JP2020185751A - Sheet molding device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sheet molding device that can reduce man-hours in manufacturing a product comprising an embossed sheet with a coating on an outer surface of a base material.SOLUTION: The sheet molding device 1 has: a mold 10 with a base 13 that places a base material 3 to be coated with a sheet 4 in the inner space 11S opened at the top, the mold provided at a position lower than an opening 11 in the inner space 11S; and a heat plate 20 that has a heating surface 21 for heating the sheet 4 and is movable in a direction of approaching or separating from the inner space 11S. The sheet 4 set in the mold 10 is heated and pressed by the heat plate 20 to coat the outer surface 3a of a base material 3 on the base 13 with the sheet 4 for molding. A pattern 25, which is a transfer pattern of emboss 5 to be transferred to the sheet 4 before embossed transfer, is applied to the heating surface 21 of the heat plate 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet molding apparatus that heats a sheet with a hot plate to form the sheet.

In some resin products, a textured sheet is attached to the outer surface of the base material and coated. This type of textured resin product is widely distributed, for example, as an interior product for automobiles. Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of a resin product with wrinkles, a pre-step of adding wrinkles by transfer to a sheet before wrinkle transfer having a flat surface is performed in advance before molding. As a subsequent step, a sheet after texture transfer (sheet with texture) having textures uniformly formed on the surface is supplied to the sheet forming apparatus. In the sheet forming apparatus, the textured sheet is pressed against the base material set in the mold under a hermetically sealed state while being heated by the hot plate above the mold, so that the sheet is coated in close contact with the base material. Is molded. An example of the sheet forming apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

The apparatus of Patent Document 1 is a thermoforming apparatus by heating a hot plate, which is used in carrying out the above-mentioned post-process. In this thermoforming apparatus, the heated surface of the hot plate, which is the contact surface with the sheet, is provided with fine irregularities having a surface roughness of 10 μm or less. The air flow portion formed by the unevenness is secured on the sheet adhering to the heating surface of the hot plate. This air circulation section suppresses the generation of air pools as the sheet softens due to heating.

Japanese Patent No. 5651263

However, there are the following problems. In recent years, the needs for textured resin products in the market have tended to be high-mix low-volume production. On the other hand, in the molding of a textured resin product using a conventional sheet molding apparatus, the textured sheet to be supplied is an off-the-shelf product manufactured under a mass production system by a sheet maker. Therefore, if a sheet maker tries to individually manufacture a textured sheet that meets the customer's specifications in order to meet the diverse needs of the customer, it will be difficult to handle high-mix low-volume production from the mass production system. As a result, it may lead to high costs.

In addition, when a ready-made textured sheet is supplied to a conventional sheet molding apparatus to mold a textured resin product, there are the following problems. When the textured resin product has a three-dimensional curved shape, the portion of the coated textured sheet, such as a curved portion having a particularly small radius of curvature or an R-shaped corner portion, is on the outer side of the other portion. It is stretched. As a result, in such a portion, the grain spreads and becomes thin. Therefore, even if the grain is uniformly attached to the textured sheet before molding, the grain becomes non-uniform throughout the product after molding. This is a problem in product quality control.

The apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes a hot plate having fine irregularities on the heating surface. It is also conceivable to use such fine irregularities as a mold for embossing to be transferred to a sheet. In the embossed mold, it is generally necessary that the embossed transfer surface is regularly engraved in the arrangement position with a certain height difference of several tens to several hundreds of μm. However, the unevenness described in Patent Document 1 is not sufficient for the required height difference of several tens to several hundreds of μm. Therefore, with the unevenness described in Patent Document 1, the grain having a design property cannot be clearly transferred to the sheet. Therefore, the unevenness described in Patent Document 1 does not have regularity in the arrangement position and is shallow enough not to satisfy the dimensional shape required for the embossed mold, so that it does not function as the embossed transfer mold.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and in manufacturing a product in which a textured sheet covers the outer surface of a base material, the man-hours involved in the manufacture can be reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a molding apparatus.

In the sheet molding apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, which has been made to solve the above problems, a base on which a base material to be covered with a sheet is placed is placed in an internal space opened above, and the internal space is opened. A mold provided at a position lower than the portion, a heating plate for heating the sheet, and a hot plate configured to be movable in a direction close to or separated from the internal space are provided and set in the mold. In a sheet molding apparatus that coats and forms the sheet on the outer surface of the base material on the base by heating and pressing the sheet with the hot plate, the sheet is pressed on the hot plate side. With respect to the suction portion configured to be selectively suctionable from both the base side and the pressurizing portion configured to be able to pressurize the sheet from at least the hot plate side, and the sheet. It has a control unit that controls suction by the suction unit and pressurization by the pressurization unit, and a pattern that is a transfer type of grain to be transferred to the sheet is formed in the heating unit of the hot plate. It is characterized by being done.

According to this aspect, in manufacturing a product in which the outer surface of the base material is coated with the textured sheet, the transfer of the texture to the sheet and the thermoforming of the sheet and the base material are simultaneously performed by one device. be able to. Therefore, compared to the conventional manufacturing process in which the pre-process of transferring the grain to the sheet and the post-process of thermoforming the base material of the textured sheet are individually performed by separate devices, the processing device used is The number and man-hours for work can be reduced. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the product can be suppressed. In addition, there are cases where a sheet with a diversified design texture is required by the market for high-mix low-volume production by custom-made. Even in this case, the sheet molding apparatus according to the present invention can easily manufacture a product by high-mix low-volume production. In particular, the market may demand a sheet with a textured design that meets various needs, such as an original design or a design that has not been commercialized. The sheet molding apparatus according to the present invention can manufacture a product coated with such a sheet flexibly in response to market demand and at low cost.

