JP6676476B2 - Production line for foam molded products - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a production line for a foamed molded product in which a foamed resin material is injected into a mold and foamed and cured.

  Conventionally, as a production line for this type of foam molded article, a method of injecting a foamed resin material into a mold while orbiting the mold and passing the mold through a heating furnace to foam-harden the foamed resin material is known. It is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-174392 A (paragraphs [0037] and [0045], FIG. 5)

  However, the above-described production line for foamed molded products is for mass-producing one type of foamed molded product, and a plurality of types of foamed molded products having different foam curing conditions (for example, foam curing temperature and foam curing time) are used. There was a problem that it was difficult to manufacture.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a production line for a foam molded product capable of producing a plurality of types of foam molded products having different foam hardening conditions.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a mold conveying means for conveying a mold for foam molding around a mold conveying path, and an injection for injecting a foamed resin material into the mold. Means, a heating furnace through which the mold into which the foamed resin material has been injected passes, and transport control means for controlling the transport of the mold by the mold transport means, The heating furnace is provided with a first heating furnace and a second heating furnace capable of setting a temperature independently of each other, and the mold transfer path includes a first branch path passing through the first heating furnace, A second branch that passes through the second heating furnace is provided in a branched manner, and the first heating furnace and the second heating furnace have substantially the same length, and the number of the second branch is Is larger than the number of the first branch passages, and the transport control means uses the second When a foamed resin material and a second foamed resin material having a longer foaming hardening time than the first foamed resin material are used, the mold into which the first foamed resin material has been injected is connected to the first branch. The production line for a foamed molded product in which the mold into which the second foamed resin raw material has been injected is conveyed through the second branch path.

  The invention according to claim 2 has a cooling booth for cooling the mold before the foamed resin material is injected into the mold that has passed through the heating furnace, and the mold conveying path includes A cooling booth passage that passes through the cooling booth, and a cooling booth detour that bypasses the cooling booth are provided in a branched manner. When set to a high temperature, the mold that has passed through the second heating furnace is transported in the cooling booth passage, and the mold that has passed through the first heating furnace is transferred to the cooling booth bypass circuit. 2. A production line for a foam molded product according to claim 1, wherein the production line is conveyed.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the die transport means includes a plurality of chain conveyors constituting the die transport path, and wherein the chain conveyor disposed in the first branch path and the second branch. The chain conveyor disposed on the path and the chain conveyor disposed on the cooling booth passage are arranged such that the first branch, the second branch, and the cooling booth of the mold conveying path 3. The production line for a foam molded product according to claim 2, wherein the production line is provided separately from the chain conveyor provided in a portion excluding a road.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the mold transport unit is configured to transport a pallet on which the mold can be mounted, and the transport control unit controls transport of the pallet. A production line for the foamed molded product according to any one of claims.

  The invention of claim 5 is configured such that the pallet is configured to be able to mount a plurality of the dies, and the injection unit is configured to mount the plurality of dies on the pallet when the plurality of the dies are mounted on the pallet. The foam molding product production line according to claim 4, wherein only one of the first foamed resin material and the second foamed resin material is injected.

[Invention of Claim 1]
In the present invention, the mold into which the first foamed resin material has been injected passes through the first heating furnace through the first branch. On the other hand, the mold into which the second foamed resin material having a longer foaming hardening time than the first foamed resin material is injected passes through the second heating furnace through the second branch path. As described above, in the present invention, the portion of the mold transfer path that passes through the heating furnace branches into the first branch path that passes through the first heating furnace and the second branch path that passes through the second heating furnace. Therefore, the first foamed resin material and the second foamed resin material having different foaming hardening times can be foamed and hardened in one production line. That is, in the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a plurality of types of foam molded products on one production line. Further, since the first heating furnace and the second heating furnace have substantially the same length, a compact design of the production line is achieved. Here, since the foaming hardening time of the second foamed resin material is longer than the foaming hardening time of the first foamed resin material, the production amount of the foamed molded product using the second foamed resin material is the same as that of the first foamed resin material. In the present invention, since the number of the second branch roads is larger than the number of the first branch roads in the present invention, since the number tends to be smaller than the foam molded article used, the foam molded article using the second foamed resin raw material is used. Increase in the production amount. In other words, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the production efficiency while reducing the size of the production line.

[Invention of Claim 2]
In the present invention, the mold that has passed through the second heating furnace, which is set at a higher temperature than the first heating furnace, is transported in the cooling booth passage that passes through the cooling booth, and the mold that has passed through the first heating furnace. Is transported in a cooling booth bypass route bypassing the cooling booth. According to the present invention, for the mold that has passed through the first heating furnace, the foamed resin material is injected without cooling, and the mold that has passed through the second heating furnace that is set at a higher temperature than the first heating furnace. As for the mold, it becomes possible to inject the foamed resin material after cooling. In addition, since the mold that has passed through the first heating furnace is not cooled by the cooling booth, it can be returned to the first heating furnace quickly, and the temperature change of the mold that passes through the first heating furnace is reduced. It is possible to do.

[Invention of Claim 3]
According to the present invention, the chain conveyor provided in the first branch, the chain conveyor provided in the second branch, and the chain conveyor provided in the cooling booth passage are included in the mold conveying path. It is provided separately from the chain conveyor disposed at a portion other than the first branch, the second branch, and the passage of the cooling booth. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the temperature change with respect to a chain belt of a chain conveyor is suppressed, and the deterioration of a chain belt is suppressed.

