JP3795560B2 - Vacuum press device reinforcement mechanism - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a vacuum press apparatus for press-forming a workpiece in a vacuum chamber.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, for hot pressing of laminated substrates, etc., multiple stages of hot plates are placed between the upper and lower pressure plates that can be moved away from each other, and the workpiece is moved between the hot plates by driving the pressure platen. A so-called multi-stage press apparatus that presses between the two is used. In recent years, in order to suppress the generation of voids in a molded product, a so-called vacuum press apparatus in which the above-described multistage press apparatus is arranged in a vacuum chamber has been developed. In such a vacuum press apparatus, after a workpiece is placed on a hot platen, the vacuum chamber is hermetically sealed and deaerated by a vacuum pump or the like, and the workpiece is hot-pressure molded under a predetermined degree of vacuum. It is configured as follows.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional vacuum press apparatus, as the atmospheric pressure in the vacuum chamber decreases due to deaeration, distortion due to a difference in internal and external air pressure may occur in the frame constituting the vacuum chamber. When the frame is distorted, the packing at the joint of the frame is loosened, and the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber is lowered, resulting in the generation of voids in the product. On the other hand, if the frame is made to have a strong structure in order to suppress the distortion of the frame, the frame and the entire apparatus become large, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost and an increase in installation space.
[0004]
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum press device reinforcing mechanism that can prevent the frame from being distorted due to a difference in internal and external pressures in a vacuum chamber without increasing the size of the device.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, the vacuum press device reinforcing mechanism according to the present invention urges at least one frame of the vacuum press device toward the outside of the vacuum press device with a force corresponding to the degree of vacuum inside the vacuum press device. Thus, distortion of the frame is prevented. Further, the vacuum press device reinforcing mechanism according to the present invention comprises a vacuum chamber in a vacuum press device provided with a press device for pressurizing a workpiece with a pressure platen in a vacuum chamber that is airtight and degassable. An urging means capable of urging at least one frame toward the outside of the vacuum chamber, a vacuum sensor for detecting a degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber, and an internal / external pressure of the vacuum chamber based on the degree of vacuum detected by the vacuum sensor And control means for driving and controlling the urging means so as to prevent distortion of at least one frame due to the difference.
[0006]
The biasing means is configured to bias a predetermined portion of the central region in the length direction of at least one frame toward the outside of the vacuum chamber. The biasing means can be a pulling means. The pulling means may be attached to an attachment frame provided outside the vacuum chamber, and the attachment frame may be configured to be connected to an upper end portion in the length direction of at least one frame. Further, the attachment frame may be configured to abut on a contact portion provided at the lower end portion in the length direction of at least one frame. Further, the urging means may be provided on a pair of frames that are orthogonal to and opposed to the pressing direction of the workpiece. Further, the pair of frames can be configured such that another pair of frames orthogonal to the pressurizing direction of the workpiece contacts the outside of the vacuum chamber. Further, the biasing means is a hydraulic cylinder, and the control means can control the hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic cylinder. The press device may be a so-called multi-stage press device that simultaneously press-molds a plurality of workpieces using a plurality of pressure platens.
[0007]
Embodiment
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a vacuum press apparatus using a vacuum press apparatus reinforcing mechanism of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum press device is a multi-stage press device disposed in a vacuum chamber 1. The vacuum chamber 1 includes an upper frame 11 located at the upper part of the apparatus, a lower frame 10 located at the lower part of the apparatus, a pair of side frames 15 located on the left and right in the figure, and a front frame 12 located on the front side in the figure (in FIG. And a back frame 13 (not shown in FIG. 1) located on the back side in the figure. The vacuum chamber 1 is connected to a vacuum pump 9 for degassing.
[0008]
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the end faces of the side frames 15 are in contact with both side edges of the front frame 12 and the back frame 13. A packing 17 such as Teflon is provided on the abutting surfaces of the both side frames 15 and the front frame 12 and between the both side frames 15 and the back frame 13. The front frame 12 is formed with an opening 12a for loading and unloading a workpiece. A door 18 is provided in the opening 12a.
[0009]
As shown in FIG. 1, a fixed surface plate 5 that is a pressure surface plate is fixed to the upper frame 11. The lower frame 10 is provided with a press cylinder 3, and a movable surface plate 2 that is a pressure surface plate is fixed to a rod of the press cylinder 3. The movable surface plate 2 is configured to be movable up and down by the operation of the press cylinder 3.