In the sheet molding apparatus according to the present invention, the "pattern" refers to such a texture in order to express a texture on the surface of the sheet by a design, a pattern, a character, a three-dimensional shape, or the like. It means a transfer type for transferring to the surface of a sheet. In this textured transfer type, unevenness is provided at the arrangement position on the heating part of the hot plate, which is originally provided with the heat source for heating the sheet, by using a processing machine, for example, with a height difference of about several tens to several hundreds of μm. It is engraved with regularity. In the sheet forming apparatus according to the present invention, by engraving such unevenness in the heating portion of the hot plate, a mold corresponding to the shape of the single element constituting the grain is formed as a single or a plurality of aggregates. Is defined as a "pattern".

In the above aspect, the pattern has a pattern element which is a mold element corresponding to a single part of the grain to be transferred, and the pattern element is provided in a reference shape with respect to the grain to be transferred. It is formed by changing at least one of the carved depth, the carved size, or the carved arrangement interval with respect to the portion and the pattern element provided in the first pattern portion. It is preferable that the pattern element is formed by partitioning the second pattern portion provided with the pattern element.

According to this aspect, even if the product in which the outer surface of the base material is coated with the textured sheet has a three-dimensional shape showing a three-dimensional curved surface, the product does not depend on the shape of the outer surface of the base material. The grain projected in the whole is transferred in a uniform and uniform appearance with no difference in shade and size.

In the above aspect, when the grain is transferred to the sheet, the control unit controls the heating section of the hot plate to heat the sheet to the grain transfer temperature required for the transfer of the grain. The sheet in the state of the embossed transfer temperature is sucked from the hot plate side by the suction portion, and after the embossing is transferred, the sheet is formed from the embossed transfer temperature to the heated portion of the hot plate. When the sheet is coated on the base material by adjusting the required sheet molding temperature, the sheet in the state of the sheet molding temperature is sucked from the base side by the suction portion, and at the same time, the sheet is sucked. It is preferable that the pressurizing portion controls the pressurization from the hot plate side.

According to this aspect, the sheet to which the grain is transferred with high accuracy can be stretched along the outer surface of the base material in a state where wrinkles and twists are suppressed.

The sheet forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention, which has been made to solve the above problems, is configured to be movable in a direction close to or away from the sheet set on the gantry, and has a heating portion for heating the sheet. In a sheet forming apparatus for molding the sheet on the gantry by heating the sheet with the hot plate and pressing the sheet, the sheet can be sucked from the hot plate side. It has a unit and a control unit that controls the suction unit, and the heating unit of the hot plate is formed with a pattern that is a transfer type of grain to be transferred to the sheet. A first pattern portion which has a pattern element which is a mold element corresponding to a single portion of the grain to be transferred and is provided with the pattern element in a reference shape with respect to the grain to be transferred, and a first pattern portion are provided. A second pattern provided with the pattern element formed by changing at least one of the carved depth, the carved size, or the carved arrangement interval with respect to the pattern element. It is characterized in that it is divided into parts and parts.

According to this aspect, when molding a sheet using the sheet molding apparatus according to the present invention, a sheet having a desired design such as an original design or a design that has not been commercialized is required by the market. It will be possible to respond flexibly and provide it at low cost. In particular, there are cases where a sheet with a diversified design texture is required by the market for high-mix low-volume production by custom-made. Even in this case, the sheet forming apparatus according to the present invention can easily produce a sheet by high-mix low-volume production. In addition, the textured sheet molded by the sheet molding apparatus according to the present invention may be coated on the outer surface of a three-dimensional product having a three-dimensional curved surface. In such a case, the grain projected in the entire product has a uniform and uniform appearance with no difference in shade and size.

According to the sheet molding apparatus according to the present invention, in manufacturing a product in which a textured sheet covers the outer surface of a base material, the man-hours involved in the manufacturing can be reduced.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the sheet molding apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1, and is the 1st process diagram which shows the state which set the sheet and the base material in the mold in this sheet forming apparatus in the manufacturing process of a product. Following the first process diagram shown in FIG. 1, it is a second process diagram showing a state in which the texture is transferred at the same time as the sheet is heated by lowering the hot plate. Following the second process diagram shown in FIG. 2, it is a third process process diagram showing a state in which a sheet softened by heating is coated on a base material. Following the third process diagram shown in FIG. 3, it is a third process diagram showing a state in which the product in which the molded sheet is coated on the base material is taken out from the mold after the hot plate is raised. It is a perspective view which shows typically the appearance that the grain is uniformly transferred to the flat sheet. It is a top view which shows typically the whole pattern of the hot plate mounted on the sheet molding apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is an enlarged plan view which showed the pattern element of the pattern formed on the heating surface part shown in FIG. It is an enlarged view of part X in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the solenoid valve configured in the sheet molding apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the sheet forming apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2, and is the 1st process drawing which shows the state which the sheet was set on the pedestal in this sheet forming apparatus in the transfer process of grain. Following the first process diagram shown in FIG. 10, it is a second process diagram showing a state in which the texture is transferred at the same time as the sheet is heated by lowering the hot plate. Following the third process diagram shown in FIG. 11, it is a third process diagram showing a state in which the sheet after the texture transfer is taken out from the gantry after the hot plate is raised. It is explanatory drawing which showed an example of the product which molded the sheet with the grain by the sheet molding apparatus which concerns on the prior art and coated with the base material by using the cross-sectional view in part.