[Invention of Claim 4]
According to the present invention, the mold conveying means indirectly conveys the mold by conveying the pallet on which the mold is mounted, so that the mold conveying means directly conveys the mold. The mold can be easily replaced.

[Invention of claim 5]
According to the present invention, when a large-sized mold is used, only one mold is mounted on the pallet, and when a small-sized mold is used, a plurality of dies can be mounted on the pallet. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to respond to manufacture of various foaming molded articles by changing the variation of the metal mold mounted in a pallet. In the present invention, when a plurality of dies are mounted on a pallet, only one of the first foamed resin material and the second foamed resin material is injected into the plurality of dies. Therefore, it is possible to manage the foam hardening temperature and the foam hardening time on a pallet basis.

Top view of production line Diagram schematically showing the production line Side view of pallets and dies loaded on the chain conveyor Front view of pallets and dies loaded on the chain conveyor (A) Front view of a pallet on which only one mold is mounted, (B) Front view of a pallet on which two molds are mounted Perspective view of the intersection of the vertical and horizontal lines in the mold transport path Block diagram of production line Flow chart of control executed by the line control unit for one pallet (A) A diagram schematically illustrating a production line according to a modification, and (B) a diagram schematically illustrating a production line according to another modification.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the manufacturing line 10 of the present embodiment injects a foamed resin material into the mold 70 and a mold transport device 20 that transports the mold 70 along the mold transport path 11. An injection device 31, a mold closing device 32 for closing the mold 70, a heating furnace 50 for heating the mold 70, and a mold opening device 33 for opening the mold 70 are provided. Then, the production line 10 foams and cures the foamed resin raw material injected into the mold 70 in the heating furnace 50 while transporting the mold 70 to produce a foam molded article. As shown in FIG. 3, the mold 70 has a configuration in which an upper mold 71 is rotatably attached to an opening edge of a lower mold 72 having a container shape. When the opening of the upper mold 71 is opened, the mold is opened, and when the upper mold 71 closes the opening of the lower mold 72, the mold is closed. When the mold 70 is in the mold closed state, a cavity (not shown) for forming a foam molded product is formed between the upper mold 71 and the lower mold 72.

  The mold transfer device 20 conveys the mold 70 around the mold transfer path 11. Here, when the vertical direction and the horizontal direction in FIGS. 1 and 2 are referred to as a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, respectively, the mold conveying path 11 includes a pair of vertical conveying paths 11A, 11A extending in the vertical direction. A plurality of horizontal transport paths 11B extending in the horizontal direction and communicating between the pair of vertical transport paths 11A, 11A. The pair of vertical transport paths 11A, 11A are configured to transport the mold 70 in opposite directions. Specifically, one of the pair of vertical transport paths 11A, 11A is a vertical transport path 11A1 that transports the mold 70 from one end to the other end in the vertical direction. The other vertical transport path 11A is a vertical return path 11A2 that transports the mold 70 from the other end in the vertical direction to one end. In addition, the plurality of horizontal transport paths 11B transport the die 70 from one lateral end to the other lateral side, and the lateral transport path 11B1 transports the mold 70 from the other lateral end to one end side. Two types of horizontal return paths 11B2 are provided. The horizontal return path 11B2 connects one end of the vertical feed path 11A1 and one end of the vertical return path 11A2. The horizontal feed path 11B1 communicates between the vertical feed path 11A1 and the vertical return path 11A2 at the other end in the vertical direction with respect to the horizontal return path 11B2.

  The mold 70 is conveyed by the mold conveyance path 11 configured as described above as follows. That is, the mold 70 is first conveyed from one end of the vertical feeding path 11A1 to the other end, and is passed through the horizontal feeding path 11B1 to the vertical return path 11A2. Next, the mold 70 is transported to one end of the vertical return path 11A2, and is returned to one end of the vertical feed path 11A1 through the horizontal return path 11B2. By repeating the above, the mold 70 goes around the mold transport path 11.

  The mold transfer path 11 includes a discharge path 11C for discharging the mold 70 from the mold transfer path 11 to the outside for the purpose of exchanging the mold 70, and a mold on the mold transfer path 11. And an introduction path 11D for introducing the 70. In the present embodiment, the discharge path 11C and the introduction path 11D extend in the horizontal direction and communicate with an intermediate portion of the vertical feed path 11A1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mold transfer device 20 includes a plurality of chain conveyors 21 that constitute a vertical transfer path 11A and a horizontal transfer path 11B. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the chain conveyor 21 includes a pair of support bases 22, 22 that are arranged to face each other in the width direction of the mold conveying path 11, and a chain rotatably supported by each support base 22. And a pair of chain belts 23, 23 driven by a drive source (not shown), and a pallet 75 mounted on the pair of chain belts 23, 23 is moved along the mold conveying path 11. Transport. Then, the mold 70 is mounted on the pallet 75. In the present embodiment, since the mold 70 is mounted on the pallet 75 attached to the chain belt 23, the mold 70 can be easily replaced as compared with the case where the mold 70 is directly attached to the chain belt 23.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the mold transfer device 20 is provided with a direction changing device 25 for transferring the pallet 75 between the vertical transfer path 11A and the horizontal transfer path 11B. Specifically, the vertical transport path 11A and the horizontal transport path 11B are arranged at different heights, and the direction changing device 25 is disposed on the downstream transport path (the horizontal transport path 11B in the example of FIG. 6). Then, the chain conveyor 26 extending along the upstream transport path (the vertical transport path 11A in the example of FIG. 6) can be moved up and down. The direction changing device 25 receives the pallet 75 conveyed from the upstream conveyance path in a state where the chain conveyor 26 is disposed at substantially the same height as the chain conveyor 21 configuring the upstream conveyance path. Next, the direction change device 25 raises and lowers the chain conveyor 26, arranges the chain conveyor 26 at substantially the same height as the chain conveyor 21 that forms the downstream transport path, and passes the pallet 75 to the downstream transport path. . Thus, the pallet 75 is transferred between the vertical transport path 11A and the horizontal transport path 11B. In FIG. 6, the chain conveyors 21 and 26 are schematically shown.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pallet 75 can mount a plurality of molds 70 side by side. More specifically, there are a plurality of molds 70 of different sizes, and only one of the large molds 70 is mounted on the pallet 75 (see FIG. 5A). A plurality of dies 70 are mounted on a pallet 75 (FIG. 5B shows an example in which two dies 70 are mounted). As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to cope with the production of various foam molded products by changing the variation of the mold 70 mounted on the pallet 75. The pallet 75 is made of, for example, a metal such as stainless steel.

