JP2812660B2 - Method for producing laminated structural component having hard foam reinforcement - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing laminated structural parts, such as vehicle doors, having a rigid foam reinforcement which improves the strength against lateral impact.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Co-pending application Ser. No. 07 / 996,901, filed Dec. 23, 1992, and co-pending parent application Ser. The disclosure of 07 / 883,024 is incorporated herein by reference. No. 07 / 996,901 discloses a method and apparatus for folding a laminate panel trim around a panel rim to form a trim panel. Also, co-pending parent application Ser. No. 07 / 883,024 relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a trim panel. Such a trim panel can be reinforced in a manner according to the invention to provide, for example, a vehicle door with excellent lateral impact resistance.

[0003] US Patent No. 4,923,539 (Spengla et al.) Issued May 8, 1990 and US Patent No. 4,923,539 as a divisional application of 199.
U.S. Patent No. 5,076, issued December 31, 1,
No. 880 (Spengler et al.) Discloses a method and apparatus for manufacturing a trim panel including several trim components. An apparatus for manufacturing a trim panel in a mold includes one or more nested cavities forming a so-called in-mold mold and each nested mold movable within the nested cavities. A mold having a nested cavity and a nested mold is suitable for performing the method of the present invention.

[0004] German Patent No. 3,722,873 (Roche) issued April 27, 1989 discloses a method and an apparatus for producing laminated structural parts. The support layer or backing is heated on at least one side thereof to the melting temperature of the foam material forming the support layer, the heated support layer contacting an intermediate layer of thermoplastic foam material pressed with the covering layer. By the melting of the intermediate layer, the backing and the covering layer are adhered to each other.

[0005]

These known methods and apparatus are suitable for producing laminated structural parts such as door trim panels. However, for example, the problem of reinforcing a door panel of a passenger car to such an extent that the door itself can substantially absorb a part of the lateral impact force cannot be solved by the above-mentioned prior art.

[0006] Conventionally, door panels are reinforced with a rigid foam insert that is manually adhered to the preformed panel using an adhesive. As used herein, the term "rigid foam" refers to a foam consisting of small foam particles adhered to one another throughout a rigid foam block.
These rigid foams are known, for example, as polypropylene particle foams.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to achieve the following objects individually or in combination.

The present invention eliminates the need for a post-process of assembling a rigid foam reinforced block with the door panel and manually adhering the rigid foam reinforced block to the preformed door panel as part of the process of forming structural components such as door panels. With the goal.

Another object of the present invention is to fix the rigid foam reinforcing block to the panel by curing treatment of various layers forming the panel or an adhesive separately inserted into a mold.

It is a further object of the present invention to produce a panel of the above type having a reinforcing insert in a single molding operation.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above object is achieved by a method according to the invention described below using a mold comprising an upper mold part and a lower mold part having at least one mold cavity having a nesting mold therein. Can be achieved.

First, a preformed rigid foam member is inserted into at least one of the nested mold cavities.

Second, the intermediate fibrous material layer is oriented such that one side of the fibrous material layer faces the preformed rigid foam member.
It is placed between the upper and lower mold parts.

Third, a coating layer is placed between the intermediate fiber material layer and the upper mold.

Fourth, the upper and lower mold sections are heated and clamped to provide laminating pressure for bonding the intermediate fiber material layer to the coating layer.

Fifth, the nested mold is pressed against the rigid foam member in the nest cavity, and the rigid foam member is laminated to the intermediate fiber material layer, whereby the rigid foam member is used as part of a finished product. It functions as a reinforcing material that can absorb shocks that are sometimes applied to structural components.

[0017]

The rigid foam member is a thermoactive rigid foam material, preferably a preformed member having a predetermined shape and dimensions. This rigid foam member covers at least a part of the back surface of the laminated panel. In addition to vehicle panels, various structural components, such as, for example, load shelves and seat structures, require such reinforcements. According to the present invention, the operations of forming, laminating and reinforcing are performed in one mold in one operation step, the temperature of which is raised enough to melt the backing of the panel and the subsequent curing The layers are glued together and to the rigid foam reinforcement.