Hereinafter, embodiments 1 and 2, which embody the sheet molding apparatus according to the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a sheet forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. Further, FIG. 1 is also a first process diagram showing a state in which the sheet and the base material are set in the mold in the sheet molding apparatus in the product manufacturing process. In addition, in each drawing after FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, it is a schematic diagram schematically showing the apparatus configuration in a simplified manner. FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing an example of a product obtained by molding a textured sheet by a sheet molding apparatus according to a conventional technique and coating the base material with a cross-sectional view.

As shown in FIG. 13, the sheet forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is used to manufacture a product 2 such as the product 2X having a three-dimensional curved surface. In the product 2, the transferred sheet 4 (post-molded sheet 4B) having the grain 5 is molded into a shape along the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 and bonded to the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 to cover it. It becomes. The sheet 4 is a general thermoplastic resin sheet such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In the first embodiment, the sheet forming apparatus 1 mainly targets a sheet 4 having a thickness of about 200 to 500 μm for thermoforming. Of course, the thickness of the sheet 4 may be outside the range of 200 to 500 μm.

The JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) packaging terminology defines a thin plate-shaped plastic material with a thickness of 250 μm or more as a sheet and a film-shaped plastic material with a thickness of less than 250 μm as a film. However, in the first and second embodiments, the plastic material thermoformed by the sheet molding apparatus 1 is not distinguished by its thickness, and even the plastic material having a thickness in the category of the film is generically referred to as a sheet.

Next, the configuration of the sheet forming apparatus 1 will be described. The sheet forming apparatus 1 presses the pre-molding sheet 4A (sheet 4) set in the mold 10 before the embossing transfer while being heated by the hot plate 20 under a hermetically sealed state to form a base on the base 13. This is an apparatus for forming by covering the outer surface 3a of the material 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet forming apparatus 1 includes a mold 10, a hot plate 20, an electric control panel 30 (control unit), a temperature control unit 31 (control unit), a suction unit 40, and pressurization. It is provided with a unit 50, an electromagnetic valve 64, and the like.

First, the mold 10 will be described. The mold 10 is made of a metal member. The mold 10 is placed on a pedestal provided with a slide mechanism in the linear direction under the hot plate 20 described later. As a result, the mold 10 is provided so as to be movable between the supply position of the sheet 4 and the molding position (position shown in FIG. 1) by the hot plate 20.

The mold 10 has a role of thermoforming the sheet 4. The mold 10 is formed in the shape of a bottomed cylinder having an internal space 11S that is open at the top. In the internal space 11S of the mold 10, the base 13 is provided at a position lower than the opening 11. The base 13 mounts and holds the base material 3 to be coated on the sheet 4. A seal member 15 is provided on the outer peripheral surface 12 located on the outer periphery of the internal space 11S on the opening 11 side of the mold 10. At the time of molding, the pre-molded sheet 4A (sheet 4) is placed on the outer peripheral surface 12 of the mold 10 as shown in FIG. 1 in the first embodiment. The sheet 4 placed on the outer peripheral surface 12 is arranged and set above the base material 3 held on the base 13. The internal space 11S of the mold 10 is provided with an air flow hole 14 that communicates with the mold side flow path 61, which is an air flow path.

Next, the hot plate 20 will be described. The hot plate 20 is provided so as to be movable in a direction close to or away from the opening 11 of the internal space 11S of the mold 10. The hot plate 20 plays a role of softening the sheet 4 by heating and transferring the grain 5 to the sheet 4. The hot plate 20 is made of, for example, a metal material such as a carbon steel material or an aluminum material. The hot plate 20 has a heating surface portion 21 for heating the flat pre-molded sheet 4A (sheet 4) in the state before the embossing transfer.

The hot plate 20 has a heater 23 as a heat source for the heating surface portion 21 on the side opposite to the heating surface portion 21. The temperature that can be heated from the heating surface portion 21 by the heater 23 is 80 to 250 ° C. as the softening temperature range of a general thermoplastic sheet. The sheet 4 placed on the outer peripheral edge surface 12 of the mold 10 is arranged below the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20 and is heated. The heater 23 is electrically connected to the electric control panel 30 via the temperature control unit 31.

The electric control panel 30 controls, for example, the raising and lowering operation of the hot plate 20, the sliding operation of the mold 10, the operation of the vacuum pump 41 and the compressor 51, the operation of the solenoid valve 64, and the like. The temperature of the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20 can be adjusted to an arbitrary set temperature by the temperature control unit 31.

FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing the entire pattern of the hot plate mounted on the sheet forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view showing the pattern elements of the pattern formed on the heating surface portion shown in FIG.

Further, the hot plate 20 transfers the grain 5 based on the pattern 25 to the pre-molded sheet 4A by heating. At the same time, the hot plate 20 has a function of performing heating necessary for coating the outer surface 3a of the base material 3. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20 is provided with the pattern 25. The pattern 25 is a transfer type of the grain 5 to be transferred to the flat sheet 4 before the grain transfer (sheet 4A before molding). In the product 2, the pattern 25 is formed in a form adjusted according to the shape of the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 so that the grain 5 reflected on the molded sheet 4B coated on the base material 3 becomes uniform. ..

Here, the aspect of the pattern 25 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 13. FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing how the grain is uniformly transferred to the flat sheet. As shown in FIG. 13, among the thermoformed products, there is also a product 2 having a three-dimensional curved surface shape such as the product 2X. Conventionally, in manufacturing such a curved product, in the sheet forming apparatus according to the prior art, as shown in FIG. 5, the sheet 4 to which the grain 5 is uniformly transferred in advance has a mold and a hot plate. It was supplied to the molding part and was thermoformed.