  The card holders 76 are provided on the front surface of the pallet 75 by the number of molds 70 mountable on the pallet 75. A card 77 on which an identifier (for example, a barcode or a two-dimensional code) for identifying a mold 70 mountable on the pallet 75 is attached to the card holder 76. The identifier written on the card 77 is read by a reading device 78 (see FIG. 7) provided near the mold transport path 11. As will be described later, the reading devices 78 are provided at a plurality of locations on the manufacturing line 10. 4 and 5, the card 77 attached to the card holder 76 is shown hatched.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the injection device 31 and the mold closing device 32 are disposed near a communication portion between the horizontal return path 11B2 and the vertical feed path 11A1, and the mold opening apparatus 33 includes the vertical return path 11A2. Is provided in the vicinity of a connecting portion between the airbag and the horizontal return path 11B2. Further, the heating furnace 50 is disposed between the vertical feeding path 11A1 and the vertical return path 11A2. Further, the above-described transverse feeding path 11B1 is disposed so as to pass through the heating furnace 50.

  The injection device 31 is configured by, for example, a robot. The production line 10 is provided with a storage tank (not shown) for storing the foamed resin raw material. From the storage tank, an amount of the foamed resin raw material necessary for producing a foam molded article is measured and injected. It is supplied to the device 31.

  The mold closing device 32 rotates the upper mold 71 downward by pressing down a lever 71A (see FIG. 3; omitted in FIGS. 4 and 5) of the upper mold 71 in the mold 70 in the mold open state. And the mold 70 is closed. In detail, the injection device 31 and the mold closing device 32 are sequentially arranged along the conveying direction of the mold 70, and the mold closing device 32 starts the mold immediately after the foamed resin material is injected into the mold 70. The mold 70 is closed. Therefore, when a plurality of molds 70 are mounted on the pallet 75, the molds are closed in order from the molds 70 in which the injection of the foamed resin material has been completed. In the present embodiment, the mold closing device 32 may be constituted by a robot, or may be constituted by a device dedicated to mold closing. When the upper mold 71 of the mold 70 is divided into a plurality of divided molds, a part of the upper mold 71 is closed before the injection of the foamed resin material, and the upper mold 71 is closed after the foamed resin material is injected. The remaining split molds of the mold 71 may be closed. In this case, the mold closing devices 32 are provided at two locations on the upstream side and the downstream side of the injection device 31.

  The mold opening device 33 opens the mold 70 in the mold closed state that has passed through the heating furnace 50. Specifically, the mold opening device 33 raises the lever 71A (see FIG. 3) of the upper mold 71 in the mold 70 in the mold closed state, thereby rotating the upper mold 71 upward, and thereby moving the mold 70. Open the mold. In the present embodiment, the mold opening device 33 is a device dedicated to mold opening, and even when a plurality of molds 70 are mounted on the pallet 75, the upper molds in the plurality of molds 70 are used. The configuration is such that the levers 71A of the 71 are simultaneously lifted to open a plurality of molds 70 simultaneously.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the heating furnace 50 has a tunnel shape extending in a lateral direction, and an entrance portion and an exit portion of the heating furnace 50 have a double shutter structure. Specifically, the heating furnace 50 has a structure in which an introduction room 51, an intermediate room 52, and a discharge room 53 are arranged side by side from the entrance side, and the heating room 50 has an entrance side of the introduction room 51 and an exit side of the discharge room 53. Each has an outer shutter 54, and has an inner shutter 55 at each of the boundary between the introduction room 51 and the intermediate room 52 and at the boundary between the discharge room 53 and the intermediate room 52. When the heating furnace 50 receives the mold 70, first, the outer shutter 54 of the introduction room 51 is opened, the mold 70 is received in the introduction room 51, and then the outer shutter 54 is closed. Next, the inner shutter 55 of the introduction room 51 is opened, the mold 70 in the introduction room 51 is received in the intermediate room 52, and then the inner shutter 55 is closed. The mold 70 received in the intermediate room 52 is transported by the mold transport device 20 to the discharge chamber 53 side. When discharging the mold 70, the heating furnace 50 first opens the inner shutter 55 of the discharge chamber 53 to receive the mold 70 in the discharge chamber 53, and then closes the inner shutter 55. Next, the outer shutter 54 of the discharge chamber 53 is opened, the mold 70 in the discharge chamber 53 is discharged to the outside, and then the outer shutter 54 is closed. As described above, in the heating furnace 50, by adopting the double shutter structure, the intermediate room 52 is prevented from being in a state of communicating with the outside of the heating furnace 50, and the temperature of the intermediate room 52 can be easily kept constant. I have.

