JP3205523B2 - Automatic powder supply apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic powder feeder and a method therefor, for example, in a powder slush molding, a reservoir tank for storing raw powder is used to accurately determine the amount of raw material powder used for each molding. And an automatic powder feeder that can be used for applications such as keeping the amount of raw material powder in the reservoir tank constant at all times and producing resin skin with a constant thickness with little variation About the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A powder slush molding method includes a preheating step of heating a slush molding die, a material charging rotary molding step of forming a resin raw material powder such as polyvinyl chloride on a mold surface, and heating the raw material powder. A curing process for changing the gel to a stable state after melting, a cooling process for cooling and solidifying the cured resin, and a demolding process for removing the solidified resin from the mold are sequentially repeated as one cycle to form a skin. is there.

[0003] In the material injection rotary molding process, a slash molding die and an openable and closable reservoir tank always containing a predetermined amount of raw material powder are united and rotated, whereby a material is injected into and adhered to the slash molding die. This is a molding step.

At this time, it is important to keep the weight of the raw material powder attached to the surface of the mold in the material injection rotation molding process constant as an element for stably mass-producing a high-quality skin having a uniform thickness. ing. For this reason, in the material injection rotation molding process of the conventional powder slush molding method, the mold temperature, the molding rotation speed, or the molding rotation stop time at the time of material injection is uniformly determined. In addition, 3-11301
No. 15 also discloses that fluidized powder is used for material charging rotational molding.

[0005] However, the weight of the raw material powder to be adhered to the mold surface has been changed even if the mold temperature, the molding rotation speed, or the molding rotation stop time at the time of material input is uniformly determined. This was also known from the fact that the weight of the skin formed every cycle varied. Therefore, in order to keep the amount of the raw material powder in the reservoir tank, which is one of the causes of the change in the skin weight, an automatic feeding device for each molding is provided.

In this apparatus, conventionally, a transfer member having a rotatable spring (screw) inserted in a cylindrical hose is installed between an outlet of a storage tank containing raw material powder and a reservoir tank, A method in which the raw material powder is introduced into the reservoir tank by rotation of a screw, or a method in which a hose is connected to an outlet of the storage tank and a certain amount of the raw material powder is sent to the reservoir tank by vacuum evacuation, have been adopted.

[0007]

However, in the method of feeding the raw material powder by the rotation of the screw, a substantially constant amount of the raw material powder can be supplied. When the supply amount fluctuates or the color of the raw material powder changes, it takes a long time to remove the raw material powder remaining in the hose. In addition, there has been a problem that the investment amount of the apparatus increases. On the other hand, when the supply amount fluctuates due to the performance of the raw material powder or the color of the raw material powder also changes, a large amount of work time is required to remove the remaining raw material powder in the cylinder. There was a problem to take.

An object of the present invention is to improve such various problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic powder supply apparatus capable of accurately supplying a fixed amount of powder.

[0009]

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a certain amount of powder is fed from a storage tank containing resin powder, which is a slush molding material, to another tank. In the automatic feeding device, the inclined partition plate and
Space and powder with a filter that only allows gas to pass
The storage tank is defined in two of the storage sections , and the compressed gas contained in the space section is sent to the powder storage section to fluidize the powder, and the storage member is moved up and down to the powder storage section of the storage tank. a lifting member for pumping the contained powder, the draw powder
The raised container member was lifted and raised from the container member
A swiveling contact plate that removes only powder ,
An automatic powder feeder comprising: a conveying member that moves while holding one end of a container member and turns the container member . In particular, the storage tank is defined as two parts, a space part and a powder storage part, and the compressed gas sealed in the space part is sent from the filter to the powder storage part to fluidize the powder, in which the container member is resistance. It can be lowered smoothly and a predetermined amount of powder can be pumped from the storage tank.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the storage tank is defined in the space and the powder container by the inclined partition plate and the filter that allows only gas to pass through, the compression tank that has passed through the filter is formed. The gas flows upward to fluidize the powder contained in the powder container, and the powder on the partition plate also moves along the inclined surface of the partition plate and accumulates at the lower portion. Pumping becomes easier. According to the first aspect of the present invention,
While moving the container member so as to touch the contact plate,
Now only the raised powder is removed from the material,
A certain amount of powder can always be secured in the container member. Change
In the invention according to claim 1 of the present application, the transporting member is a container portion.
Grab one end of the material and move it, rotate the container member and remove the powder
Can be discharged.