The grain 5 is originally copied on the sheet 4 with a uniform size, depth, and arrangement interval. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13, the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 in the product 2X has curved portions and corner portions forming a part thereof. In the product 2X, of the sheet 4 that closely covers the outer surface 3a of the base material 3, the portion that is attached to such a curved portion or the like is stretched outward along the shape of the outer surface 3a. Therefore, the grain 5 projected on the curved portion and the corner portion on the outer surface 3a is deformed with the partial elongation of the sheet 4 as compared with the other portions. Specifically, the grain projected on the product 2X is a collection of individual single elements. The single element of the grain projected on the curved part of the product 2X changes in size (expanded grain), changes in depth (thinned grain), and changes in the arrangement interval (the single elements of adjacent grain are more It becomes the textured deformed portion 5X (the rough portion of the dot display in FIG. 6) in which (proximity) is generated. Therefore, the grain 5 is non-uniform throughout the product 2X. Therefore, the product 2X becomes a problem in terms of quality control.

In the sheet forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the pattern 25 is provided on the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20. The pattern 25 is formed for the purpose of avoiding the occurrence of the grain deformation portion 5X. The pattern 25 has a carved depth, a carved size, or a carved arrangement interval according to the shape of a curved portion or a corner portion forming a part of the outer surface 3a of the base material 3. Of these, at least one is changed and formed. Specifically, the pattern 25 is formed in the heating surface portion 21, for example, in the first embodiment, the pattern 25 is divided into a first pattern portion 25A and a second pattern portion 25B.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the pattern 25 has a pattern element 25S which is a mold element corresponding to a single portion of the grain 5 to be transferred. As shown in FIG. 7, the first pattern portion 25A and the second pattern portion 25B are composed of a pattern element convex portion 25Sa and a pattern element concave portion 25Sb. The pattern element convex portion 25Sa has a function of forming a concave portion of the grain 5 on the surface of the sheet 4 after the grain 5 is transferred. The pattern element recess 25Sb is a sheet 4 after the grain 5 has been transferred, and has a function of forming a convex portion of the grain 5 on the surface thereof. The height difference between the pattern element convex portion 25Sa and the pattern element concave portion 25Sb is approximately 0.1 mm, although it varies depending on the use of the grain 5 to be copied on the sheet 4. The surface roughness of the pattern element convex portion 25Sa and the pattern element concave portion 25Sb is 0.5 μm or less.

The first pattern portion 25A is a transfer type for the grain 5 that transfers in a state equivalent to or close to the uniform grain 5 shown in FIG. In other words, the first pattern portion 25A is a reference transfer type used for a portion of the base material 3 that covers the outer surface 3a and causes almost no change in the transferred grain 5. In the first pattern portion 25A, the pattern element 25S group is formed in a reference shape with respect to the grain 5 to be transferred.

The second pattern portion 25B is a pattern element 25S group that is responsible for transferring the grain 5 corresponding to the range of the grain deformation portion 5X in the entire sheet 4 to be covered. In forming the second pattern portion 25B, the range of the textured deformed portion 5X generated in the entire product 2X has been specified in advance. Under this precondition, the second pattern unit 25B has a carved depth, a carved size, or a carved arrangement interval with respect to the pattern element 25S provided in the first pattern part 25A. The pattern element is formed in a shape having at least one variation. Specifically, the pattern element 25S provided in the second pattern portion 25B has a processing in which the size is slightly reduced, a processing in which the depth is slightly deepened, and processing between adjacent pattern elements 25S, as compared with the first pattern portion 25A. This is a transfer type for grain 5 formed by appropriately adjusting a process in which the arrangement interval is slightly narrowed.

It is preferable that such a pattern 25 is formed by a processing machine that engraves pattern elements based on the coordinates of the processing position set and input in advance by computer numerical control. Examples of the processing machine include a processing machine such as a CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) machining center and a CNC laser engraving processing machine. The reason will be described with reference to the three-dimensional product 2X.

In order to know the region of the textured deformed portion 5X generated in the product 2X, for example, it is conceivable that the region of the textured deformed portion 5X of the product 2X is measured by a measuring device such as a three-dimensional measuring machine equipped with computer numerical control. .. In this case, the coordinate values of each point indicating the region of the textured deformation portion 5X can be obtained through measurement.

The above-mentioned processing machine processes a region of the pattern portion for adjusting the reference transfer mold, such as the second pattern portion 25B. At this time, the actually measured values of such coordinates acquired from the measuring device can be fed back as the coordinate values of the processing position of the region of the pattern portion by the processing machine. Further, in the first embodiment, it may be desired to adjust the shape of the pattern element 25S formed by the second pattern portion 25B with respect to the transfer type of the first pattern portion 25A as a reference. Therefore, when adjusting the shape of such a pattern element 25S, the range of the second pattern portion 25B, the size and depth of the pattern element 25S, and the like are finely determined based on the coordinate values of the processing positions set and input. This is because it becomes easy to adjust. As a result, the second pattern portion 25B that accurately matches the range of the wrinkled deformation portion 5X that can occur can be formed with high accuracy. As a result, the product is finished with high quality.

Next, the suction unit 40 and the pressurizing unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 9. FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing the structure of the solenoid valve configured in the sheet molding apparatus according to the first embodiment.

As described above, the internal space 11S of the mold 10 is provided with an air flow hole 14 that communicates with the mold side flow path 61. After molding the product 2 by the sheet molding apparatus 1, a part of the sheet 4 is trimmed. The air flow hole 14 is preferably located in a portion of the sheet 4 that is discarded after trimming. Specifically, in the molded sheet 4B, the portion near the sandwiching portion between the outer peripheral edge surface 12 of the mold 10 and the contact surface 22 of the hot plate 20 with respect to the portion arranged in the internal space 11S. It is cut after the thermoforming is completed. The air flow hole 14 is preferably located in such a vicinity portion that does not interfere with the front of the product 2. This is because, in the second step of the product 2 described later, when the sheet 4 is sucked, no trace due to the air flow hole 14 is left on the sucked sheet 4.

