JPH05321114A - Production of fibrous molding having hard surface layer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a method for molding a readily producible fibrous molding in which the molding of both a fibrous body and a hard layer can simultaneously be carried out in a molding step with a top and a bottom forces. CONSTITUTION:The objective method for molding a fibrous body is to arrange the fibrous body composed of a thermoplastic binder meltable with steam heat and a fibrous group containing fiber having an elongation, a higher melting point than that of the binder mixed therein and moderate bulkiness between molding surfaces 2 and 12 of a bottom force 1 and a top force 11 in which at least one of the bottom and top forces has many blowoff holes for steam, clamp both the forces, jet the steam from the blowoff holes and mold the fibrous body. This fibrous molding is composed of the fibrous body having the shape of the molding surfaces. A hot-melt film 22 meltable with the steam heat is placed between the fibrous body to be pressed and the molding surfaces of the bottom and/or top forces.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for producing a fibrous molded article having a hard surface layer, and more particularly to a method for obtaining a molded article made of a fibrous body having a hard surface at a predetermined portion. ..

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a cushion member for an automobile seat is formed of a fibrous elastic material. The fibrous elastic body is a fiber having an appropriate bulkiness by entwining polyester fibers and a binder fiber of a low melting point polyester which has a lower melting point than the polyester fiber and is melted by heat of steam, and appropriately welds each binder fiber. Consists of groups,
It has elasticity and can be thermoformed. This fibrous elastic body is commercially available, for example, from Kuraray Co., Ltd. under the trade name of "SOFIT". The cushion body of this fibrous elastic body is compressed with a lower mold and an upper mold, and the lower surface and the upper surface of the molded product obtained by blowing steam to heat the molded product. It is formed by adhering a hard layer (hard layer) (see the cushion body 51 in FIG. 9;
In the figure, 52 is a fibrous molded article, and 53 is a hard layer). The hard layer on the lower surface of the cushion body functions as a spring receiver when the cushion body is used, and the hard layer on the upper surface of the cushion body is for preventing scratches and unevenness on the upper surface.

[0003]

However, in the conventional cushion body described above, a molded product and a hard layer are prepared,
Since the hard layer is adhered to the predetermined surface of the molded product to manufacture, the workability is poor and there is a problem in that it is difficult to manufacture. In addition, the hard layer to be adhered to the molded product must be manufactured in a separate process in advance, which is troublesome, and when the hard layer is bonded to the molded product, it is difficult to adhere only the necessary portion, and therefore unnecessary. There is a problem that the cost is increased and the weight is increased because the adhesive is widely bonded even to the part. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned inconvenient problems in the production of the conventional cushion body, and to improve the use of a fibrous body such as a fibrous elastic body in the molding process of the lower mold and the upper mold. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a fibrous molded article, which enables simultaneous molding and molding of a hard layer, facilitates manufacturing, and can reduce cost and weight.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises a thermoplastic binder that melts against steam heat, and a fiber having a melting point higher than that of the binder, and a moderately bulky fiber. A fibrous body consisting of a group is placed between a lower mold forming surface and an upper mold forming surface having a large number of steam blow holes on at least one of the lower mold and upper mold, and both molds are compressed to form a blow hole. A method for obtaining a fibrous molded article composed of a fibrous body having a molding surface shape by injecting more steam, wherein the fibrous body to be clamped and a predetermined portion of the molding surface of the lower die and / or the upper die Is characterized in that a hot melt film which is melted by the steam heat is interposed.

The binder may be a powder of a thermoplastic resin that melts against steam heat or a thermoplastic fiber, or a processed fiber having a welding action against steam heat.
Further, as the fibrous body, a fibrous elastic body made of a fiber group having elasticity and containing a binder, a felt containing a binder, or a fiber structure having a binder containing rock wool can be used. ..

