JP7081804B2 - Film molding equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus that presses a film against a base to form the film.

Conventionally, a film-shaped member has been molded into a desired shape for insert molding and other uses. As an example of such a film forming technique, the one described in the right half of FIG. 2 on the second page of Non-Patent Document 1 can be mentioned. In the molding machine shown in the figure, the film is sandwiched between the "lower mold" and the "upper compressed air BOX", and the space between the upper pressure air BOX and the film is pressurized. As a result, the film is formed into the shape of the lower mold. The molded film is then separated from the lower mold and the excess periphery is cut off for multi-layering and other post-processes.

Kenichi Mizoguchi, "Decorative Molding Techniques by Thermoforming" (Plastic Swage Vol.59 2013 Mar. P50-p54)

However, the above-mentioned conventional technique has the following problems. It is inconvenient to handle a wide variety of products. The cause is that the compressed air BOX tries to escape upward during pressurization. This does not apply pressure to the essential film well, so it is necessary to prevent the escape of the compressed air BOX. Therefore, it is necessary to position the position of the upper pressure air BOX in the height direction at the time of pressurization. On the other hand, when supporting a wide variety of products, the thickness of the film to be molded also differs. If the thickness of the film is different, the positioning position of the compressed air BOX will also be different. The adjustment is complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional techniques. That is, the problem is to provide a film forming apparatus capable of easily supporting a wide variety of products.

In the film forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the space between the base and the box body sandwiched between the base and the film and the box body sandwiched between the base and the box body is provided. It is a film forming device that has a pressurizing part to pressurize and presses the film against the base by the pressurization of the pressurizing part. The box body has an open base side and the opposite side is closed. It has an annular frame part that is located between the opening side of the main part and the base and holds the film together with the base, and the frame part is the base when viewed from the main part. It is provided so that it can move toward and away from the main body while maintaining airtightness.

In the film forming apparatus in the above aspect, the film is formed with the film sandwiched between the frame portion of the box body and the base. That is, the sandwiched film covers the base. When pressure is applied by the pressurizing part, the pressure in the space between the film and the box body increases. This pressure presses the frame against the film and also presses the film against the base. As a result, the film is formed into a shape that follows the shape of the base. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the thickness of the film to be molded.

Further, in the film forming apparatus of the above aspect, a sliding surface for supporting sliding in the direction toward the base is provided on the main body portion and the frame portion, respectively, and a sealing member for maintaining airtightness between the sliding surfaces. Is desirable to be sandwiched. If this is the case, it is easy to secure a slidable distance to some extent. It is also easy to ensure confidentiality.

It is also desirable that the film forming apparatus of any of the above embodiments has a regulating member that regulates the separation between the main body portion and the frame portion. Due to the pressurization of the pressurizing part during molding, the main part moves in a direction away from the base. By restricting this movement with a restricting member, it is possible to better form the film by increasing the pressure.

According to this configuration, a film forming apparatus capable of easily supporting a wide variety of products is provided.

It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the film forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which set the film in the film forming apparatus of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which was pressurized by the pressure pump with respect to the state of FIG. It is sectional drawing (the 1) which shows the vicinity of a frame member in the case of a modification. It is sectional drawing (the 2) which shows the vicinity of a frame member in the case of a modification.

Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This embodiment embodies the present invention as the film forming apparatus 1 having the configuration shown in FIG. The film forming apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 is composed of an upper portion 2 and a lower portion 3. The upper portion 2 is a portion located above the film 4 to be molded. The lower portion 3 is a portion located below the film 4.

The upper portion 2 has a compressed air box 5 and a frame member 6. The compressed air box 5 is a box-shaped member having an opening on the lower side, that is, the side of the lower portion 3. The side of the compressed air box 5 opposite to the opening side (upper in FIG. 1) is closed. The frame member 6 is a frame-shaped member attached to the opening portion of the compressed air box 5. The frame member 6 is located between the compressed air box 5 and the lower portion 3, and forms an annular shape along the opening of the compressed air box 5. The compressed air box 5 and the frame member 6 are formed with sliding surfaces 7 and 8 in the vertical direction, respectively. A seal ring 9 is sandwiched between the sliding surface 7 of the compressed air box 5 and the sliding surface 8 of the frame member 6. As a result, the frame member 6 is slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the compressed air box 5.

