JP3478934B2 - Toilet seat and its vibration welding manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toilet seat attached to a seat-type toilet bowl, and more particularly to a toilet seat welding structure in which a bottom plate and a seating face plate can be optimally joined by a vibration welding method without surface burrs. And a method for welding the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a method of joining members of a thermoplastic resin product, a vibration welding method using ultrasonic waves or low frequencies has been widely used for a long time, and a synthetic resin toilet seat attached to a seat-type toilet bowl has been used. This vibration welding method is also applied.

In addition to the simplest toilet seat having a gentle arc cross section, for example, a toilet seat with a built-in heater, such as a heating toilet seat, or a warm water washing toilet seat with a local cleaning function is used. As described above, there is a hollow structure in which a sensor for detecting seating of a person and other electric wires are housed. The latter is commercialized by joining two members, a bottom plate facing the toilet body side and a seating face plate covering the bottom plate, by a vibration welding method.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a conventional example in which a bottom plate and a seating face plate are vibration-welded by a welding jig.

In the figure, a bottom plate 51 and a seating face plate 52 covering the bottom plate 51 have a vertical cross-sectional shape that is gently inclined to the lower left side, and the left side is integrally joined so that the left side faces the ball side of the toilet body to form the toilet seat body. It was done like this.
Then, the bottom plate 51 and the seating face plate 52 are held by welding jigs 53 and 54 which respectively have pressing surfaces matched with their outer shapes, and the welding jig 53 on the bottom plate 51 side is applied upward. By applying pressure and applying vibration utilizing ultrasonic waves or low frequencies in the left-right direction, the joint portion between the bottom plate 51 and the seating face plate 52 is melted by friction energy, and the joint portion is thereby welded.

The bottom plate 51 has a substantially uniform thickness on the entire bottom surface, and the joint surface 5 along both ends in the width direction.
Welding ribs 51b are respectively formed near 1a. Similarly, the seating face plate 52 has a substantially uniform thickness as a whole, and the lower ends of the bent portions at both ends thereof are abutted against the joining face 51a of the bottom plate 51 as the joining faces 52a, and the bottom plate 51 is welded. A small joining rib 52b having a recess for receiving the upper end of the welding rib 51b is provided at a portion corresponding to the rib 51b. The reference numeral 57 in the drawing is a heater wire for heating.

On the other hand, the welding jigs 53 and 54 have a cross-sectional shape that encloses the entire end faces of both ends of the bottom plate 51 and the seating face plate 52 in the width direction, and the bottom plate 51 and the seating face plate 52 respectively. The end faces near the joint surfaces 51a and 52a are restrained by these welding jigs 53 and 54.

The bottom plate 51 and the seating face plate 52 are joined together by the welding jig 53 and the vibrations utilizing ultrasonic waves or low frequencies to join the joint surfaces 51a and 52a and the welding rib 51.
b and the joining rib 52b are melted and welded together.

[0009]

In the vibration welding method, when trying to reduce the gap between the joints in terms of appearance quality, the joint surfaces 51a and 52a come into contact with each other due to variations and are welded. It is conventionally known that the occurrence is unavoidable. Therefore, in the welding of the bottom plate 51 and the seating face plate 52, as shown in FIG. 6, burrs 55 and 56 are formed on the joining surfaces 51a and 52a and the upper ends of the welding ribs 51b, respectively. In this case, the burr 56 generated on the welding rib 51b is hidden in the toilet seat, so that it does not cause any trouble including appearance.

However, the burrs 55 on the joining surfaces 51a and 52a are projected outside due to a slight gap between the welding jigs 53 and 54, and if they are commercialized as they are, the burrs are removed. Process is required.
However, in the case of performing such deburring, not only the productivity is affected by the increase in the number of steps, but also new surface defects and the like may occur due to deburring, which causes a problem in appearance. It will not be resolved.