  By the way, the production line 10 of the present embodiment includes a foam molded product made of hot cure foam (hereinafter, referred to as a “hot cure foam molded product”) and a foam molded product made of cold cure foam (hereinafter, referred to as “hot cure foam molded product”). "Cold-cure foam molded product"). Hot cure foam has a higher specific gravity and higher durability than cold cure foam. Examples of the cold-cured foam molded product include a seat cushion and an armrest of an automobile, and examples of the hot-cured foam molded product include a motorcycle saddle and the like.

  In the production line 10, two types of urethane raw materials for cold cure foam and urethane raw materials for hot cure foam are used as foam resin raw materials. The urethane raw material for hot cure foam has a higher foam curing temperature and a longer foam cure time than the urethane raw material for cold cure foam. In addition, cold cure foam is obtained by maintaining the urethane raw material for cold cure foam at a temperature of 60 to 80 ° C for 4 to 10 minutes, and the hot cure foam is obtained by heating the urethane raw material for hot cure foam to 120 to 150 ° C. It is obtained by holding at a temperature for 15 to 25 minutes.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the manufacturing line 10, a first heating furnace 50 </ b> A and a second heating furnace 50 </ b> B whose temperatures can be set independently of each other are provided as the heating furnace 50. When the production line 10 produces two types of foam molded products, a hot-cured foam molded product and a cold-cured foam molded product, the first heating furnace 50A is 60 to 80 ° C., which is the foam hardening temperature of the urethane raw material for cold-cured foam. And the second heating furnace 50B is set at 120 to 150 ° C., which is the foam hardening temperature of the urethane raw material for hot cure foam.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the manufacturing line 10, the mold conveying path 11 is provided with a plurality of horizontal feeding paths 11B1 which are inserted between the vertical feeding path 11A1 and the vertical return path 11A2. Each of the horizontal feeding paths 11B1 passes through the heating furnace 50. A part of the plurality of traverse feed paths 11B1 constitutes a first branch 13 passing through the first heating furnace 50A, and the remaining traverse feed paths 11B1 constitute a second heating path 11B1. The second branch 14 that passes through the furnace 50B is configured. Here, the first heating furnace 50 </ b> A and the second heating furnace 50 </ b> B have the same length, and the number of the second branch paths 14 is larger than the number of the first branch paths 13. Specifically, in the present embodiment, three transverse feed paths 11B1 are provided, one transverse feed path 11B1 constitutes the first branch path 13, and the remaining two transverse feed paths 11B1 are respectively provided. The second branch 14 is configured. As described above, in the manufacturing line 10 of the present embodiment, one portion of the mold transfer path 11 that passes through the heating furnace 50 is provided with one first branch path 13 that passes through the inside of the first heating furnace 50A, Two second branch paths 14 passing through the heating furnace 50B are provided in a branched manner. In the present embodiment, the first branch 13 is disposed closer to the side return road 11B1 than the pair of second branches 14 and 14. In this embodiment, the first branch 13 and the second branch 14 have the same length.

  The mold conveying device 20 intermittently conveys the pallet 75 in the first branch 13 and the second branch 14. The transport speed of the pallet 75 by the first branch 13 is faster than the transport speed of the pallet 75 by the second branch 14. Specifically, the pallets 75 on the first branch 13 are transported by a predetermined distance at 60-second intervals, and the pallets 75 on the second branch 14 are transported by a predetermined distance at 240-second intervals. In addition, the timing at which the pallet 75 is transported is shifted between the pair of second branch paths 14, 14, and the period at which the pallet 75 is transported in one second branch path 14 is the same as the other second branch path. It is shifted by half a cycle (120 seconds) with respect to the cycle in which the pallet 75 is transported on the path 14. Accordingly, the pair of second branch passages 14 and 14 alternately introduce the pallets 75 into the second heating furnace 50B and discharge the pallets 75 from the second heating furnace 50B alternately. The time required for the pallet 75 conveyed in the first branch 13 to pass through the first heating furnace 50A is 4 to 10 minutes, which is the foaming and curing time of the urethane raw material for cold cure foam. The time during which the mold 70 conveyed in the path 14 passes through the second heating furnace 50B is 15 to 25 minutes, which is the foam hardening time of the urethane raw material for hot cure foam.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the manufacturing line 10 is provided with a cooling booth 35 for cooling the mold 70 opened by the opening device 33. The cooling booth 35 may be a water-cooled type or an air-cooled type, but is preferably a water-cooled type from the viewpoint of cooling efficiency. In detail, as shown in FIG. 1, a release area R1 for releasing the foam molded product from the mold 70 opened by the mold opening device 33 is provided in the horizontal return path 11B2 of the mold transport path 11. And an injection area R2 in which the foaming resin material is injected into the mold 70 by the injection device 31. The cooling booth 35 is disposed between the demolding area R1 and the injection area R2. In the release area R1, cleaning of the mold 70 and application of a release agent to the molding surface may be performed.