This sliding direction is a direction that approaches or separates from the lower portion 3 when viewed from the compressed air box 5. In other words, the dimensions of the compressed air box 5 in the height direction can be expanded and contracted to some extent. That is, the combination of the compressed air box 5 and the frame member 6 corresponds to the "box body", the compressed air box 5 is the "main part" thereof, and the frame member 6 is the "frame part". The lower end of the frame member 6 is a contact end 10 that is in contact with the film 4 (not in contact with the film 4 in FIG. 1). Further, a pressurizing pump 11 is connected to the compressed air box 5.

An elevating device 12 and a stopper member 13 are provided above the compressed air box 5. The elevating device 12 moves the compressed air box 5 up and down. More specifically, the elevating device 12 takes a state of raising the compressed air box 5 and a state of releasing the ascent. As will be described later, the stopper member 13 regulates the upward movement of the compressed air box 5. It can also be said that it regulates an excessive separation between the compressed air box 5 and the frame member 6. The stopper member 13 can be retracted. The position of the stopper member 13 shown in FIG. 1 is a retracted position, and the stopper member 13 when molding the film 4 is at a slightly lower position.

The lower portion 3 has a lower box 14 and a mold base 15. The lower box 14 is a box-shaped member having an opening at the upper side. The mold base 15 is a member that is arranged in the lower box 14 and has the mold surface 16 facing upward. An elevating device 17 is further provided in the lower box 14. The elevating device 17 moves the mold base 15 up and down in the lower box 14. The mold base 15 in FIG. 1 is in a lowered position within the range of its ascending / descending movement. The whole of the lower box 14 and the mold 15 corresponds to the "base".

Next, the molding operation of the film 4 in the film forming apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. The molding of the film 4 in the film forming apparatus 1 is to form the film 4 into the shape of the mold surface 16 of the mold base 15. For that purpose, first, a new film 4 is set in the film forming apparatus 1.

The new set of the film 4 is a state in which the lower portion 3 is covered with the new film 4 and the film 4 is sandwiched by the upper portion 2 together with the lower portion 3. For that purpose, the stopper member 13 is retracted, the compressed air box 5 is raised by the elevating device 12, and the mold base 15 is lowered. In that state, a new film 4 is pulled out and put on the lower box 14. Then, the ascending by the elevating device 12 of the compressed air box 5 is released. Also, the mold 15 is raised. This state is shown in FIG.

In the state of FIG. 2, the film 4 is sandwiched between the contact end 10 of the upper portion 2 (frame member 6) and the edge portion of the lower box 14. As a result, the space partitioned by the upper portion 2 and the film 4 becomes a closed space isolated from the outside world. The elevating device 12 in this state presses the compressed air box 5 downward. This pressing force may be light. In this state, the compressed air box 5 of the upper portion 2 and the frame member 6 are in the closest proximity to each other. Strictly speaking, the positions of the compressed air box 5 and the frame member 6 in the height direction in this state differ slightly depending on the thickness of the film 4.

In the state of FIG. 2, the mold base 15 is also in a position higher than the position shown in FIG. In the mold base 15 in FIG. 2, the peripheral portion of the mold surface 16 is substantially the same height as the edge portion of the lower box 14. Therefore, the raised portion in the center of the mold surface 16 bites into the upper portion 2 side. As a result, the film 4 is in a state of being stretched upward inside the film forming apparatus 1.

In this state, the pressurizing pump 11 is turned on. This pressurizes the closed space between the upper portion 2 and the film 4. Then, the closed space tends to expand. Expansion of this closed space is realized by sliding the compressed air box 5 and the frame member 6. Therefore, with respect to the state shown in FIG. 2, the compressed air box 5 rises while the position of the frame member 6 remains unchanged. The rise of the compressed air box 5 is not due to the elevating device 12, but due to the pressurization from the pressurizing pump 11. Further, the pressing by the elevating device 12 with respect to this rise of the compressed air box 5 is light and does not cause any particular hindrance. This sliding between the compressed air box 5 and the frame member 6 is a movement supported by the sliding surfaces 7 and 8. On the other hand, the frame member 6 is pressed against the film 4 by air pressure. Further, even during sliding, the seal ring 9 prevents air leakage through between the sliding surfaces 7 and 8.

The rise of the compressed air box 5 due to pressurization eventually stops when the compressed air box 5 comes into contact with the stopper member 13. After that, the pressing force of the frame member 6 on the film 4 increases due to the pressurization. This is called mold clamping. Along with this mold clamping, the film 4 is pressed against the mold surface 16 of the mold base 15 as a whole. This state is shown in FIG. In the state of FIG. 3, the film 4 is in close contact with the mold surface 16 as a whole. In this way, the film 4 is formed into the shape of the mold surface 16 of the mold base 15. The formed film 4 is then separated from the mold 15 and subjected to multi-layering and other post-treatments after removing extra portions on the edges.