Therefore, in order to prevent the burr from protruding to the outside, vibration welding is performed in a state where a gap is formed so as not to contact the joint surfaces 51a and 52a. Since this resin does not melt, burr formation is prevented. Therefore, conventionally, the welding rib 5
The bottom plate 51 and the seating face plate 52 are formed by the 1b and the joining rib 52b.
It can be said that it is effective to deal with this by a design that maintains the joint strength with.

However, after welding, the joining surface 5
Since the 1a and 52a parts do not completely adhere to each other,
There is a possibility that the non-adhered portion may open its mouth to widen the gap due to deformation or heat influence after the passage of time. For this reason, although there is no burr, a new obstacle in appearance occurs, and sewage and dirt are likely to be clogged along the minute gap, which is also a sanitary problem.

As described above, in the conventional manufacturing of the toilet seat by the vibration welding method, in order to prevent the occurrence of burrs from the joint surface portion between the bottom plate and the seating face plate, it has been dealt with. Therefore, problems such as appearance and dirt adhesion still remain.

An object to be solved in the present invention is to provide a welding structure and a welding method for a toilet seat, in which burr is not generated between the bottom plate and the seating face plate and the joint surface portion is closely attached.

[0015]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a bottom plate and a seating face plate which covers the bottom plate and is integrated by a vibration welding method. The bottom plate and the seating face plate are provided at positions spaced from their respective outer peripheral edges. In the toilet seat joined by the welding rib, at least one of the respective portions of the bottom plate or the seating face plate, which is located outside the welding rib and forms the outer contour of the toilet seat by mutual polymerization, can be flexibly deformed by the pressure applied during vibration welding. It is characterized by being thick.

Further, according to the vibration welding manufacturing method of the toilet seat, at least one of the bottom plate welding jig for holding the bottom plate and the face plate welding jig for holding the seating face plate can be flexibly deformed by the pressure applied during the vibration welding. It is characterized in that the above-mentioned part is formed as a free end, and the bottom plate and the seating face plate are joined via the welding rib by vibration welding by these bottom plate welding jig and face plate welding jig.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the toilet seat of the present invention, an abutting portion which is thin and has an outer peripheral edge portion bent upward is formed on the outside of the welding rib, and the seating face plate is provided with an abutting surface on the upper surface of the abutting portion. It may be one in which a thin polymerization margin for polymerization is formed.

With such a construction, the assembly is such that the lower end surface of the stacking margin of the seating face plate is overlapped with the abutting surface formed on the upper surface of the abutting portion of the bottom plate, and the wall thickness of the abutting portion and the stacking margin is applied when vibration is applied. If it is set so that it can be flexibly deformed when a load is applied, polymerization and dissociation are repeated between the abutting surface and the lower end surface of the polymerization margin. Therefore, the frictional heat generated between the abutting surface and the lower end surface of the stacking margin is suppressed, and the bottom plate and the seating surface plate are joined only by the welding ribs without burrs without melting these parts. .

Further, the bottom plate welding jig has a shape that does not restrain the abutting portion from the outer surface, and the face plate welding jig has a shape that does not similarly restrain the stacking margin from the outer surface. Through, it is possible to leave the respective end portions of the abutting portion and the overlapping margin as free ends, which makes it possible to promote flexural deformation of the abutting portion and the overlapping margin.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a toilet seat according to the present invention when it is welded by a welding jig.

In the figure, a bottom plate 1 and a seating face plate 2 made of synthetic resin are held by a bottom plate welding jig 3 and a face plate welding jig 4, respectively, and the bottom plate 1 and the seating face plate 2 are properly positioned. It is welded.

The bottom plate 1 is shown as a cross section in a plane including a fixed seat 1a for mounting a cushion for cushioning the toilet body when it is covered, and the left side faces the ball portion side of the toilet body and the right side. Is facing the outside of the toilet body. The bottom plate 1 is formed to have a substantially uniform reference thickness except for both ends in the width direction, and welding ribs 1a and 1b are formed in the vicinity of both ends in the width direction to be welded to the seating face plate 2. I am raising. These welding ribs 1a,
1b is formed on the entire circumference along the outer peripheral edge of the bottom plate 1, and its wall thickness is smaller than the reference wall thickness of the bottom plate 1.