[0010]
A plurality of hot plates 8 are provided between the fixed platen 5 and the movable platen 2. Each hot platen 8 is heated and cooled by a heating and cooling device (not shown). The lowermost heating platen 8 is fixed to the movable surface plate 2. Engagement pieces 8a are horizontally projected at the side ends of the respective heating plates 8 other than the lowermost step, and the engagement pieces 8a protrude more as the upper heating plate 8 is formed. Is formed. Further, a holding member 6 formed in a step shape is provided along the side frame 15, and each engaging portion of the heating plate 8 is held in each step of the holding member 6.
[0011]
Next, the structure of the vacuum press apparatus reinforcement mechanism in this embodiment is demonstrated. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of reinforcing members 16 extending along the length direction of the side frame 15 are fixed to the side frame 15. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the frame connection part 16b is provided in the upper end of each reinforcement member 16, and the frame contact part 16c is provided in the lower end. A mounting arm 22 of the cylinder mounting frame 20 is connected to each frame connecting portion 16b of the reinforcing member 16, and a contact arm 23 of the cylinder mounting frame 20 is in contact with each frame contact portion 16c (contact portion). ing. In this way, the cylinder mounting frame 20 is attached to the reinforcing member 16.
[0012]
The two cylinder mounting frames 20 are each formed with four cylinder connecting portions 20a, and the end of the reinforcing cylinder 7 on the main body side is fixed to each connecting portion 20a. Further, a cylinder connecting portion 16a is formed at a position corresponding to the connecting portion 20a of the reinforcing member 16, and an end portion on the rod side of the reinforcing cylinder 7 is fixed to the cylinder connecting portion 16a. Further, the cylinder mounting frame 20 is configured by a member that can withstand the output of the reinforcing cylinder 7. Since it is configured in this manner, when each reinforcing cylinder 7 is driven to the pull side, the side frame 15 fixed to the reinforcing member 16 is pulled toward the outside of the vacuum chamber.
[0013]
In addition, since the cylinder connecting portion 16a is located in the center region in the length direction with respect to the reinforcing member 16, and the frame connecting portion 16b is located at both ends in the length direction with respect to the reinforcing member 16, each reinforcing cylinder 7 is The central region in the length direction of the side frame 15 fixed to the reinforcing member 16 is pulled against both ends in the length direction. That is, the side frame 15 is supported by the lower frame 10 and the upper frame 11 at both ends in the length direction against the difference in internal and external air pressure accompanying degassing, and is reinforced by the reinforcing cylinder 7 at the center in the length direction. Will be.
[0014]
Each reinforcing cylinder 7 is supplied with hydraulic pressure by a hydraulic unit 30. A hydraulic circuit of the hydraulic unit 30 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the hydraulic pressure is supplied from the hydraulic circuit 30 to the eight reinforcing cylinders 7 via the branch pipe 38 (note that only one reinforcing cylinder 7 is shown in FIG. 3). The hydraulic circuit 30 is configured to discharge the oil pumped up from the tank 31 by the pump 33 and adjust the circuit pressure by the pressure control valve 34 to determine the hydraulic pressures of the eight reinforcing cylinders 7 in total. A motor 32 for driving the pump 33 and a motor 36 for operating the pressure control valve 34 are controlled by the control unit 40.
[0015]
Next, the operation of the vacuum press device reinforcing mechanism in the present embodiment will be described.
At the start of hot pressing, the workpiece 4 is placed on the hot platen 8 and then the door 18 is closed and the vacuum pump 9 is operated to start deaeration. At this time, the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber 1 is detected by the vacuum sensor 35, and a signal from the vacuum sensor 35 is input to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 drives the motor 32 simultaneously with the start of deaeration, and starts supplying hydraulic pressure by the pump 33. Further, the control unit 40 operates the motor 36 for the pressure control valve 34 according to the degree of vacuum detected by the vacuum sensor 35 to control the circuit pressure of the hydraulic unit 30, and each reinforcing cylinder 7 is connected to the vacuum chamber 1. Control is performed so that the side frame 15 is pulled toward the outside of the vacuum chamber 1 (via the reinforcing member 16) with a force sufficient to balance the force received by the side frame 15 due to the difference between the internal and external pressures.
[0016]
When the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber 1 reaches a predetermined value, the press cylinder 3 is driven and the movable surface plate 2 is raised. As the movable surface plate 2 rises, each heat platen 8 is piled up in order with the workpiece 4 placed thereon, and rises between the fixed surface plate 5 and the movable surface plate 2. Are in a state of overlapping. The hot platen 8 is heated to a predetermined temperature by a heating / cooling device (not shown), and is pressed by the press cylinder 3 between the fixed surface plate 5 and the movable surface plate 2 with a predetermined pressing force for a predetermined time. .