According to the invention described in claim 2 of the present application, the lifting member moves the support base on which the container member is installed up and down by a cylinder.

[0012]

[0013]

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the slush
In an automatic powder supply method for feeding a fixed amount of powder from a storage tank containing resin powder as a molding material to another tank, a filter that allows at least only gas to pass through the space and the powder container is used. The container member was sunk into the powder container while the compressed gas sealed in the space was fed into the powder container to fluidize the powder, and the powder was pumped up. Then, turn while moving the container member
Raise from container member by touching free contact plate
Remove only loose powder and secure fixed amount of powder in container
This is an automatic powder supply method for moving the powder filled in the container member to a predetermined position and discharging the powder. The compressed gas is supplied to fluidize the powder in the powder container. Can be dropped smoothly without resistance,
A predetermined amount of powder can be pumped from the storage tank.

[0015]

According to the invention of claim 4 of the present application, after the container member is sunk into the powder container and the powder is pumped up, the powder in the container member is moved to a predetermined position, and the powder slush molding is performed. Is supplied to the reservoir tank for the tank, and the amount of powder used for each molding is accurately replenished to keep the amount of powder in the reservoir tank constant at all times. Can be produced.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an automatic powder feeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire automatic powder feeder of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view of FIG. 1 as viewed from the AA direction, FIG. 3 is a view as viewed from the BB direction of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the storage tank of a body automatic supply apparatus. The automatic powder feeder 1 of the present invention comprises a storage tank 2 for fluidizing the stored powder, an elevating member 3 for pumping up the powder stored in the storage tank 2 by a vertically moving container member 4, 4 to a predetermined position.

The movable storage tank 2 with the vehicle 6
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a partition plate 7 having an inclined inside,
A vertical partition plate 8 and a filter 9 that allows only gas to pass therethrough are divided into upper and lower two rooms, and a lower room becomes a space 10 in which compressed gas is sealed, and the other upper room becomes powder. It is a powder container 11 for accommodating the body 12. The powder container 11 has the container member 4 in the deepest area.
The filter 9 is stretched horizontally on the bottom surface of the filter 9. By providing the filter 9 on this surface, a compressed gas having a large pressure can be sent to the powder pumping section 13.

The filter 9 is preferably a canvas, in which one to four sheets are laminated, and a small mesh of about 0.1 to 0.01 μm which prevents passage of the powder 12 but allows gas to pass therethrough. have.

Outside the storage tank 2, a blower 15 is connected to the space 10 through a pipe 16 and sends compressed gas such as compressed air into the space 10. The internal pressure of the space 10 is 3
It is adjusted to ~ 20 kpa and the compressed gas is constantly filtered by 9
From the water to the powder pumping section 13. In the powder storage unit 13, the compressed gas flows upward, and the powder 12 put in the powder storage unit 11 is uniformly fluidized in the powder pumping unit 13 and the upper part thereof. The powder 12 present in the upper part is somewhat lacking in fluidization. The powder 12 on the partition plate 7 also moves along the inclined surface of the partition plate 7 and easily accumulates in the powder pumping unit 13.
And facilitates pumping of the powder 12. Powder 12
Is fluidized, the particles of the powder are separated from each other and do not adhere to each other, and exhibit a behavior close to a liquefaction phenomenon.