[0018] The surface coating layer is preferably selected from the group comprising sheets of polyolefin foam, polypropylene foam, polyethylene foam, and mixtures thereof, and decorative coating materials such as cloths adhered to the film material of polyolefin. Is done. The intermediate fiber material layer preferably consists of a fur coat of fibers selected from the group of polyolefin fibers, glass fibers, polypropylene fibers, natural fibers and mixtures of these fibers. The rigid foam component is preferably a polyolefin particle, a polypropylene particle, preformed in the form of a dimensionally stable rigid foam panel, i.e., a rigid foam pre-processed block or rigid foam preform.
It consists of polyethylene particles and a mixture of these particles. Thus, the rigid foam member is a foam of thermoplastic particles, and the individual foam particles are adhered to each other throughout the rigid foam member.

The intermediate hair material layer preferably consists of a fiber mixture comprising polyolefin fibers and glass fibers, the preferred content of glass fibers being about 20 to 30% by volume of the hair material, with the balance being polyolefin fibers. .
Glass fibers provide the hair material with the desired dimensional stability.

In the process of the present invention, the molding pressure is relatively low, for example, a pressure of about 28 pounds per square inch or less is suitable for the purposes of the present invention. However, in the area where the nested cavities are located, the molding pressure is increased by individually operating the nests in these nested cavities to pressures greater than 28 pounds per square inch. This high pressure is, for example, about 40 pounds per square inch.

Depending on the choice of materials for the various layers, an adhesive may be used between the fibrous material layer and the decorative coating layer and / or between the fibrous material layer and the rigid foam block. These adhesive layers are desirably thermoplastic materials that melt in response to molding heat and pressure to provide the desired adhesion during curing. Alternatively, the adhesive layer may be an adhesive film made of a two-component prepreg that is cured in a mold and adheres the surface layer to the rigid foam member or the rigid foam member to the intermediate fiber material layer. However, a separately prepared adhesive film can also be used.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an upper mold portion 1 having a structure used in combination with the lower mold portion 3 shown in FIG. The upper mold section 1 includes a mold driving device 1A composed of, for example, a piston cylinder device, and has a downward contour 1B that forms the bottom of the upper mold cavity 1D. The temperature of the upper mold part 1 can be controlled by flowing a refrigerant liquid or a heating liquid through the duct 1C. Similarly, the lower mold part 3 includes a duct 3A for controlling the temperature of the lower mold part.
Having. The contour 3B of the lower mold part 3 matches the contour 1B of the upper mold part 1. The lower mold part 3 includes two nest mold cavities 4 each including a movable nest mold 4A independently driven by each drive device 4B composed of, for example, a piston-cylinder device. And 3 can move within each nesting cavity 4 independently of the clamping. According to the present invention, one or two rigid firing members 2 of the aforementioned particle foam are inserted into each of the nested cavities 4 as in the illustrated example. These members 2
It is preformed or precut from a material such as the aforementioned thermoplastic rigid foam. These members 2 are inserted by an operator's hand as shown by an arrow 2A.

FIG. 3 shows the lower mold portion 3 in which the hard firing member 2 is sufficiently inserted into each nesting cavity 4 and placed on each nesting mold 4A. In the insertion of the hard firing member 2, as shown in FIG. 3, their vertical positions are adjusted so that the upward contour 2B of the hard firing member 2 smoothly merges with the contour 3B of the lower mold portion. You. The driving device 4B is arranged for each of the nesting types 4A.