Further, the seating face plate 2 has a heater wire 5 for heating along its inner peripheral surface as shown in the conventional example, and the seating face is inclined obliquely downward toward the ball portion side of the toilet body. The surface 2a is formed. The seating surface 2a has a uniform reference wall thickness over the entire width direction and the left and right ends to the downwardly curved portion, and the leftward and rightward portions that are continuous with the reference wall thickness are made slightly thinner.

2 and 3 show welding ribs 1a, 1 respectively.
It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which expands and shows the part containing b.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom plate 1 is formed by gently inclining from the portion of the reference thickness occupying the center side in the width direction of the bottom plate 1 and carving the meat of the upper surface. The welding rib 1a is located at the end of the portion. Then, a thin portion 1c having a thickness of about half the reference thickness is projected outside the welding rib 1a, and the end portion on the protruding end side of the thin portion 1c has the same thickness and is slightly bent upward. The butt portion 1d is formed, and the upper surface of the butt portion 1d is a substantially horizontal butt surface 1e.

As for the portion of the welding rib 1b located at the right end in the width direction in the drawing of the bottom plate 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the outside of the welding rib 1b is a thin portion 1f and the end portion side. A butt portion 1g is formed on the upper surface of the butt portion, and its upper surface is used as a butt surface 1h.

On the other hand, the portion near the lower left end in the width direction of the seating face plate 2 has a wall thickness approximately equal to the width from the welding rib 1a to the abutting portion 1d, and the welding rib 1 is provided at the lower end thereof.
A joining rib 2b corresponding to a and a stacking margin 2c overlapping the butted portion 1d are formed.

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 4, the joint rib 2b has a cross-sectional shape whose lower end is a flat surface.
Similarly, the upper end of the welding rib 1a that abuts the lower end surface of the is also a flat surface, and an upwardly recessed groove 2d is interposed between the welding rib 1a and the overlapping margin 2c. Then, the overlapping margin 2c projects downward as a thin uniform cross section that is less than half of the reference thickness of the seating surface 2a, and when superposed on the bottom plate 1, there is a step on the outer contour of each of the overlapping margin 2c and the abutting portion 1d. To be able to create a continuous surface.

Further, the left end side of the seating face plate 2 is also formed as a cross-sectional shape having substantially the same relationship with the welding rib 1b, and as shown in FIG.
A recess 2e is formed at a portion corresponding to b by sandwiching the upper end of the recess 2e and joined, and a stacking margin 2f overlapping the abutting surface 1h is provided at a distance from the recess 2e.

Here, the thicknesses of the welding ribs 1a and 1b are set so that the ribs 1a and 1b have such strength that they will not be bent even if they are pressed by the bottom plate and face plate welding shafts 3 and 4. In addition, the butted portions 1d and 1g and the corresponding stacking allowance 2
c and 2f are deformed to the extent that each of them is bent in the width direction of the bottom plate 1 and the seating face plate 2 by the frictional force between the lower surface of the overlapping margins 2c and 2f and the abutting surfaces 1e and 1h when receiving pressure. Be thick.

The bottom plate welding jig 3 and the face plate welding jig 4 are respectively incorporated in the table of the vibration welding machine, and the bottom plate 1 and the seating face plate 2 that have been set are pressed in the stacking direction thereof, and are oscillated laterally in FIG. It was made possible. In this case, for example, the face plate welding shaft 4 may be fixed, and only the bottom plate welding shaft 3 may be loaded with vibrations due to ultrasonic waves or low frequencies. Then, the welding ribs 1a and 1b, the joining ribs 2b, and the recesses 2e are formed by applying pressure and vibration by the bottom plate and face plate welding jigs 3 and 4.
By melting the resin on the joint surface with and so that they can be welded.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom plate welding jig 3 forms a pressure surface 3a which receives only the bottom surface portion except for most of the thin portions 1c and 1f at the left and right ends of the bottom plate 1. The left and right ends have an open cross-sectional shape. Therefore, there is no restraint force by the pressure surface 3a on the abutting portions 1d and 1g of the thin portions 1c and 1f of the bottom plate 1, and the thin portions 1c and 1f.
It is possible to make the free end from to the butted portions 1d and 1f.