  Here, the temperature of the mold 70 when the urethane raw material for hot cure foam is injected is about 30 to 40 ° C., and the temperature of the mold 70 when the urethane raw material for cold cure foam is injected is: The temperature is preferably about 60 to 80 ° C. Therefore, in the production line 10, only the mold 70 that has passed through the second heating furnace 50B is guided to the cooling booth 35. In order to realize such a configuration, in the manufacturing line 10, a part of the mold transport path 11 that transports the mold 70 opened by the mold opening device 33 to the injection device 31 (specifically, a horizontal return path). 11B2, a cooling booth passage 15 that passes through the cooling booth 35 and a cooling booth bypass 16 that bypasses the cooling booth 35 are provided in a branched manner in a portion between the demolding area R1 and the injection area R2). Have been.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of chain conveyors 21 and 21 extending in the lateral direction are provided in parallel in the horizontal return path 11B2 of the mold conveying path 11, and the pair of chain conveyors 21 and 21 are arranged in parallel. A pair of slide mechanisms 40, 40 sandwiching the components 21, 21 in the lateral direction are provided. One of the pair of chain conveyors 21 and 21 passes through the cooling booth 35, and the other chain conveyor 21 is disposed behind the cooling booth 35. The slide mechanism 40 has a structure including a slide rail 41 extending in a vertical direction and a slide base 42 moving along the slide rail 41, and extends in a horizontal direction on each slide base 42. A chain conveyor 21 is provided. When the slide bases 42, 42 of the pair of slide mechanisms 40, 40 move along the slide rails 41, 41, the mold 70 conveyed to the horizontal return path 11B2 is connected to the pair of chain conveyors described above. It passes through one of the chain conveyors 21, 21. As described above, in the present embodiment, the cooling booth passage 15 is constituted by the chain conveyor 21 passing through the cooling booth 35, and the pair of slide mechanisms 40, 40 and the chain conveyor disposed on the back side of the cooling booth 35. A cooling booth bypass circuit 16 is formed by the bypass passage 21.

  By the way, in the production line 10 of the present embodiment, a chain conveyor 21 constituting the first branch 13 passing through the first heating furnace 50A, and a pair of second branch paths 14 and 14 passing through the second heating furnace 50B. And the chain conveyor 21 forming the cooling booth passage 15 passing through the cooling booth 35 are formed by the first branch 13 and the pair of second branches in the mold conveying path 11. It is provided separately from the chain conveyor 21 which constitutes a portion excluding the cooling booth passages 14 and 14. According to the present embodiment, the temperature change of the chain conveyor 21 with respect to the chain belt 23 is suppressed, and the deterioration of the chain belt 23 is suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the production line 10, the mold transfer device 20, the injection device 31, the mold closing device 32, the mold opening device 33, and the heating furnace 50 (specifically, the first heating furnace 50 </ b> A and the second heating furnace 50). 50B) and the cooling booth 35 are controlled by the line control unit 60. The line control unit 60 includes an input operation unit 61, a display unit 62, and a storage unit 63. The input operation unit 61 is for setting manufacturing conditions (foaming molding conditions) such as the temperature of the heating furnace 50 and the transfer speed of the mold 70 (pallet 75). The display unit 62 is capable of displaying the real-time status of the manufacturing line 10, the contents set by the input operation unit 61, a warning at the time of abnormality, and the like. The storage unit 63 stores manufacturing conditions (foaming molding conditions) set by the input operation unit 61.

  FIG. 8 shows a control flow S10 performed by the line control unit 60 for one pallet 75 circling the mold transport path 11. As shown in the drawing, the line control unit 60 first executes a mold discrimination process (step S11). In the mold discrimination process (step S11), the line control unit 60 acquires information from the reading device 78 that has read the identifier of the card 77 attached to the pallet 75, and the mold 70 mounted on the pallet 75. Is determined. The identifier described in the card 77 includes the type of the foamed resin raw material to be injected into the mold 70 (that is, either the urethane raw material for cold cure foam or the urethane raw material for hot cure foam), the injection amount of the foamed resin raw material, Information such as foam hardening temperature and foam hardening time is included. The reading device 78 used in the mold discrimination process (step S11) is disposed slightly upstream from the injection area R2 (see FIG. 1).

  When the mold discrimination process (Step S11) ends, an injection process (Step S12) is performed. In the injection process (step S12), the line control unit 60 transports the pallet 75 to the injection device 31 by the die transport device 20, and injects the foamed resin material into the mold 70 on the pallet 75 by the injection device 31. The type and injection amount of the foamed resin raw material are determined based on the information acquired in the mold discrimination processing (step S11) (that is, the information read by the reading device 78).

  When the injection process (Step S12S) ends, a mold closing process (Step S13) is performed. In the mold closing process (step S13), the line control unit 60 conveys the pallet 75 to the mold closing device 32 by the mold conveying device 20, and closes the mold 70 on the pallet 75 by the mold closing device 32. I do.

  When the mold closing process (Step S13) ends, a heating furnace feeding process (Step S14) is executed. In the heating furnace feeding process (Step S14), the line control unit 60 transports the pallet 75 to the predetermined heating furnace 50 by the mold transport device 20. Specifically, when the urethane raw material for cold cure foam is injected into the mold 70, the line control unit 60 moves the pallet 75 to the first position via the vertical feeding path 11A1 and the first branch path 13. When the urethane raw material for hot cure foam is conveyed to the heating furnace 50A and the mold 70 is filled with the urethane raw material for hot cure foam, the line control unit 60 controls the pallet 75 via the vertical feed path 11A1 and the second branch path 14. To the second heating furnace 50B.