FIG. 4, like FIG. 3, shows the lower mold part with the hard firing member 2 inserted. The intermediate fiber material 6 held by a tool 6A having a frame shape such as a stretch frame is placed above the lower mold part 3. Further, the decorative material 5 held by the tool 5A similar to the tool 6A is placed above the fiber material layer 6. The decorative material 5 forms a covering layer that provides a good outer surface of the finished product. Further, a dotted line 2C shows an adhesive film having a size covering at least the outline 2B of each hard foaming member 2 inserted at this position as another bonding form. During molding, these adhesive films 2 </ b> C adhere the hard foam member 2 to the fiber material layer 6.

Similarly, an adhesive film, indicated by the dotted line 6B, may be inserted between the fiber layer 6 and the decorative or covering layer 5 to adhere them to each other during molding.

FIG. 5 shows the heating and closing of the mold section, which is performed to apply the laminating / forming pressure to adhere the intermediate fiber material layer 6 to the coating layer 5. At this time, the molding pressure is, for example, about 28 pounds / square inch (standard pressure). The forces indicated by arrows A1 and A2 are applied by known drives.

FIG. 6 shows a molding operation in which the hard foaming member 2 is pressed by the nesting mold 4A against the closed upper mold portion 1 via the fiber layer 6 and the decoration layer 5. The temperature of each of the mold sections can be controlled as described in further detail in the co-pending application.
In the operation of FIG. 6, each hard firing member 2 is laminated to the intermediate fiber material 6, that is, securely bonded, and when the structural component is used in a vehicle door or the like to which a lateral impact is applied, the structural component in the structural component 6 Functions as a shock absorber.

FIG. 7 shows the product after the molding and bonding steps and before trimming. FIG. 8 shows a known trimming knife 7 for cutting an end of a finished product in response to a cutting force 7A applied by, for example, a piston cylinder device. The trimming knife 7 is used in combination with a known facing holder 7B.

The temperature and pressure of the mold section are selected so that a predetermined melting occurs at least at the interface between the firing member 2 and the fiber material 6. The pressure is set so that the foam is tightly adhered to the fibers when the thermal welding is performed as described above.

The above-mentioned intermediate fiber layer 6 is preferably made of a fibrous coat. However, a fiber composite material may be used depending on the purpose. In this case, it is preferable that the fiber and the matrix are thermoplastic materials capable of obtaining an appropriate bond by the heat bonding operation of the present invention.

Structural components requiring a reinforced hard foam layer include:
It has a single hard foam layer that forms the backside of the structural component along the shape of the structural component, but in any of the examples of the present invention, such a structural component can be formed with a single operation, thus providing a rigid The step of attaching the foam to the structural component in a separate operation can be avoided.

While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it is clear that the invention covers all modifications or equivalents within the scope of the claims.

[0034]

Since the present invention is configured as described above,
The following effects are obtained. That is, as a part of the molding process of a structural component such as a door panel, a post-process in which the rigid foam reinforcing block is combined with the door panel and the rigid foam reinforcing block is manually bonded to the preformed door panel can be omitted. Further, the hard foam reinforcing block can be fixed to the panel by a curing treatment of various layers forming the panel or an adhesive separately inserted into a mold. In addition, panels with reinforcing inserts can be manufactured in one molding operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an upper mold portion of a mold used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the lower mold part in an open state with respect to the upper mold part just before inserting the hard particle foam block into the nest cavity of the lower mold part.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a rigid foam block is inserted into a nest cavity of a lower mold portion.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing two mold portions in an open state in which a decorative material and a moldable fiber material are interposed between two upper and lower mold portions.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing two mold portions in a closed state before an additional pressure is applied by a nest type.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5, but showing a state in which an additional molding pressure is applied by the nesting die.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a product manufactured according to the present invention before an edge trimming operation is performed.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an end trimming operation.