The mold side flow path 61 is connected to and communicates with the pressurizing portion 50. The pressurizing section 50 includes a compressor 51 and a pressurizing tank 52. The pressurizing tank 52 stores the air compressed by the compressor 51.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the hot plate 20 is provided with a fine air flow hole 24 that communicates with the hot plate side flow path 62, which is an air flow path. The hot plate side flow path 62 is connected to and communicates with the suction unit 40. The suction unit 40 includes a vacuum pump 41 and a vacuum tank 42. The vacuum tank 42 can be maintained in a state of being decompressed by the vacuum pump 41. The vacuum tank 42 is effective in reducing the decompression loss.

The mold side flow path 61 is connected in parallel with the connection flow path 63 and communicates with the connection flow path 63. Further, the hot plate side flow path 62 is also connected and communicated with the connection flow path 63 in parallel. A solenoid valve 64 is piped in the connection flow path 63. The solenoid valve 64 is electrically controlled by the electric control panel 30. As shown in FIG. 9, the solenoid valve 64 is a valve that enables five types of fluid control in the flow path of the flowing air. Specifically, the vacuum pump 41 is the first fluid control that communicates with the hot plate side flow path 62 and sucks air. This is a second fluid control in which air is sucked by the communication between the vacuum pump 41 and the mold side flow path 61 and air is pressurized by the communication between the compressor 51 and the hot plate side flow path 62 at the same time. The vacuum pump 41 and the compressor 51 are the third fluid control that cuts off the communication between the mold side flow path 61 and the hot plate side flow path 62. This is a fourth fluid control in which the compressor 51 communicates with the mold side flow path 61 to pressurize air. That is, the suction unit 40 is configured so that the sheet 4 can be selectively sucked from both the hot plate 20 side and the base 13 side. The pressurizing unit 50 is configured so that the sheet 4 can be pressurized from at least the hot plate 20 side. The solenoid valve 64 together with the electric control panel 30 controls suction by the suction unit 40 and pressurization by the pressurizing unit 50.

Next, the manufacturing process of the product 2 using the sheet forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 2 is a second process diagram showing a state in which the texture is transferred at the same time as the sheet is heated by lowering the hot plate, following the first process diagram shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a third process diagram showing a state in which the base material is coated with a sheet softened by heating, following the second process diagram shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a fourth process diagram showing a state in which the product in which the molded sheet covers the base material is taken out from the mold after the hot plate is raised, following the third process diagram shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the first step of the product 2, the mold 10 is arranged at a retracting position away from the molding position. In the retreat position of the mold 10, the base material 3 is set on the base 13 of the internal space 11S of the mold 10 in a posture in which the outer surface 3a faces upward. After that, the unmolded sheet 4A carried into the sheet forming apparatus 1 is set on the outer peripheral surface 12 of the mold 10 under atmospheric pressure. As a result, the opening 11 of the internal space 11S of the mold 10 is closed by the pre-molding sheet 4A. After the base material 3 and the pre-molding sheet 4A are set in the mold 10, the mold 10 is slid to the molding position. At this time, the hot plate 20 is in a shelter position away from the mold 10. The gap between the mold 10 and the hot plate 20 that has reached the molding position is, for example, a distance of about 5 mm. After the mold 10 reaches the molding position, the hot plate 20 is lowered toward the mold 10.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, in the second step of the product 2, the contact surface 22 of the lowered hot plate 20 and the outer peripheral edge surface 12 of the mold 10 are in close contact with the seal member 15. The pre-molded sheet 4A set on the outer peripheral surface 12 is sandwiched. As a result, the internal space 11S of the mold 10 becomes airtight with the outside. Next, the heater 23 of the hot plate 20 is operated to raise the heating surface portion 21 to an embossed transfer temperature of 180 ° C. as an example. At the same time, the vacuum pump 41 is operated, the solenoid valve 64 is used as the first fluid control, and the sheet 4 set on the outer peripheral surface 12 of the mold 10 is sucked. As a result, the pre-molded sheet 4A (sheet 4) is adsorbed on the pattern 25 of the heated surface portion 21 in a state of being softened by heating. By maintaining this adsorption state for a predetermined time, the grain 5 is transferred to the sheet 4 based on the pattern 25.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, in the third step of the product 2, when the transfer of the grain 5 is completed, the temperature control unit 31 raises the heating surface portion 21 from the grain transfer temperature of 180 ° C. to an example of the sheet. The temperature is lowered to 160 ° C. Further, the operation of the vacuum pump 41 is temporarily stopped, and the suction of the seat 4 is stopped. The solenoid valve 64 is switched to the third fluid control. As a result, a pressure difference is generated in the upper and lower regions sandwiching the sheet 4 with respect to the internal space 11S. Then, the sheet 4 after the transfer of the grain 5 is separated from the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20 and released.