The film forming process of the film 4 in the film forming apparatus 1 as described above is characterized by being tolerant of the thickness of the film 4. This is because the difference in the thickness of the film 4 is absorbed by the amount of sliding between the compressed air box 5 and the frame member 6 (the amount of increase of the compressed air box 5) from the state of FIG. 2 to the state of FIG. The height of the compressed air box 5 in the state of FIG. 2 is affected by the thickness of the film 4 as described above, whereas the height of the compressed air box 5 in the state of FIG. 3 is irrelevant to the thickness of the film 4. Is.

Therefore, even when the product type of the film 4 to be molded is changed, it is not necessary to adjust the height of the stopper member 13 or bite the shim. Further, since the rise of the compressed air box 5 at this time is not due to the elevating device 12, it is not necessary to finely adjust the driving amount of the elevating device 12. In this way, the film forming apparatus 1 has good compatibility with variations in the thickness of the film 4.

When molding the film 4 as described above, it may be desirable to preheat the planned formation portion of the film 4 in advance. Therefore, it is desirable to arrange a heater that preheats the film 4 in combination with the film forming apparatus 1. Alternatively, a heater may be arranged inside the compressed air box 5. Alternatively, the mold base 15 may have a built-in heater function.

As described in detail above, according to the present embodiment, the frame member 6 is slidably provided at the opening at the lower end of the compressed air box 5. As a result, the dimensions of the compressed air box 5 and the frame member 6 in the height direction as a whole are substantially variable. By doing so, a film forming apparatus 1 capable of easily supporting a wide variety of products is realized.

It should be noted that the present embodiment is merely an example and does not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, as a matter of course, the present invention can be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, a decompression pump may be provided in the lower box 14. Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the mounting structure of the compressed air box 5 and the frame member 6, the frame member 6 is on the outside and the compressed air box 5 is on the inside. However, this internal-external relationship may be reversed.

Further, the sliding surfaces 7 and 8 themselves are not indispensable. As shown in FIG. 4, the compressed air box 18 and the frame member 19 may face each other on the horizontal planes 20 and 21 and the seal ring 22 may be arranged between them. In this case, the difference in the thickness of the film 4 can be dealt with only within the expansion / contraction range of the seal ring 22. But in many cases that is enough. Further, in this case, the frame member 19 is provided with the fall prevention mechanism 23. Even in the form of FIGS. 1 to 3 in which the seal ring 9 is sandwiched between the sliding surfaces 7 and 8 in the vertical direction, the dropout prevention mechanism 23 as shown in FIG. 4 can be provided. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the sliding surfaces 7 and 8 can provide the function of the dropout prevention mechanism 23.

Further, it can be applied to applications in which the molded film 4 is not separated from the mold base 15. That is, it can also be used for coating the mold 15 with the film 4 such as laminating and transfer. In that case, the mold base 15 will be replaced each time molding is performed. The elevating device 17 of the template 15 is not indispensable. The overall shape of the compressed air box 5 or the like as viewed from above may be polygonal or circular, and is not particularly limited.

1 Film forming device 3 Lower part (base)
4 Film 5,18 Compressed air box 6,19 Frame member 7,8 Sliding surface 9,22 Seal ring 11 Pressurization pump 13 Stopper member (regulatory member)
14 Lower box 15 Template 23 Fall prevention mechanism (another example of regulatory member)

Claims (2)

Base and
A box body that sandwiches the film between the base and the base,
It has a film sandwiched between the base and the box body, and a pressurizing portion that pressurizes the space between the box body.
A film forming apparatus that presses the film against the base by pressurizing the pressurizing portion to form the film.
The box body is
The main part, which is open on the base side and closed on the opposite side,
It is located between the opening side of the main body and the base, and has an annular frame portion that sandwiches the film together with the base.
The frame portion is provided so as to be able to move toward and away from the base while maintaining airtightness with the main body when viewed from the main body .
Each of the main body portion and the frame portion is provided with a sliding surface for supporting sliding in the direction toward the base, and a sealing member for maintaining airtightness is sandwiched between the sliding surfaces. thing,
The frame portion includes a first portion on which the sliding surface is formed, a second portion where the lower surface of the main body and the upper surface thereof abut, and the base and the lower surface thereof abut, and the first portion and the above. A third portion for connecting the second portion is provided, and a groove for sandwiching the seal member is formed on the sliding surface of the first portion.
A film forming apparatus characterized by. The film molding apparatus according to claim 1 .
A film forming apparatus comprising a regulating member that regulates the separation between the main body portion and the frame portion.

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