In the elevating member 3, a support 20 on which the container member 4 is mounted is mounted on a cylinder 22 fixed to a column 21. The container member 4 is connected to a case 24 that stably accommodates cups 23 (two in the figure) by a flat tray 25. When the cylinder 22 operates, the support table 20 on which the container member 4 is installed reciprocates from above the storage tank 2 to the powder pumping section 13. In the embodiment, there are two cases of the container member 4, but the capacity may be the same or different, or may be one.

The transport member 5 is supported by a normal leg 29 in a state where the passage 28 on which the pair of rails 27 are laid is inclined, and the carrier 34 installed on the rail 27 is
From one end to the other. The carrier 34 is a rotating shaft 3
A rotary member 32 is provided at one end and a chuck 33 is provided at the other end. Carrier 34
Is moved to a target position while holding the container member 4 containing the powder with the chuck 33, the container member 4 is turned by the rotation of the rotary 32, and the powder 12 is discharged.

The abutment plate 35 is a plate which is rotatably fixed to a shaft 36 installed above the storage tank 2 and is a plate.
The container member 4 having been pumped is
, The carrier 34 is allowed to pass once or several times while making contact with the contact plate 35.
Only the powder 12 raised from the container member 4 is removed.
The amount of powder inside can be adjusted to a constant.

The operation of the automatic powder feeder of the present invention will be described below. After the powder 12 is sufficiently placed in the storage tank 2, compressed air is sealed into the space 10 by the blower 15, and the internal pressure is adjusted to 3 to 20 kpa. Compressed air at a constant pressure flows from the filter 9 into the powder container 11,
The powder 12 is fluidized so that the particles of the powder are separated from each other and do not adhere to each other, and exhibit a behavior close to a liquefaction phenomenon.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 5, the container member 4 placed on the support base 20 is sunk into the fluidized powder 12 by the elevating member 3, but does not receive a large resistance to the powder pumping section 13. And the powder 12 fills the cup 23 of the container member 4.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the support base 20 is raised, and the container member 4 is moved to a predetermined position above the storage tank 2 to finish the powder pumping operation. 23 contains the powder 12 in a heaping state.

The container member 4 having pumped the powder is a chuck 3
7 and the support base 20 slightly descends,
The carrier 34 is reciprocated one or two times in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 3, and at this time, the powder 12 raised from the cup 23 is allowed to pass while contacting the contact plate 35, and only the powder 12 raised from the cup 23 is passed. By removing it, a certain amount of powder can be secured in the container member 4. Powder 12 removed
Falls into the powder container 11 and is collected.

When the carrier 34 holding the container member 4 moves to a predetermined position in the passage 28, the rotation of the rotary 32 rotates the container member 4 to supply the powder 12 to the reservoir tank 40 of the powder slush molding apparatus. This allows the reduced amount of powder to be supplied after the powder is put into the slush molding die to form the skin by rotating the reservoir tank and the slush molding die together, and the raw material powder in the reservoir tank can be supplied. Is maintained at a constant value, and it is possible to contribute to producing a resin-made skin having a constant thickness with little variation.

[0029]

As described above, according to the invention of the automatic powder supply device according to claims 1 and 2 of the present application, the space portion and the powder storage portion are separated by at least two filters through a filter that allows only gas to pass through. And a storage tank that feeds the compressed gas contained in the space to the powder storage section to fluidize the powder, and an elevating member that moves the container member up and down to pump up the powder stored in the storage tank. , Rise the container member that pumped the powder
To remove only the raised powder from the container member
An automatic powder feeder includes a swiveling contact plate configured as described above and a transport member that moves the container member to a predetermined position. In particular, the storage tank is divided into two parts, a space part and a powder storage part.
Defining a One, or filter the compressed gas which is sealed in the space portion
Then , the powder is fluidized by feeding the powder into the powder container, the container member can be smoothly moved down without any resistance, and a predetermined amount of powder can be pumped from the storage tank. Thereby, in the slush molding, only the amount of powder reduced in the material input rotation molding step can be supplied to the reservoir tank, the powder in the reservoir tank is maintained at a constant amount, and a resin material having a constant thickness with little variation is provided. It contributes to making the epidermis.