[Description of Signs] 1: Upper mold part 2: Hard foam member 2C: Adhesive film 3: Lower mold part 4: Nested mold cavity (nested cavity) 4a: Nested mold 5: Decorative surface coating layer (decorative material) 6: Middle Fiber material layer 6B: adhesive film (intermediate fiber material)

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI B29K 105: 04 105: 12 B29L 9:00 31:58 (56) References JP-A-2-120027 (JP, A) JP-A JP-A-62-9942 (JP, A) JP-A-56-136339 (JP, A) JP-A-56-154040 (JP, A) JP-A-56-157329 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int) .Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B29C 51/12-51/26 B29C 51/30-51/42 B29C 33 / 12,33 / 14,33 / 42 B29C 44 / 06,44 / 58 B29C 51/46 B29C 43 / 18 B29K 23:00 B29K 105: 04 B29K 105: 12 B29L 9:00 B29L 31:58

Claims (15)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a laminated structural component having a function of protecting an impact by a mold having an upper mold portion and a lower mold portion, wherein the lower mold portion has at least one nest mold cavity having a nest mold therein. Wherein said structural component comprises a decorative surface covering layer, an intermediate fiber material layer and at least one rigid foam member;
(A) inserting a preformed rigid foam member into at least one of the nested mold cavities; (b) heating the intermediate fiber material layer; and (c) the intermediate fiber. Placing a material layer between the upper and lower mold portions such that the material layer is adjacent to the lower mold portion including the nested mold cavity; and (d) the coating layer is adjacent to the upper mold portion. And (e) closing the upper and lower mold parts by closing the mold.
Laminating and forming the intermediate fiber material layer together with the coating layer; and (f) laminating and thermally bonding the rigid foam member to the intermediate fiber material layer by pressing the nested mold against the rigid foam member. Causing the rigid foamed member to form a shock absorbing element on the back side of the structural component opposite the decorative surface covering layer. 2. The surface coating layer is selected from the group consisting of a sheet of polyolefin foam, polypropylene foam, polyethylene foam, and a mixture of these foams, and a decorative coating material that is thermally bonded to a polyolefin film material. Wherein the intermediate fiber material layer is selected from the group consisting of polyolefin fibers, glass fibers, polypropylene fibers, natural fibers and a coat of a mixture of these fibers, and the rigid foam member is a dimensionally stable rigid foam material. The method of claim 1, wherein the particles are selected from the group consisting of polyolefin particles, polypropylene particles, polyethylene particles and mixtures of these particles. 3. The intermediate fiber bristle material comprises a polyolefin fiber and a glass fiber, wherein the glass fibers are contained in a volume content of 20 to 30% with respect to the fiber bristle coat, and the polyolefin fibers are the fibrous hairs. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the content is 80 to 70% by volume based on the weight of the coating. 4. Before closing the upper and lower mold parts,
The method of claim 1, further comprising inserting an adhesive film between the intermediate fiber material layer and an inner surface of the surface coating layer. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the adhesive layer is a two-component prepreg that cures in the mold to adhere the surface coating layer to the intermediate fiber material layer. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the mold is closed with a molding pressure of 28 pounds per square inch or less. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the nest increases the forming pressure to 40 pounds per square inch in the area of the rigid foam member. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the rigid foam member is a thermoplastic particle foam and the individual foam particles are adhered to each other throughout the rigid foam member. 9. The thermal bonding of the hard foam member to the intermediate fiber material layer includes melting the interface of the hard foam member by the heated intermediate fiber material layer, and interposing the hard foam member and the intermediate fiber material layer. The method of claim 1, wherein no additional adhesive is used. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the melting of the interface causes the rigid foam member to conform to the profile of the intermediate fibrous material layer. 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the heating of the intermediate fiber material layer is preheating performed before the step of closing the upper and lower mold parts. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising a step of preforming the intermediate fiber material layer at least partially before closing the upper and lower mold sections and after the preheating. Method. 13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising cooling at least one of the upper and lower mold portions.
The method described in. 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the rigid foam is a particulate foam consisting of polypropylene particles that are closely adhered to each other. 15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising inserting an adhesive film between the intermediate fiber material layer and the rigid foamed member.