Further, the face plate welding jig 4 is formed with a pressure lower surface 4a which covers a portion of the seating face plate 3 from the seating surface 3a to the downward bending, and the lower end of the pressure lower surface 4a is a stacking margin 2c, The shape is such that it does not cover the upper end of 2f. Therefore, even if pressure is applied by the face plate welding jig 4 at the time of welding, there is nothing that restrains the stacking margins 2c and 2f from the outer surface thereof, and these stacking margins 2c and 2f should have their lower ends as free ends. You can

The bottom plate 1 by the bottom plate and face plate welding jigs 3 and 4
When pressure and vibration are applied to the seating face plate 2, as described above, the upper end surface of the welding rib 1a and the lower end surface of the joining rib 2b are made thick enough not to bend and deform due to this pressure. They rub each other. For this reason, the joint surfaces are melted, and at the same time, they are firmly joined by the pressure, and the bottom plate 1 and the seating face plate 2 are welded by the welding ribs 1a and 1b.
At the time of this welding, as shown in FIG. 4, burrs 2b-1 are generated at the lower ends of the joining ribs 2b, but since these burrs 2b-1 are inside the polymerization margin 2c, they cannot be seen from the outside. . Note that the welding rib 2b on the right end side also has burrs with the seating face plate 2 side, but is similarly hidden by the stacking margin 2f.

On the other hand, during pressurization and vibration load of the bottom plate and face plate welding jigs 3 and 4, the abutting portion 1d and the stacking margin 2c spread out from the stacking position indicated by the chain double-dashed line as shown in FIG. In this state, it repeatedly bends and deforms between the positions shown by the solid lines. That is, since the wall thicknesses of the abutting portion 1d and the overlapping portion 2c are set so as to be flexibly deformed when the pressure at the time of vibration welding is applied,
When the abutting portion 1d and the stacking margin 2c are mutually displaced to the left and right due to a vibration load, although the lower surface of the stacking margin 2c and the butting surface 1e are joined at the stacking position indicated by the chain double-dashed line, the solid line is formed by repeated vibration. The joint is released when it is displaced to the position shown. Therefore, the polymerization fee 2c
There is a temperature increase due to friction between the lower surface of the and the abutting surface 1e only when they overlap each other, but since the overlapping and dissociation are repeated, this temperature increase can be suppressed to a low level.

In this way, the stacking margin 2c and the butted portion 1d
The joining between the bottom plate 1 and the seating face plate 2 by only the welding ribs 1a and 1b can be completed while the temperature required for welding is not reached between the butting surface 1e of FIG. Then, also on the side of the welding rib 1b, the welding can be similarly ended without melting between the polymerization margin 2f and the abutting surface 1h.

Therefore, there is no occurrence of burrs between the stacking margins 2c and 2f and the abutting portions 1d and 1g due to melting, and the bottom plate 1 and the seating face plate 2 are removed from the bottom plate and the face plate welding jigs 3 and 4 after welding. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a toilet seat having an appearance in which a surface in which the overlapping margins 2c and 2f and the abutting portions 1d and 1g are continuous is created is obtained. And the polymerization fee 2
The lower end surfaces of c and 2f and the abutting surfaces 1e and 1h can be closely overlapped with each other by reducing the bulkiness in the height direction due to melting of the welding ribs 1a and 1b and pressurizing upon completion of welding.