[0006]

In the pressed state of the lower mold and the upper mold, steam is pressure-fed to the blowout hole. The hot melt film is melted by the heat of steam and penetrates into the gaps between the fibrous bodies. The hot melt film is a thin layer, and the penetration amount stays at the surface portion of the fibrous body. Further, when the fibrous body is heated by steam, the binder of the fibrous body is melted and adheres to the high melting point fiber. Thus, a fibrous molded article is formed, and a hard layer of impregnated hot melt resin is formed on the surface of the molded article at the portion where the hot melt film is interposed.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a case of obtaining a cushion body for an automobile seat as an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the lower mold 1 and the upper mold 11 are prepared (see FIG. 2). The lower mold 1 and the upper mold 11 have concave and convex molding surfaces 2 and 12 for forming a cavity for a cushion body. As shown in FIG. 2 and the like, both concave portions 3 of the molding surface 2 of the lower mold 1 are portions which become the protrusions 31 on both sides of the cushion body 30 (see FIGS. 5 and 6), and Both convex portions 4 are portions that become deep concave portions 32 for design of the cushion body 30 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). Further, the both convex portions 14 of the molding surface 12 of the upper mold 11 are portions that become the frame grooves 33 on the back surface of the cushion body 30 (see FIGS. 5 and 7). Lower mold 1,
The upper mold 11 is provided with steam chambers 5 and 15 inside. Each molding surface 2 and 12 is provided with a large number of small-diameter blow-out holes (not shown) for blowing out steam, and the steam chambers 5 and 15 are provided.
The steam blown from the steam blow ports 6 and 16 is jetted from each of the blow holes. (Note that the steam blow-out holes may be provided only on the molding surface 2 of the lower mold 1, and the steam may be heated only by the lower mold 1.)

As shown in FIG. 2, the hot melt film 22 is arranged on the molding surface 2 of the lower mold 1 so as to cover the molding surface 2. Both ends of the hot melt film 22 are held by the clamps 24. The hot melt film 22 is made of a low melting point thermoplastic resin that is melted by steam heat, and is non-breathable in this example.

Then, at room temperature, the hot melt film 22 is suctioned from the steam injection port 6 of the lower mold 1 to bring the hot melt film 22 into close contact with the molding surface 2 as shown in FIG. Since the hot melt film 22 is non-breathable, both are in close contact with each other along the concave portion 3 and the convex portion 4 of the molding surface 2. After that,
While maintaining the close contact state of the hot melt film 22, the fibrous elastic body 26 is arranged on the hot melt film 22 covering the molding surface 2 (see the fibrous elastic body 26 shown in FIG. 4).

As the fibrous elastic body 26 of this example, a non-woven fabric "Sofit" manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd. was used. Sofite consists of 12 denier polyester fiber with an elongation of 50% and a polyester fiber having an outer periphery coated with a modified polyester having a lower melting point than the polyester fiber. Fiber 80
Part and 20 parts of binder fiber are entangled and each binder fiber is appropriately welded to form a breathable fibrous body having appropriate bulkiness. The fiber group of Sophite has an appropriate elasticity, and the binder fiber is melted by steam heat. If necessary, the fibrous elastic body 26 is mixed with an additional binder such as low melting point thermoplastic resin powder.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a hot melt film 22 having a size covering the upper surface of the fibrous elastic body 26 is arranged. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper mold 11 is overlaid on the lower mold 1 and pressed, the suction of the lower mold 1 vapor chamber 5 is stopped, and the hot melt protruding from the pressed lower mold 1 and upper mold 11 is melted. The film 22 portion is cut and removed (not shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 1, steam is pressure-fed to the heating chambers 5 and 15 from the steam injection ports 6 and 11 of the lower mold 1 and the upper mold 11. The steam introduced into the steam chamber 5 of the lower mold 1 reaches the molding surface 2 through each of the blowout holes and heats the hot melt film 22. On the other hand, the steam introduced into the steam chamber 15 of the upper mold 11 reaches the molding surface 12 through each of the blowout holes, and the molding surface 1
The hot melt film 22 on the second side is heated. The hot melt film 22 is melted by the heat of steam and impregnates the fibrous elastic body 20. That is, the hot melt film 2
The hot melt (molten resin) of No. 2 impregnates the fibrous elastic body 26 in the arrangement portion of the hot melt film 22, but the impregnated amount remains near the surface portion of the fibrous elastic body 26 because it is the hot melt of the film layer. .. The impregnated portion of the hot melt forms the hard layer 35. The hard layer 3
The hot melt amount of 5 can be adjusted by the film thickness of the hot melt film 22.