Since the storage tank is defined in the space and the powder container by the inclined partition plate and the filter that allows only gas to pass through, the compressed gas that has passed through the filter flows upward, The powder put in the section is fluidized, and the powder on the partition plate also moves along the inclined surface of the partition plate and accumulates at the lower portion, so that the container member facilitates the pumping of the powder.

When the container member is moved so as to touch the rotatable abutment plate, only the powder that has risen from the container member is removed, and a constant amount of powder can always be secured in the container member. .

In the invention according to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the space and the powder container are divided into two parts by a filter through which at least only gas passes. the compressed gas that takes into while such are fluidized the powder by feeding the powder container unit, after the container member by sinking into the powder container during pumping the powder to move the container member
Container member by touching the swiveling contact plate
Remove only the raised powder from the container
This is an automatic powder supply method for securing powder in the material, moving the container member to a predetermined position, and discharging the powder.The powder in the powder container is fluidized by sending compressed gas, and the container member is placed in the powder container. It can be lowered smoothly without resistance, and a predetermined amount of powder can be pumped from the storage tank.

When the container member is moved so as to touch the rotatable contact plate, only the raised powder from the container member is removed, and a certain amount of powder can be secured in the container member.

After sinking the container member into the powder container and pumping up the powder, the powder contained in the container member is moved to a predetermined position and supplied to a reservoir tank for powder slush molding. By accurately replenishing the reduced amount of the raw material powder used for each molding, the amount of the raw material powder in the reservoir tank is always kept constant, and a resin skin having a constant thickness with little variation can be produced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire automatic powder supply apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of FIG. 1 as seen from the AA direction.

FIG. 3 is a view as seen from a BB direction in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a storage tank of the automatic powder supply device.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state where a container member is submerged in fluidized powder.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the container member has been moved to a predetermined position above the storage tank and the work of pumping up the powder has been completed.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which only the raised powder is removed from the container member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic powder supply apparatus 2 Storage tank 3 Elevating member 4 Container member 5 Transport member 7 Partition plate 9 Filter 10 Space part 11 Powder storage part 12 Powder 13 Powder pumping part 20 Support stand 23 Cup 32 Rotary 33 Chuck 35 Contact plate

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01F 11 / 18,11 / 24 G01F 3/24 G01F 19/00 B65G 47/00-47/20 B65G 69/00-69 / 28 B65D 88/70-88/72

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A filter in the powder automatic feeder for feeding from a storage tank containing the resin powder is slush molding material a certain amount of the powder to another tank, through which the only inclined partition plate and the gas To
Therefore, a storage tank is defined by two parts, a space part and a powder storage part , and the compressed gas contained in the space part is sent to the powder storage part to fluidize the powder, and the storage tank is moved up and down by the container member The lifting member that pumps up the powder stored in the powder storage section and the container member that has pumped up the powder are lifted up from the container member.
Swivel free to remove only raised powder
The contact plate and the one end of the container member are grasped and moved, and the container member is turned.
An automatic powder supply device, comprising: 2. The automatic powder feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lifting member moves up and down a support base on which the container member is installed by a cylinder. 3. A method for automatically supplying a certain amount of powder from a storage tank containing a resin powder as a slush molding material to another tank, wherein the space and the powder container are at least gaseous. The container member is submerged in the powder container while the compressed gas sealed in the space is sent to the powder container to fluidize the powder by passing through only the filter that passes through the container. after pumping the powder container unit
By touching the swiveling contact plate while moving the material
To remove only the raised powder from the container
An automatic powder supply method , comprising: securing powder in a container member, moving the powder filled in the container member to a predetermined position, and discharging the powder. 4. A container member was sunk into the powder container in after pumping the powder, the entered powder to the container member is moved to a predetermined position, wherein supplied to the reservoir tank for powder slush molding Item 4. The automatic powder supply method according to Item 3 .