  When the heating furnace feeding process (step S14) ends, a heating furnace transport process (step S15) is executed. In the heating furnace transfer process (Step S15), the line control unit 60 transfers the pallet 75 along the horizontal feeding path 11B1 while appropriately controlling the outer shutter 54 and the inner shutter 55 of the heating furnace 50 through which the pallet 75 passes. I do. At this time, the pallet 75 passes through the heating furnace 50 for a time set according to the foamed resin material injected into the mold 70.

  When the heating furnace transfer process (Step S15) ends, a mold opening process (Step S16) is performed. In the mold opening process (step S16), the line controller 60 conveys the pallet 75 to the mold opening device 33 via the vertical return path 11A2, and the mold 70 on the pallet 75 is moved by the mold opening device 33. Open the mold.

  When the mold opening process (Step S16) ends, a return process (Step S17) is executed. In the return process (step S17), the line control unit 60 conveys the pallet 75 to the injection device 31 along the horizontal return path 11B2. At this time, when the pallet 75 has passed through the first heating furnace 50A, the line control unit 60 allows the pallet 75 to pass through the cooling booth bypass 16, and the pallet 75 has passed through the second heating furnace 50B. In this case, the line control unit 60 causes the pallet 75 to pass through the cooling booth passage 15. When passing the pallet 75 through the cooling booth passage 15, the mold 70 is cooled by the cooling booth 35. Here, the determination of the heating furnace 50 through which the pallet 75 has passed is performed based on the information acquired from the reading device 78, as in the die determination processing (step S11). The reading device 78 used in the return process (step S17) is disposed in the mold opening device 33.

  When the return process (Step S17) ends, the control flow S10 ends, and one pallet 75 makes one round along the mold transport path 11.

  Next, an example of the operation of the production line 10 when producing two types of hot-cure foam molded products and cold-cured foam molded products will be described. In this example, the production line 10 sends out the pallet 75 for cold cure foam (that is, the pallet 75 passing through the first heating furnace 50A) from the injection area R2 (see FIG. 1) at intervals of 60 seconds, and sends the hot cure foam. Pallet 75 (that is, pallet 75 passing through second heating furnace 50B) is sent out from injection area R2 at intervals of 120 seconds. In the injection area 2, when a plurality of dies 70 are mounted on the pallet 75, only the urethane raw material for cold cure foam or only the urethane raw material for hot cure foam is injected into the plurality of dies 70. In this example, the line control unit 60 executes the control flow shown in FIG. 8 for each of the plurality of pallets 75 that go around the die transport path 11.

  The production line 10 conveys the pallet 75 sent out from the injection area R2 along the vertical feed path 11A1. When the pallet 75 is a pallet 75 for cold cure foam, the manufacturing line 10 distributes the pallet 75 to the first branch 13 and conveys the pallet 75. The pallet 75 is a pallet 75 for hot cure foam. In this case, the pallet 75 is sorted and transported to the pair of second branch paths 14, 14. At this time, the production line 10 causes the pair of second branch paths 14 and 14 to alternately pass the pallets 75 for hot cure foam. Therefore, the pallet 75 is intermittently transported at an interval of 240 seconds in one of the pair of second branch paths 14 and 14.

  When the pallet 75 passes through the first branch 13, the manufacturing line 10 opens and closes the outer shutter 54 and the inner shutter 55 of the first heating furnace 50 </ b> A to pass the pallet 75 into the first heating furnace 50 </ b> A. . On the other hand, when the pallet 75 passes through the second branch path 14, the production line 10 opens and closes the outer shutter 54 and the inner shutter 55 of the second heating furnace 50B, and places the pallet 75 in the second heating furnace 50B. Let it pass. Then, the pallets 75 are discharged from the first heating furnace 50A at intervals of 60 seconds, and the pallets 75 are discharged from the second heating furnace 50B at intervals of 120 seconds.

  When the pallet 75 is discharged from the first heating furnace 50A or the second heating furnace 50B, the production line 10 conveys the pallet 75 to the mold opening device 33 along the vertical return path 11A2. When the pallet 75 reaches the mold opening device 33, the molds 70 on the pallet 75 are simultaneously opened by the mold opening device 33. At this time, the reading device 78 arranged in the mold opening device 33 reads the identifier of the card 77 attached to the pallet 75, and the information read by the reading device 78 is transmitted to the line control unit 60.

  When the mold 70 is opened by the mold opening device 33, the manufacturing line 10 conveys the pallet 75 along the horizontal return path 11B2. When the pallet 75 reaches the release area R1 of the horizontal return path 11B2, the worker takes out the foam molded product in the mold 70. When the pallet 75 passes through the demolding area R1, the manufacturing line 10 distributes the pallet 75 to one of the cooling booth passage 15 and the cooling booth bypass 16, and conveys the pallet 75 to the injection area R2. Specifically, when the pallet 75 has passed through the first heating furnace 50A, the manufacturing line 10 distributes the pallet 75 to the cooling booth bypass route 16, and the pallet 75 has passed through the second heating furnace 50B. In such a case, the pallet 75 is distributed to the cooling booth passage 15.

  When the pallet 75 is transported to the injection area R2, the production line 10 injects the foamed resin material into the mold 70 mounted on the pallet 75, and closes the mold 70. Then, when the closing of the mold 70 is completed, the pallet 75 is sent out again from the injection area R2.