In this way, the abutting portion 1d of the bottom plate 1,
1g and the stacking allowances 2c and 2f of the seating face plate 2 are made to be able to be flexibly deformed by the pressure applied during vibration welding, and the butted portions 1d and 1g and the stacking allowances 2c and 2f.
By constructing the bottom plate welding jig 43 and the face plate welding jig 4 such that each of f is a free end, the toilet seat is assembled without any burrs in the appearance and no gaps can be seen in the joint surface. You can

In the illustrated example, the abutting portions 1d, 1
Although both g and the stacking allowances 2c and 2f are set as free ends so that they can be flexibly deformed, for example, the bottom plate welding jig 3 is so shaped as to constrain even the ends of the butted portions 1d and 1g so that they cannot be flexibly deformed. However, the polymerization fee 2c,
The same assembly is possible by utilizing the bending deformation on the 2f side only. Of course, when the face plate welding jig 3 is configured so that the overlapping margins 2c and 2f are not bent and deformed, the same applies even when the butted portions 1d and 1g are made to be bent and deformed. In addition, the same operation can be performed regardless of whether the thin butted portions 1d and 1g that can be flexibly deformed only on the bottom plate 1 side are provided, or conversely, the overlapping margins 2c and 2h that can be flexibly deformed are provided only on the seating face plate 2 side. It is possible.

[0040]

According to the present invention, when the bottom plate and the seating face plate are joined to each other, burrs are generated only at the joining rib portion that is hidden in the toilet seat during welding, and the joining portion of the outer peripheral edge of the bottom plate and the seating face plate is No burrs are generated without being welded, and steps such as deburring are unnecessary, and productivity is improved.

Further, the bottom plate and the seating face plate can be assembled in a state where the joint portions of the outer peripheral edges thereof are in close contact with each other, so that the joint portion will not open its mouth even if it is affected by a change with time or heat. . For this reason, the appearance of the toilet seat is improved, and sewage and dirt are not clogged and accumulated at the joint portion, and the toilet seat can always be used hygienically.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part showing a toilet seat and a welding operation of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a main part showing a joint portion between a bottom plate and a seating face plate facing the ball portion side of the toilet body.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a main part showing a joint portion between a bottom plate and a seating face plate facing the outside of the toilet body.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part for showing the repetition of the stacking margin and the bending deformation of the butted portion during vibration welding.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part showing a conventional example of welding production of a toilet seat.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an essential part showing occurrence of burrs in the manufacturing of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols] 1: Bottom plate 1a, 1b: welding rib 1d: butt section 1e: butt surface 1g: Butt 1h: Face to face 2: Seating face plate 2a: Seating surface 2b: Joining rib 2b-1: Burr 2c: Polymerization fee 2d: groove 2f: Polymerization fee 3: Bottom plate welding jig 3a: pressure surface 4: Face plate welding jig 4a: Pressure surface

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page (72) Inventor Naoki Iwashita 11 Fuku Okato Tou Co., Ltd., 7-7 Sachimachi, Kanda-cho, Kyoto-gun, Fukuoka Prefecture (72) Inventor Kakichi Mizoguchi 7 Sayuki-cho, Kanda-cho, Kyoto-ken No. 11 Fukuoka Totou Co., Ltd. (56) Bibliography 7-9198 (JP, U) Kaihei 5-56424 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB) (Name) A47K 13/00-17/02 B29C 65/06

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A toilet seat comprising a bottom plate and a seating face plate which covers the bottom plate and is integrated by a vibration welding method, wherein the bottom plate and the seating face plate are joined by welding ribs at positions spaced from respective outer peripheral edges, A toilet seat in which at least one of respective portions of a bottom plate or a seating face plate, which is located outside the welding rib and forms an outer contour of the toilet seat by mutual polymerization, has a wall thickness that can be flexibly deformed by pressure during vibration welding. 2. A butt portion having a thin outer peripheral edge portion bent upward is formed on the outer side of the welding rib, and a thin overlapping portion for superposing on the butt surface on the upper surface of the butt portion is formed on the seating face plate. The toilet seat according to claim 1, wherein 3. A method for manufacturing the toilet seat according to claim 1 by a vibration welding method, wherein at least one of a bottom plate welding jig for holding a bottom plate and a face plate welding jig for holding a seating face plate is used for vibration welding. Vibration of the toilet seat that joins the bottom plate and the seating face plate through the welding rib by vibration welding by the bottom plate welding jig and the face plate welding jig is made to have a shape with a free end that is flexible and deformable by pressurization Welding manufacturing method.