Although the push pin 21 is provided in the movable mold 22 in the above embodiment, the push pin 21 may be provided in the vertical transfer mechanism 50 or the hanger collection mechanism 70 according to the present invention.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the main mold 20 including the movable mold 22 and the fixed mold 24 is illustrated. However, according to the present invention, the main mold including a pair of movable molds may be used. In this case, the set center and the molding center may coincide.

  (3) Although the preforming mold 10 and the main mold 20 are arranged in the vertical direction in the above embodiment, the main mold 20 may be arranged on the side of the preforming mold 10 according to the present invention.

  (4) In the above embodiment, the hanger 30 is collected in the state where the preform W1 is closed with the molds 22 and 24, but according to the present invention, before the molds 22 and 24 are closed. Even so, if the preform W1 is held by the two dies 22, 24, the hanger 30 may be collected.

  (5) Although the clamp 34 is returned from the pushing position to the initial position by the compression spring 39 in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the hanger 30 may be recovered with the clamp 34 in the pushing position.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Preliminary shaping | molding die 20 ... This shaping | molding die 21 ... Push pin (push-in apparatus)
22a ... Mold surface (opposite surface)
24a ... Mold surface (opposite surface)
34 ... Clamp 39 ... Compression spring (biasing member)
40 ... heating device K ... base material W ... plate-like body W1 ... preform

Claims (4)

A base material forming apparatus for forming a base material while conveying a suspended plate-like body made of a material containing a vegetable fiber and a thermoplastic resin,
A heating device for heating the plate-like body;
A preforming mold for molding the plate-like body heated by the heating device into a preform;
The spare introduced into the center of the set when the center of both opposing surfaces of the main mold in the mold open state is a set center and the center of both opposing surfaces of the main mold in the mold closed state is a molding center A pushing device for pushing the molded body toward the molding center;
A base material molding apparatus comprising: a main mold for molding the preform formed on the molding center side into a base material. A clamp that is movable between an initial position before being pushed by the pushing device and a pushing position after being pushed by the pushing device after holding the preform.
The base material molding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a biasing member that biases the clamp that has released the preformed body from the pushing position toward the initial position. A method for producing a base material, which is molded into a base material while being transported in a suspended state from a plate-like body made of a material containing vegetable fibers and a thermoplastic resin,
A heating step of heating the plate-like body;
A preforming step of forming the plate-like body heated in the heating step into a preform,
A main forming step of forming the preform formed in the pre-forming step on a base material by a main mold,
When the center of both opposing surfaces of the main mold in the mold open state is a set center, and the center of both opposing surfaces of the main mold in the mold closed state is a molding center,
In the main forming step, the preform is introduced into the set center, and the preform is pressed into the forming center side to form the base material.   In the main forming step, after the clamp holding the preform is pushed from the initial position to the pushing position, the clamp releasing the preform is returned from the pushing position to the initial position by the urging member. The manufacturing method of the base material of Claim 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.

Images