  As described above, in the production line 10, a cold-cured foam molded product is molded every 60 seconds, and a hot-cured foam molded product is molded every 120 seconds. Further, in the production line 10, the time required for the pallet 75 to pass through the first heating furnace 50A is 4 to 10 minutes, and the time required for the pallet 75 to pass through the second heating furnace 50B is 15 to 25 minutes. The production cycle of cured foam moldings is shorter than the production cycle of hot cured foam moldings. Therefore, in the production line 10, while the pallet 75 for hot cure foam makes one round of the mold conveying path 11 (specifically, while the pallet 75 for hot cure foam passes through the second heating furnace 50B), The pallet 75 for cold cure forms repeatedly circulates around the mold conveying path 11 a plurality of times.

  The operation of the production line 10 when producing two types of hot-cure foam molded products and cold-cured foam molded products has been described above. In the production line 10 of the present embodiment, the first heating furnace 50A and the second heating furnace 50B are set to the same temperature, and only the hot-cure foam molded product or only the cold-cured foam molded product is produced. Good. Further, in the production line 10, a foam molded product may be produced using only one of the first heating furnace 50A and the second heating furnace 50B.

  The description of the configuration of the manufacturing line 10 of the present embodiment is as described above. In the present embodiment, the urethane raw material for cold cure foam corresponds to the “first foamed resin raw material” of the present invention, and the urethane raw material for hot cure foam corresponds to the “second foamed resin raw material” of the present invention. Further, in the present embodiment, the mold transfer device 20 corresponds to the “mould transfer device” of the present invention, the injection device 31 corresponds to the “injection device” of the present invention, and the line controller 60 corresponds to the “transport control device” of the present invention. Respectively.

  Next, the operation and effect of the production line 10 of the present embodiment will be described. In the production line 10 of the present embodiment, the mold 70 into which the urethane raw material for cold cure foam is injected passes through the first branch 50 and the first heating furnace 50A. On the other hand, the mold into which the urethane raw material for hot cure foam has been injected passes through the second heating furnace 50B through the second branch path 14. As described above, in the manufacturing line 10 of the present embodiment, the part of the mold transfer path 11 that passes through the heating furnace 50 is connected to the first branch path 13 that passes through the first heating furnace 50A and the second heating furnace 50B. Since it is branched into the second branch 14 which passes through, the urethane raw material for cold cure foam and the urethane raw material for hot cure foam having different foaming and curing times are foamed and cured in one production line 10 to produce a plurality of types of foaming. A molded article can be manufactured. Moreover, since the first heating furnace 50A and the second heating furnace 50B have substantially the same length, a compact design of the production line 10 is achieved. Further, since the number of the second branch paths 14 is larger than the number of the first branch paths 13, the production amount of the hot-cured foam molded product is increased.

  In the production line 10 of the present embodiment, the mold 70 that has passed through the second heating furnace 50B set at a higher temperature than the first heating furnace 50A is transported in the cooling booth passage 15 that passes through the cooling booth 35. Then, the mold 70 that has passed through the first heating furnace 50 </ b> A is transported in the cooling booth detour 16 bypassing the cooling booth 35. According to the present embodiment, for the mold 70 that has passed through the first heating furnace 50A, the urethane raw material for cold cure foam is injected without cooling, and the second temperature is set to be higher than that of the first heating furnace 50A. With respect to the mold 70 that has passed through the heating furnace 50B, the urethane raw material for hot cure foam can be injected after being cooled. In addition, since the mold 70 that has passed through the first heating furnace 50A is not cooled by the cooling booth 35, it can be returned to the first heating furnace 50A quickly. As a result, it is possible to reduce the temperature change of the mold 70 and shorten the production cycle of the cold-cured foam molded product. Moreover, since the first branch 13 passing through the first heating furnace 50A is disposed closer to the side return path 11B1 than the second branch 14 passing through the second heating furnace 50B, the cold cure is performed. It becomes possible to return the mold 70 for producing the foam molded article to the first heating furnace 50A more quickly.

  Furthermore, in the manufacturing line 10 of the present embodiment, the pallet 75 on which the mold 70 is mounted is transported along the mold transport path 11, so that the mold 75 can be easily replaced. In addition, since a plurality of molds 70 can be mounted on the pallet 75, variations of the molds 70 mounted on the pallet 75 in accordance with the size of the mold 70, that is, the size of the foam molded product to be manufactured. It is possible to make changes, and it is possible to cope with the production of various foam molded products. When a plurality of molds 70 are mounted on the pallet 75, only the same type of foamed resin raw material is injected into the plurality of molds 70. Therefore, the foaming curing temperature and the foaming curing time are set in pallet units. It becomes possible to manage.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and furthermore, other than the following, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It can be changed and implemented.

  (1) In the above-described embodiment, the first branch 13 and the second branch 14 are configured such that a plurality of horizontal feed paths 11B1 are inserted between the vertical feed path 11A1 and the vertical return path 11A2. However, as shown in FIG. 9 (A), it may be configured by branching an intermediate portion of one horizontal feeding path 11B1. In addition, according to the configuration of the above embodiment, the number of the first branch 13 or the second branch 14 can be easily increased or decreased.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the number of the first branch 13 that passes through the first heating furnace 50A is one, and the number of the second branch 14 that passes through the second heating furnace 50B is two. The number of the second branches 14 may be greater than the number of the first branches 13. For example, if the number of the first branches 13 is one and the number of the second branches 14 is three or more, The number of the first branches 13 may be two, and the number of the second branches 14 may be three or more.

  (3) In the production line 10, the time for passing the mold 70 through the second heating furnace 50B is made different between the pair of second branch paths 14, 14 passing through the second heating furnace 50B (that is, Different foam moldings may be produced (with different foam hardening times).