Next, the solenoid valve 64 is switched to the second fluid control. The vacuum pump 41 is operated to suck the sheet 4 from the mold 10 side. At the same time as this suction, the compressor 51 is also operated to pressurize the sheet 4 from the hot plate 20. As a result, the softened sheet 4 to which the grain 5 is transferred has the base material 3 on the base 13 due to the differential pressure between the suction of air from the mold 10 side and the pressurization of air from the hot plate 20 side. Covers along the outer surface 3a of the. Further, the sheet 4 is pressed against the outer surface 3a of the base material 3. The sheet 4 is then adhered and adhered to the outer surface 3a of the fused base material 3. Then, the sheet 4 becomes a post-molded sheet 4B that is thermally deformed along the inner wall of the internal space 11S of the mold 10.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of part X in FIG. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the surface treatment layer 28 may be laminated on the pattern 25 of the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20. The surface treatment layer 28 is made of a material having releasability to the contacted sheet 4 and heat resistance to the heating temperature of the sheet 4. The surface treatment layer 28 on the heated surface portion 21 is, for example, a coating treatment layer made of polytetrafluoroethylene, other fluororesin, or the like. With such a surface treatment layer 28, the softened sheet 4 adsorbed on the pattern 25 of the heated surface portion 21 in the third step of the product 2 is more easily peeled off from the heated surface portion 21 after the transfer of the grain 5 is completed. Because it becomes. Instead of the surface treatment layer 28, a release agent or the like that is chemically stable and has heat resistance may be applied to the heated surface portion 21.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, in the fourth step of the product 2, the operation of both the vacuum pump 41 and the compressor 51 is stopped after the sheet 4 is attached to the outer surface 3a of the base material 3. Further, the solenoid valve 64 is switched to the third fluid control. As a result, the internal space 11S is returned to the atmospheric pressure. Next, the hot plate 20 is raised and moved to the shelter position of the hot plate 20. As a result, the hot plate 20 and the mold 10 are separated from each other. Further, the mold 10 is slid from the molding position to the shunting position. Next, the product 2 is taken out from the mold 10 at the retreat position of the mold 10. This completes a series of steps related to the manufacturing process of product 2. Thus, the product 2 in which the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 is coated with the sheet 4 is manufactured by the sheet forming apparatus 1.

Next, the operation / effect of the sheet molding apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. In the sheet forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, as described above, a pattern 25, which is a transfer type of the grain 5 to be transferred to the sheet 4 before the grain transfer, is formed on the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20. The hot plate 20 is characterized in that the grain 5 based on the pattern 25 is transferred to the sheet 4 and the heating required for coating the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 is performed.

Due to this feature, in the production of the product 2X, the product 2 and the like, the transfer of the grain 5 to the sheet 4 and the thermoforming of the sheet 4 and the base material 3 can be performed simultaneously by one device. Therefore, compared to the conventional manufacturing process in which the pre-process of transferring the grain to the sheet and the post-process of thermoforming the base material of the textured sheet are individually performed by separate devices, the processing device used is The number and man-hours for work can be reduced. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the product 2 and the like can be reduced.

Therefore, according to the sheet molding apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, when manufacturing the product 2 or the like in which the sheet 4 with the grain 5 covers the outer surface 3a of the base material 3, the man-hours related to the manufacturing are reduced. It has an excellent effect of being able to.

In addition, there are cases where the sheet 4 with the embossed 5 having a diversified design is made to order and is required by the market for high-mix low-volume production. Even in this case, the sheet molding apparatus 1 can easily manufacture the product 2 and the like by high-mix low-volume production. In particular, the market may demand a sheet 4 having a textured design 5 that meets various needs such as an original design and a design that has not been commercialized. The sheet forming apparatus 1 can flexibly manufacture the product 2 coated with such a sheet 4 at a low cost in response to the demands of the market.

Further, in the sheet molding apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, as described above, the pattern 25 has a pattern element 25S which is a mold element corresponding to a single portion of the embossed 5 to be transferred, and the pattern 25 has a pattern element 25S corresponding to the embossed 5 to be transferred. , The carved depth, carved size, or carved with respect to the first pattern part 25A provided with the pattern element 25S in the reference shape and the pattern element 25S provided in the first pattern part 25A. It is characterized in that it is divided into a second pattern portion 25B provided with a pattern element 25S formed by changing at least one of the arrangement intervals.

Due to this feature, even if the product 2 such as the product 2X illustrated in FIG. 13 has a three-dimensional shape exhibiting a three-dimensional curved surface, the product does not depend on the shape of the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 such as the product 2. The grain 5 projected in the whole of the second magnitude has a uniform and uniform appearance with no difference in shade and size.

Further, in the sheet forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, when the electric control panel 30 transfers the embossed portion 5 to the sheet 4 in the second step of the product 2, the electric control panel 30 is embossed on the heated surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20. Control is performed to heat the sheet 4 to the transfer temperature (for example, 180 ° C.). At the same time, the electric control panel 30 sucks the sheet 4 in the state of the grain transfer temperature from the hot plate 20 side by the suction unit 40. After the transfer of the grain 5, in the third step of the product 2, the electric control panel 30 controls the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20 to adjust from the grain transfer temperature to the sheet forming temperature (for example, 160 ° C.). , The sheet 4 is coated on the base material 3. At this time, the electric control panel 30 is controlled so that the sheet 4 in the state of the sheet forming temperature is sucked from the base 13 side by the suction unit 40 and at the same time is pressurized from the hot plate 20 side by the pressurizing unit 50. It is characterized by being configured. Due to this feature, the sheet 4 to which the grain 5 is transferred with high accuracy can be stretched along the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 in a state where wrinkles and twists are suppressed.

Further, in the sheet molding apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the pattern 25 of the hot plate 20 is formed with a surface treatment layer having releasability to the contacted sheet 4 and heat resistance to the heating temperature of the sheet 4. It is characterized by being done. Due to this feature, after the grain 5 is transferred to the sheet 4, the softened sheet 4 adsorbed on the pattern 25 of the heating surface portion 21 is more easily peeled off from the hot plate 20.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, the sheet forming apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12. FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the configuration of the sheet forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. Further, FIG. 10 is also a first process diagram showing a state in which the sheet is set on the gantry in the sheet forming apparatus in the grain transfer process.

