JP4472425B2 - Foam filler - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a foam filling device that fills the inside of a hollow structure represented by, for example, a vehicle pillar with a foam.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a hollow structure represented by a pillar of a vehicle is filled with a foam, and the foam is used to increase the rigidity and vibration damping of the hollow structure. A foam filler is used to fill the inside of the hollow structure with the foam. This foam filler includes a foam base material that foams by external heating to form a foam, and a support member that supports the foam base material inside the hollow structure. In order to use the foam filler, first, the foam filler is attached to the inside of the hollow structure. Next, when the hollow structure is heated from the outside, the heat is transmitted from the surface of the foam base to the inside, so that the foam base is softened and foamed. A foamed body is formed by curing the foamed base material that has expanded along with the foaming. As a result, the foam is filled in a predetermined region inside the hollow structure.

In order to sufficiently increase the rigidity of the hollow structure, it is necessary to increase the volume of the foam filled in the hollow structure, that is, to ensure a sufficient area for filling the foam in the hollow structure. There is a need. For this purpose, it is necessary to increase the volume of the foam base material by forming the foam base material in a block shape. When the foamed base material is formed in a block shape, it becomes difficult for heat to be transmitted to the central portion. Therefore, the foam formed is less likely to have a desired expansion ratio toward the center, and it is difficult to efficiently foam the foam substrate. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, it is proposed to efficiently foam the foamed base material by providing a rigid core body at the center of the foamed base material.
Japanese Patent No. 3389116

  In the foam filler described in the above document, the core body may be displaced from a predetermined position due to its own weight or the like when the foam base is softened during the foaming process of the foam base. Since the expansion (expansion) of the foam base is inhibited by the displacement of the core body, the foam base is unlikely to foam (expand) along the cross-sectional shape of the hollow structure. As a result, it becomes difficult to effectively fill the hollow structure with the foam. Moreover, since it is necessary to form the core body in advance and to install the core body in the foam base material, the configuration of the foam base material becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. The object of the present invention is to have a simple configuration and to effectively fill a predetermined position inside the hollow structure with foam. An object of the present invention is to provide a foam filler that can be used.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a foam filling device for filling a hollow structure with a foam, wherein the foam is formed by heating to form the foam. , wherein with a support member having a restricting plate for restricting the foaming direction of the foaming base material to support the same foam substrate in the interior of the hollow structure, wherein the foaming base material has a portion forming a block-shaped The portion is formed with a recess that promotes foaming by heating , the recess is hollow, and the recess opens toward the regulation plate side and the inner wall of the hollow structure. To do.

According to the above arrangement, the foaming base material in addition to the heating from the surface, so that by radiation heat transfer and convection heat transfer against a concave portion is heated from the inside of the foam substrate. As a result, foaming of the foamed base material by heating is promoted. Wherein the foaming base material is a structure in which foaming due Thus heated concave portion is promoted, not a configuration in which a separate member in the interior of the foam substrate. Therefore, it can be set as a simple structure, and foaming (expansion) of a foaming base material is not inhibited by another member. Therefore, the foam can be effectively filled into a predetermined position in the hollow structure.

In order to achieve the above object, a second aspect of the present invention is a foam filling device for filling a foam into a hollow structure, wherein the foam is formed by heating to form the foam. , wherein with a support member having a restricting plate for restricting the foaming direction of the foaming base material to support the same foam substrate in the interior of the hollow structure, wherein the foaming base material has a portion forming a block-shaped site penetrations holes are formed in the through hole with a hollow shape, the through hole is summarized in that made open toward the plate surface of the regulating plate.

According to the above configuration, transmural hole is hollow. The hollow, which means that another member inside the penetrations holes not inserted. Therefore, the transmural hole, external air the surface area of the foam substrate is in contact with the periphery of the foam substrate while being increased is increased. Thus, the foaming base material in addition to the heating from the surface, so that by radiation heat transfer and convection heat transfer for transmural hole is heated from the inside of the foam substrate. As a result, foaming of the foamed base material by heating is promoted. Wherein the foaming base material is a structure in which foamed by heating by transmural hole is promoted, not a configuration in which a separate member in the interior of the foam substrate. Therefore, it can be set as a simple structure, and foaming (expansion) of a foaming base material is not inhibited by another member. Therefore, the foam can be effectively filled into a predetermined position in the hollow structure.