  (4) A work space is provided on the slide base 42 arranged on the downstream side (the injection area R2 side) with respect to the cooling booth 35, and in the work space, insert parts such as nonwoven fabric sheets and wires are inserted into the mold 70. May be done.

  (5) As shown in FIG. 9B, the heating furnace 50 further includes a third heating furnace 50C capable of setting the temperature independently of the first heating furnace 50A and the second heating furnace 50B. A third branch 17 passing through 50C may be provided in parallel with the first branch 13 and the second branch 14. At that time, the number of the third branch paths 17 may be one or plural.

  (6) In the above embodiment, the mold transfer device 20 may include a roller conveyor in addition to the chain conveyor 21.

The technical scope of the present invention disclosed in the above embodiment and the other embodiments of (1) to (6) above can also be expressed as [1] to [3] below.
[1] mold transport means capable of mounting one or more molds in which a cavity is formed by opening and closing the upper mold and the lower mold;
Injection means for injecting different foamed resin raw materials into different mold cavities when the molds are plural,
When the closed mold having the cavity filled with the foamed resin material is transported to a heating furnace, a plurality of branched transports are performed according to foaming and curing conditions of the foamed resin material filled in the cavity. Selecting one transport path from a path, a selection means for guiding the mold to a heating furnace having a heating temperature according to the foaming curing conditions of the foamed resin raw material,
A foam molding product production line comprising: an opening means for opening the upper mold and removing a foam molding product obtained by foaming and curing the foam resin material from the mold.
[2] In the production line according to the above [1],
The foamed resin material is provided with a first foamed resin material and a second foamed resin material having a longer reaction hardening time than the first foamed resin material,
While the second mold filled with the second foamed resin material in the cavity is guided to the second heating furnace, while the second foamed resin material foams and hardens,
The first foamed resin material is filled in the cavity of the first mold, and the first mold has a heating temperature corresponding to a reaction curing condition of the first foamed resin material. This is a production line in which the operation of being guided to the furnace and being conveyed to the extracting means is repeated a plurality of times.
[3] A method for producing a foam molded product using the production line of [1] or [2].
In the above embodiment, the line control unit 60 corresponds to a “selecting unit”, the first branch 13 and the pair of second branches 14, 14 correspond to a “branching conveying path”, and the mold opening device. 33 corresponds to “extracting means”. In addition, the first heating furnace 50A and the second heating furnace 50B correspond to “first heating furnace” and “second heating furnace”, respectively, and the mold 70 into which the urethane raw material for cold cure foam is injected is “ The mold 70 into which the urethane raw material for hot cure foam is injected corresponds to the “second mold”.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Manufacturing line 11 Mold conveyance path 13 1st branch path 14 2nd branch path 15 Cooling booth passage 16 Cooling booth detour 20 Mold conveyance device (die conveyance means)
21 chain conveyor 31 injection device (injection means)
32 Mold closing device (mold closing means)
33 Mold opening device (mold opening means)
35 Cooling booth 50A First heating furnace 50B Second heating furnace 70 Mold 75 Pallet

Claims (5)

A mold transfer unit that conveys the mold for foam molding around the mold transfer path,
Injecting means for injecting a foamed resin material into the mold,
A heating furnace through which the mold into which the foamed resin material has been injected passes,
In a production line for a foam molded product having a transfer control means for controlling the transfer of the mold by the mold transfer means,
The heating furnace is provided with a first heating furnace and a second heating furnace capable of setting a temperature independently of each other,
A first branch path passing through the first heating furnace and a second branch path passing through the second heating furnace are provided in the mold transfer path in a branched manner,
The first heating furnace and the second heating furnace have substantially the same length, and the number of the second branch passages is larger than the number of the first branch passages,
The transport control means may be configured such that, when a first foamed resin material and a second foamed resin material having a longer foaming hardening time than the first foamed resin material are used as the foamed resin material, the first foamed resin A production line for a foam molded product in which the mold into which the raw material has been injected is transported through the first branch path, and the mold into which the second foamed resin raw material has been injected is transported through the second branch path. Before the foamed resin material is injected into the mold that has passed through the heating furnace, having a cooling booth for cooling the mold,
In the mold transport path, a cooling booth passage that passes through the cooling booth, and a cooling booth detour that bypasses the cooling booth are provided in a branched manner.
The transfer control means, when the second heating furnace is set at a higher temperature than the first heating furnace, causes the mold that has passed through the second heating furnace to be transferred through the cooling booth passage, The production line for a foam molded product according to claim 1, wherein the mold that has passed through the first heating furnace is transported through the bypass of the cooling booth. The mold conveying means is provided with a plurality of chain conveyors constituting the mold conveying path,
The chain conveyor disposed on the first branch path, the chain conveyor disposed on the second branch path, and the chain conveyor disposed on the cooling booth passage path are configured to transport the mold. 3. The foam molded article according to claim 2, wherein the molded article is provided separately from the chain conveyor disposed in a portion of the path other than the first branch path, the second branch path, and the cooling booth passage path. 4. Production line. The mold transfer means is configured to transfer a pallet on which the mold can be mounted,
4. The production line for a foam molded product according to claim 1, wherein the transport control unit controls the transport of the pallet. 5. The pallet is configured to be able to mount a plurality of the molds,
In the case where a plurality of the dies are mounted on the pallet, only one of the foamed resin raw materials of the first foamed resin raw material and the second foamed resin raw material is added to the plurality of dies. The production line for a foam molded article according to claim 4, wherein

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