In the sheet forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment described above, the grain 5 was transferred to the softened sheet 4 before transfer by the hot plate 20 based on the pattern 25 formed on the heating surface portion 21. Further, the sheet 4 to which the grain 5 was transferred was molded by coating the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 arranged in the mold 10. However, the sheet forming apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment is used to transfer only the grain 5 to the sheet 4 before the grain transfer based on the pattern 25 formed on the heating surface portion 21. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the mold 10 is present or not, but the other parts are the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the parts different from those of the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the other parts will be simplified or omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the sheet forming apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment is used to manufacture a sheet 4 having a grain 5 transferred to the sheet 4 before the grain transfer. As shown in FIG. 13, the sheet 4 with the grain 5 is coated on the surface of the product 2 or the like. The sheet forming apparatus 101 is an apparatus for forming the sheet 4 set on the gantry 110 by heating and pressing the sheet 4 with the hot plate 20 (corresponding to the hot plate 20 of the first embodiment).

In addition to the hot plate 20, the sheet forming apparatus 101 includes a suction unit 40, an electromagnetic valve 164 (control unit) that controls the suction unit 40, and the like. The suction unit 40 includes a vacuum pump 41 and a vacuum tank 42. The solenoid valve 164 is a valve that enables two types of fluid control in the flow path of the flowing air. Specifically, the vacuum pump 41 is the first fluid control that communicates with the hot plate side flow path 62 and sucks air. This is a second fluid control that cuts off the communication between the vacuum pump 41 and the hot plate side flow path 62.

Similar to the sheet forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the sheet forming apparatus 101 is formed with a pattern 25 which is a transfer type of the grain 5 on the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20. As described above, the pattern 25 has a pattern element 25S which is a mold element corresponding to a single site of the grain 5 to be transferred. The pattern 25 is divided into a first pattern portion 25A and a second pattern portion 25B. In the first pattern portion 25A, the pattern element 25S group is formed in a reference shape with respect to the grain 5 to be transferred. The second pattern portion 25B has a shape in which at least one or more of the carved depth, size, or carved arrangement interval is changed with respect to the pattern element 25S provided in the first pattern portion 25A. It is characterized in that a pattern element is formed by.

Due to this feature, when molding the sheet 4 using the sheet forming apparatus 101, the market demands for the sheet 4 with a textured design 5 that meets various needs such as an original design and a design that has not been commercialized. It will be possible to flexibly respond to the above and provide it at low cost. In particular, the sheet 4 with the embossed 5 having a diversified design may be made to order from the market for high-mix low-volume production. Even in such a case, the sheet forming apparatus 101 can easily manufacture the sheet 4 by high-mix low-volume production. Further, the sheet 4 having the grain 5 formed by the sheet forming apparatus 101 may be coated on the outer surface of the three-dimensional product 2 having a three-dimensional curved surface. In such a case, the grain 5 projected in the entire product 2 has a uniform and uniform appearance with no difference in shade and size.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the first and second embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments, and can be appropriately modified and applied without departing from the gist thereof. ..

For example, in the first embodiment, the heat plate 20 transfers the grain 5 based on the pattern 25 formed on the heating surface portion 21 to the unmolded sheet 4A, and the heating required for coating the outer surface 3a of the base material 3 is performed. 1 was mentioned as a sheet forming apparatus 1 for manufacturing a product. Further, in the second embodiment, the sheet forming apparatus 101 for producing the embossed sheet 4 by transferring the embossed 5 based on the pattern 25 formed on the heating surface portion 21 by the hot plate 20 to the unmolded sheet 4A is mentioned. ..

However, in manufacturing a product, the product is manufactured not only by coating molding but also by vacuum forming or pressure forming, for example, using the textured sheet 4 manufactured by the sheet molding apparatus 101 to form a mold shape. You may. That is, in the method for molding a product using the textured sheet 4, the general method of thermoforming is applicable.

Further, in the hot plate 20 of the first embodiment, the first pattern portion 25A is used as a reference transfer type, and the second pattern portion 25B is adjusted to the shape of the pattern element 25S with respect to the first pattern portion 25A. One was incorporated into the pattern 25. However, another pattern portion that adjusts the shape of the pattern element with respect to the pattern portion that is the reference transfer type is limited to the first embodiment in terms of quantity, positional relationship with the pattern portion that is the reference transfer type, and the like. Not a thing. The pattern portion for adjusting the shape of the pattern element may be appropriately changed each time according to the shape of the outer surface of the base material of the product to be molded.

Further, in constructing the second pattern portion 25B, in comparison with the pattern element 25S of the first pattern portion 25A, the mode of the pattern element 25S is the following six cases. That is, as the first aspect, the second pattern portion 25B is formed by the pattern element 25S having a variation in the engraved depth. As a second aspect, when the second pattern portion 25B is formed by the pattern element 25S having a variation in the engraved size. As a third aspect, when the second pattern portion 25B is formed by the pattern element 25S in which the engraved arrangement interval is changed. As a fourth aspect, when the second pattern portion 25B is formed by the pattern element 25S in which both the carved depth and the size are changed. As a fifth aspect, when the second pattern portion 25B is formed of the pattern element 25S in which both the engraved size and the arrangement interval are changed. As a sixth aspect, when the second pattern portion 25B is formed by the pattern element 25S in which all the carved depths, sizes, and arrangement intervals are changed. Under these six modes, the pattern portion that adjusts the shape of the pattern element may be appropriately changed each time according to the shape of the outer surface of the base material of the product to be molded. ..