[0017]
When the pressing by the press cylinder 3 is finished, the hot platen 8 is cooled by the heating and cooling device. When the hot platen 8 is cooled to a predetermined temperature, the movable platen 2 descends. Each heating plate 8 returns to the position where the respective engagement piece 8 a is held by the holding member 6. Subsequently, the vacuum is released. In response to the release of the vacuum, the control unit 40 gradually relaxes the hydraulic pressure applied to the reinforcing cylinder 7. That is, the control unit 40 drives the motor 36 of the pressure control valve 34 of the hydraulic unit 30 based on the detection value of the vacuum sensor 35 to reduce the circuit pressure. When the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 returns to the same pressure as the external pressure, the motor 36 stops and the pulling force of the reinforcing cylinder 7 becomes zero. In this way, the hot pressing process of the workpiece 4 is completed.
[0018]
As described above, according to the vacuum press device reinforcing mechanism according to the present embodiment, even if the side frame 15 is deformed toward the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 due to a difference in internal and external pressure accompanying deaeration in the vacuum chamber, Since the side frame 15 is pulled outwardly against the difference between the internal and external pressures, the occurrence of distortion of the side frame 15 is prevented. Therefore, the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber 1 is improved and the life of the packing 17 is extended. Further, since it is not necessary to increase the strength of the side frame itself, it is not necessary to increase the size of the entire apparatus.
[0019]
In this embodiment, the front cylinder 12 and the rear frame 13 are not provided with the reinforcing cylinder 7. This is because both end portions of the side frame 15 are in contact with the front frame 12 and the back frame 13 and serve as reinforcing members. However, the reinforcing cylinder 7 can also be provided on the front frame or the back frame, and these can be configured to be pulled in the same manner as the side frames 15.
In this embodiment, the multi-stage press apparatus of the type shown in FIG. 1 is used, but other types of multi-stage press apparatuses or single-stage press apparatuses can also be used.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the vacuum press device reinforcing mechanism according to the present invention, since the distortion of the side frame can be suppressed, the degree of vacuum is improved and the life of the packing is extended. Further, since it is not necessary to increase the strength of the frame itself, it is not necessary to increase the size of the frame or the entire apparatus.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a vacuum press device reinforcing mechanism according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the vacuum press apparatus shown in FIG.
3 is a hydraulic circuit of the vacuum press device reinforcing mechanism shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum chamber 2 Movable surface plate 4 Work piece 5 Fixed surface plate 7 Reinforcement cylinder 8 Hot plate 9 Vacuum pump 10 Lower frame 11 Upper frame 15 Side frame 16 Reinforcement member 17 Packing 20 Cylinder mounting frame 22 Arm 30 Hydraulic unit 34 Pressure control Valve 35 Vacuum sensor 40 Control unit

Claims (9)

In a vacuum press apparatus provided with a press apparatus that pressurizes a workpiece with a pressure platen in a vacuum chamber that is airtight and degassable,
Biasing means capable of biasing at least one frame constituting the vacuum chamber toward the outside of the vacuum chamber;
A vacuum sensor for detecting the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber;
A vacuum press apparatus comprising: control means for driving and controlling the urging means so as to prevent distortion of the at least one frame due to a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the vacuum chamber based on the degree of vacuum detected by the vacuum sensor; Reinforcement mechanism. Said biasing means, a vacuum of claim 1, wherein the predetermined portion of the vertical central region of the at least one frame, that is driven and controlled so as to bias toward the outside of the vacuum chamber, characterized by Press device reinforcement mechanism. It said biasing means, it is pulling means, a vacuum press apparatus reinforcement mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in. Said tension means is mounted on a mounting frame provided in the vacuum chamber outside the frame with said mounting, said at least one frame vertically upper end connected by it to the claim 1, wherein the 3 The vacuum press apparatus reinforcement mechanism in any one. 5. The vacuum press device reinforcing mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the mounting frame is in contact with a contact portion provided at a lower end in a vertical direction of the at least one frame. The vacuum press apparatus reinforcing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the at least one frame is a pair of frames orthogonal to and opposite to a pressing direction of the workpiece. 7. The vacuum press apparatus reinforcement according to claim 6 , wherein the pair of opposed frames abut against another pair of frames orthogonal to the pressurizing direction of the workpiece toward the outside of the vacuum chamber. mechanism. The vacuum press apparatus reinforcing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the urging means is a hydraulic cylinder, and the control means controls a hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic cylinder. The vacuum press apparatus reinforcement mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the press apparatus is a multi-stage press apparatus that simultaneously press-molds a plurality of workpieces using a plurality of pressure platens. .

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