  According to the present invention, the foam can be effectively filled at a predetermined position inside the hollow structure with a simple configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a foam filler that applies to a pillar of a vehicle will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pillar 31 as a hollow structure is formed in a cylindrical shape from a pair of steel plates 32. The shape of each steel plate 32 is U-shaped in a cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. A plate-like flange 32a is formed on both sides of each steel plate 32, and the pillar 31 is formed by joining the flanges 32a together by welding or the like. Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction of the pillar 31 will be referred to as the vertical direction, and the front-rear relationship will be described with the lower side of FIG. 2 as the front side and the upper side of FIG. 2 as the rear side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the foam filler 11 includes a foam base 12 that foams by heating, and a support member 13 that supports the foam base 12 inside a pillar 31. The foam base 12 has a block shape, and the cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the pillar 31 is a shape along the inner periphery of the pillar 31. The size of the foam base 12 is such that when the foam base 12 is arranged inside the pillar 31 as shown in FIG. 2, a predetermined interval is provided between the foam base 12 and the inner surface of the pillar 31. Set to

  The foam base 12 is configured to be foamed by heating by being formed from a foam material. The foam material contains a synthetic resin, a foaming agent, a crosslinking agent, a filler, and the like. Examples of the synthetic resin include a thermosetting resin and a thermoplastic resin. Examples of the thermosetting resin include an epoxy resin, a phenol resin, a urethane resin, and an acrylic resin. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include polyolefin, EVA (ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer), EPM (ethylene / propylene rubber), SBS (styrene / butadiene / styrene block copolymer) and the like. Examples of the foaming agent include azodicarbonamide and dinitropentamethylenetetramine, examples of the crosslinking agent include well-known dimethylurea and dicyandiamide, and examples of the filler include calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, ferrite, and silica. The foam base 12 is integrally formed by injection molding.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a recess 12 a is formed in the foam base 12 so as to extend in the up-down direction, and the shape of the recess 12 a has a quadrangular shape in a cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the up-down direction. The inside of the recess 12a is hollow, and no separate member is inserted into the recess 12a. Accordingly, the surface area of the foam base 12 is increased by the recess 12a, and the outside air in contact with the periphery of the foam base 12 is increased by the recess 12a. That is, foaming due to heating of the foam base 12 is configured to be promoted by the recess 12a. Further, the recess 12a is opened on the upper surface and the front surface of the foam base 12, and the recess 12 a is provided to the approximate center of the foam base 12 in the vertical direction.

  The support member 13 includes a pair of upper and lower first restricting plates 13a and a connecting plate 13b for connecting the first restricting plates 13a, and a cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the connecting plate 13b is a U-shape. Inside the support member 13, the foam base 12 is fixed by a locking hole (not shown), locking means using a locking claw or the like, adhesion with an adhesive, or the like. An engagement protrusion 14 is provided on the rear side of the support member 13, and the engagement protrusion 14 is configured to engage with a mounting hole 32 b that is formed through the steel plate 32. The foam filler 11 is attached to the inner side of the steel plate 32 by engaging the engaging protrusion 14 with the mounting hole 32b. On the rear surface of the connecting plate 13b, a second restricting plate 15 is provided orthogonal to the first restricting plate 13a and the connecting plate 13b. On the other hand, a narrow groove 12 b is formed in the rear part of the foam base 12 over the foam base 12. The narrow groove 12b is recessed from the rear surface of the foam base 12 to substantially the center of the foam base 12, and the second restricting plate 15 is inserted into the narrow groove 12b.

  The support member 13 is integrally formed of a thermoplastic resin such as nylon, and is set to have such a size that the foam base 12 is inserted inside thereof. The thermoplastic resin constituting the support member 13 preferably has a softening temperature higher than the temperature at which the foamed material foams. In this case, the deformation of the support member 13 when the foam base 12 is heated and foamed can be suppressed.

  In order to use the foam filler 11, the foam filler 11 is fixed inside the one steel plate 32 by first engaging the engaging protrusion 14 with the mounting hole 32 b. Subsequently, the pillars 31 are formed by joining the flange portions 32a of the steel plates 32 by welding or the like. The vehicle body having the pillar 31 is subjected to coating such as electrodeposition coating or baking coating. Here, for example, when the vehicle body is heated in the drying furnace in the vehicle manufacturing process, the foam filler 11 is heated at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time. When the foam substrate 12 is heated, the foam substrate 12 softens and foaming starts.

  At this time, a recess 12a is formed in the foam base 12 and the surface area of the foam base 12 is increased by the recess 12a. Therefore, in addition to the heating from the surface, the foaming base material 12 is heated from the inside of the foaming base material 12 by radiant heat transfer or convective heat transfer to the recess 12a. Therefore, foaming of the foam base 12 by heating is promoted, and the foam base 12 can be expanded (expanded) to a desired expansion ratio. Further, at this time, foaming (expansion) of the foam base 12 is restricted by the first restriction plate 13a and the second restriction plate 15, and the foam base 12 is foamed in a direction to close the gap between the pillar 31 and the foam filler 11 ( Therefore, the foamed base material 12 can be effectively foamed (expanded) in a predetermined region. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3, the foamed foam base 12 is cured by a cross-linking reaction or the like of the synthetic resin contained in the foam material, and the foam 16 is formed. In this way, the foam 16 is filled in a predetermined region inside the pillar 31, and the rigidity and vibration damping properties of the pillar 31 are improved.