Further, in the first embodiment, in the second step of the product 2, the vacuum pump 41 is operated in the internal space 11S of the mold 10 under atmospheric pressure, and the sheet 4 is transferred to the pattern 25 of the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20. Adsorbed to. However, even if the sheet 4 is attracted to the pattern 25 of the heating surface portion 21 by the vacuum pump 41 and at the same time the sheet 4 is pressurized from the base 13 side through the mold side flow path 61 and the air flow hole 14 by the compressor 51. good.

Further, in the first embodiment, the suction unit 40 and the pressurizing unit 50 are connected by a connection flow path 63, and an electromagnetic valve 64 is provided in the connection flow path 63. Then, the suction on the mold 10 side and the suction on the hot plate 20 side were selectively controlled by the solenoid valve 64. However, the suction unit is configured so that the sheet can be selectively sucked from both the hot plate side and the base side. The pressurizing section is configured so that the sheet can be pressurized from at least the hot plate side. If the control unit controls the seat to be sucked by the suction unit and pressurized by the pressurizing unit, the piping system between the suction unit and the pressurizing unit is limited to the first embodiment. Anything is fine, not something.

Further, in the pattern 25 formed on the hot plate 20 of the first embodiment, the pattern element 25S is shown as “A” in FIG. 7 for convenience of explanation. However, the pattern element is merely an example in the first embodiment, and is not limited in any way.

In the first embodiment, in the manufacturing process of the product 2 using the sheet molding apparatus 1, the process contents such as the molding procedure and the molding procedure described in the first step to the fourth step are described only as an example. , It can be changed as appropriate without being limited to the embodiment. For example, in the second step of the product 2 according to the first embodiment, the heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20 is heated to heat the unmolded sheet 4A (sheet 4) to an example grain transfer temperature of 180 ° C. at the same time. , The sheet 4 set on the outer peripheral surface 12 of the mold 10 was sucked. However, in the second step of the product 2, the unmolded sheet 4A (sheet 4) heated to the embossed molding temperature of 160 ° C., which is an example, is sucked in a state of being set on the outer peripheral surface 12 of the mold 10 and at the same time. The heating surface portion 21 of the hot plate 20 may be heated to heat the sheet 4 to an embossed transfer temperature of 180 ° C. as an example.

1,101 Sheet molding device 2,2X Product 3 Base material 3a Outer surface of base material 4 Sheet 4A Pre-molding sheet (sheet)
4B Sheet after molding (sheet)
5 Texture 10 Mold 11 Opening 11S Internal space 13 Base 20 Hot plate 21 Heating surface 25 Pattern 25A 1st pattern 25B 2nd pattern 25S Pattern element 30 Electric control panel (control)
31 Temperature control unit 40 Suction unit 50 Pressurizing unit 64 Solenoid valve 110 Stand

Claims (4)

A mold in which a base on which the base material to be covered by the sheet is placed is provided at a position lower than the opening of the internal space in the internal space opened above.
It has a heating portion for heating the sheet, and also includes a hot plate configured to be movable in a direction close to or away from the internal space.
In a sheet molding apparatus for coating and molding the sheet on the outer surface of the base material on the base by heating and pressing the sheet set in the mold by the hot plate.
A suction unit configured to selectively suck the sheet from both the hot plate side and the base side,
The sheet is pressed by a pressurizing portion configured to be able to pressurize at least from the hot plate side.
The sheet has a control unit that controls suction by the suction unit and pressurization by the pressurization unit.
A pattern that is a transfer type of grain to be transferred to the sheet is formed in the heating portion of the hot plate.
A sheet molding apparatus characterized by. In the sheet molding apparatus according to claim 1,
The pattern has a pattern element which is a mold element corresponding to a single portion of the grain to be transferred, and a first pattern portion in which the pattern element is provided in a reference shape with respect to the grain to be transferred.
The pattern formed by changing at least one of the carved depth, the carved size, or the carved arrangement interval with respect to the pattern element provided in the first pattern portion. It is formed by partitioning into the second pattern part provided with the element.
A sheet molding apparatus characterized by. In the sheet molding apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
When the grain is transferred to the sheet, the control unit controls the heating section of the hot plate to heat the sheet to the grain transfer temperature required for the transfer of the grain, and also controls the state of the grain transfer temperature. The sheet in the above is sucked from the hot plate side by the suction part,
After the embossing is transferred, when the sheet is coated on the base material by adjusting the embossed transfer temperature to the sheet forming temperature required for forming the sheet with respect to the heating portion of the hot plate, the sheet forming temperature is changed. The sheet in a state is sucked from the base side by the suction portion, and at the same time, the sheet is controlled to be pressurized from the hot plate side by the pressurizing portion.
A sheet molding apparatus characterized by. The gantry is provided with a hot plate that is configured to be movable in a direction close to or away from the sheet set on the gantry and has a heating portion for heating the sheet, and the sheet is heated and pressed by the hot plate. In the sheet molding apparatus for molding the above sheet,
A suction unit configured to suck the sheet from the hot plate side and
It has a control unit that controls the suction unit, and has
A pattern that is a transfer type of grain to be transferred to the sheet is formed in the heating portion of the hot plate.
The pattern has a pattern element which is a mold element corresponding to a single portion of the grain to be transferred, and a first pattern portion in which the pattern element is provided in a reference shape with respect to the grain to be transferred.
The pattern formed by changing at least one of the carved depth, the carved size, or the carved arrangement interval with respect to the pattern element provided in the first pattern portion. It is formed by partitioning into the second pattern part provided with the element.
A sheet molding apparatus characterized by.

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