The steam that has melted the hot melt film 22 penetrates into the gaps between the fibrous elastic bodies 26 in the pressed state and melts the binder fibers (and the binder) of the fibrous elastic bodies 26. Then, the supply of steam is stopped, air is circulated to cool the product, and then the mold is removed to obtain a molded product 28 shown in FIG.

The surface of the molded product 28 is composed of a hard layer 35 which is impregnated and solidified with hot melt and in which the uneven shape of the molding surface 2 of the lower mold 1 and the uneven shape of the molding surface 12 of the upper mold 11 are clearly formed. The molded shape of the fibrous elastic body 26 portion of the molded product 28 is maintained well by the solidification of the molten binder fiber (and the binder). Then, the hot melt film 22 (see FIG. 5) in the excess portion of the molded product 28 is cut and removed to obtain the cushion body 30 of FIG. 6 having a predetermined shape. As shown in FIG. 7, the cushion body 30 has a good swelling shape on both side protruding portions 31, and the deep concave portion 32 and the acute angle convex portion 33 for design have a constant fiber density and a sharp shape, and the frame groove 33 is also beautiful. It was finished. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the outer peripheral surface of the cushion body 30 is a high-density hard layer 35 impregnated with hot melt and is not easily scratched. Therefore, the lower surface is preferable as a spring receiver, and the upper surface is not easily damaged, which is convenient. ..

Although the hot melt film 22 of the above embodiment is arranged so as to cover the entire molding surface 2 of the lower mold 1, the hot melt film 22 is not limited to cover the entire molding surface, It may be arranged only on a predetermined portion of the molding surface. Further, the hot melt film 22 is not limited to the non-breathable one as in the above-mentioned embodiment, but may be breathable, and the hot melt film 22 between the fibrous elastic body and the molding surface for clamping the hot melt film may be used. You may make it just interpose in a predetermined part, without sucking. That is, when the hot melt film is interposed only in the spring receiving portion and the upper surface of the cushion body in the molding of the cushion body, as in the cushion body 40 of FIG. 35 can be provided. In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment explained the case of the cushion body 30 of the automobile seat, the present invention is not limited to this, and is widely applied to obtain a fibrous molded article requiring the hard layer 35 on the surface. be able to.

[0015]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, when a fibrous body is clamped by a lower die and an upper die and steam is ejected to be molded to obtain a fibrous molded article having a molding surface shape, the fibrous body is compressed. And lower mold and /
Alternatively, since a hot melt film that is melted by the heat of the vapor is interposed between the predetermined portions of the molding surface of the upper mold, the molding of the fibrous body and the molding of the hard layer can be performed at the same time, and the manufacturing is performed. easy. Further, the present invention, in the step of press-molding the lower mold and the upper mold, by interposing the hot melt film only in the necessary predetermined portions, a hard layer can be provided in the predetermined portions of the molded product, Unlike the case of the conventional hard layer bonding method described above, it is not necessary to provide a hard layer even in an unnecessary portion, which is advantageous in that the cost can be reduced and the weight can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process diagram of a lower mold upper mold clamping process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a process diagram of disposing a hot melt film on a lower mold.

FIG. 3 is a drawing process diagram of a lower mold.

FIG. 4 is a layout view of a fibrous elastic body and a hot melt film.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a molded product that has been demolded.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a molded product.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the molded product of this example.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of another example molded product.

FIG. 9 is a conventional view showing a cross-sectional shape of a molded product.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Lower mold 2,12 Molding surface 5,15 Steam chamber 11 Upper mold 22 Hot melt film 26 Fibrous elastic body 28 Molded article 30,40 Cushion body 35 Hard layer

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fibrous body composed of a thermoplastic binder that melts against steam heat and a fiber group of moderate bulkiness in which fibers having a melting point higher than that of the binder are mixed, and at least one of a lower mold and an upper mold is used. Placed between the lower mold molding surface and the upper mold molding surface, which have a large number of steam blowout holes on the molding surface, and press both molds together.
A method for obtaining a fibrous molded article composed of a fibrous body having a molding surface shape by injecting steam from a blowout hole, the fibrous body to be clamped and a predetermined molding surface of a lower mold and / or an upper mold. A method for producing a fibrous molded article, characterized in that a hot melt film which is melted by the steam heat is interposed between the portions.