  According to the foam filler 11 of the present embodiment, the recess 12a promotes the foaming of the foam base 12 by heating, and is not a configuration in which another member such as a core body is provided. Therefore, foaming (expansion) of the foam base 12 is not inhibited by another member. As a result, the configuration can be simplified, and the foam 16 can be effectively filled into a predetermined position in the pillar 31.

The embodiment may be modified as follows.
- cross-sectional shape of the prior SL recess 12a is quadrangular shaped differently, for example trapezoidal, may be changed to a triangular shape or the like.

-You may change to the foam filling tool 21 shown in FIG. That is, a cylindrical through-hole 22a is formed in the foam base material 22 of the foam filling device 21 so as to extend in the vertical direction, and the foaming base material 22 is heated by the through-hole 22a to promote foaming. Also good. The inside of the through hole 22a is hollow, and no separate member is inserted into the through hole 22a. Since the through hole 22a plays the same role as the concave portion 12a, the foam filling device 21 can be configured simply and can effectively fill the foam 16 in a predetermined position inside the pillar 31. Can be provided. Note that the shape of the through hole 22a may be changed to, for example, a quadrangular prism shape .

A plurality of the recesses 12a and the through holes 22a may be provided, or a combination of the recesses 12a and the through holes 22a may be provided .

  -You may change to the supporting member 23 shown in FIG. That is, the flow groove 24 is formed on the rear surface of the connecting plate 23 a in the support member 23. The shape of the flow groove 24 is an arc shape in a cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the connection plate 23a, and the flow groove 24 is formed to extend in the vertical direction of the connection plate 23a and is formed over the entire connection plate 23a. Here, in the electrodeposition coating process of the vehicle body, the vehicle body is immersed in a treatment tank such as an electrodeposition tank in which the electrodeposition liquid is stored and a water washing tank in which the washing liquid is stored, and then is lifted from the processing tank. It is done. At this time, a treatment liquid such as an electrodeposition liquid or a washing liquid can be circulated through the flow groove 24. As a result, when the vehicle body is pulled up from the treatment tank, the treatment liquid can smoothly flow out in the longitudinal direction of the pillar 31 between the connecting plate 23 a and the inside of the pillar 31. The cross-sectional shape of the flow groove 24 may be changed to a shape other than an arc shape, for example, a triangular shape. Further, a plurality of flow grooves 24 may be formed side by side as shown in FIG.

  The foam filler 11 may be used for a hollow structure other than the pillar 31 such as a front pillar and a center pillar, for example, a rocker panel, an interior of a door, and various hollow panels in a building.

The disassembled perspective view which shows the foam filler of this embodiment, and the pillar with which it is mounted | worn. Sectional drawing which shows the foam filling tool with which the pillar was mounted | worn. Sectional drawing which shows the state after foaming in the foaming filler with which the pillar was mounted | worn. The disassembled perspective view which shows another example of a foaming filler.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11, 21 ... Foam filler, 12, 22 ... Foam base material, 12a ... Recessed part, 12b ... Fine groove, 13, 23 ... Support member, 13a ... First regulating plate, 13b, 23a ... Connection plate, 14 ... Engagement Protrusion, 15 ... second regulating plate, 16 ... foam, 22a ... through hole, 24 ... flow groove, 31 ... pillar, 32 ... steel plate, 32a ... collar, 32b ... mounting hole.

Claims (2)

Inside the hollow structure to a foam filling member for filling a foam, wherein the foam substrate to form said foam with foam, to support the same foam substrate in the interior of the hollow structural member by heating and a support member having a restricting plate for restricting the foaming direction of the foaming base material, the foaming base material is concave to facilitate the foaming by heating is formed to the site and having a portion forming a block-shaped,
The said recessed part makes hollow shape, The said recessed part opens toward the said control board side and the inner wall of the said hollow structure, The foaming filler characterized by the above-mentioned . Inside the hollow structure to a foam filling member for filling a foam, wherein the foam substrate to form said foam with foam, to support the same foam substrate in the interior of the hollow structural member by heating and a support member having a restricting plate for restricting the foaming direction of the foaming base material, the foaming base material to the site and having a portion forming a block shape are formed penetrations hole, the through hole hollow In addition, the foaming filler is characterized in that the through hole is opened toward the plate surface of the regulating plate .

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