JPH07250981A - Head rest and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the head rest to be formed integrally with an outer covering composed of an air permeable surface material such as fabric and a stay by individually using the outer covering and the manufacturing method of the same. CONSTITUTION:This head rest is provided with the outer covering 2 formed in the shape of a bag, stay 5 which base part is set inside the outer covering 2, and foamed object 9 formed integrally with the outer covering 2 and the stay 5 by injecting a foaming raw material into the outer covering 2. Concerning such a head rest, the outer covering 2 is composed of the air permeable surface material, the stay 5 is composed of a hollow pipe forming plural small holes 52 at the base part of the stay, and further, the foaming raw material is composed of expandable resin beads 8a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a headrest attached to the upper end of a seat back of a vehicle or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A headrest is mounted on the upper end of a seat back of a vehicle or the like so as to provide comfort. Such a headrest is made, for example, by using a skin sewn in the shape of a bag and disposing a stay base in the skin, setting them in a foam mold, and then foaming urethane foam through an opening provided in the skin. It has been made by molding a foam that is integrated with the skin and stay by injecting and foaming the raw material.

[0003]

However, when the fabric skin is used, the urethane used as the raw material for foaming urethane is initially liquid, and since the foaming pressure is applied to the inside, it penetrates the skin. Urethane leaked to the surface of the headrest. In the case of the skin structure composed of only the fabric, the liquid urethane also penetrates into the weave, stitches, etc. of about 10 μm, so that the problem of bleeding to the front side could not be prevented. For this reason, when manufacturing a headrest that is integrally molded with the fabric skin, measures are taken to attach a slab such as flexible urethane foam, a urethane film, or a laminate thereof to the back side of the fabric skin by frame lamination or the like. It was However, as a result, a different material such as a urethane film is prepared, and the number of parts and the number of attachment steps are increased to use a skin to which these materials are attached, resulting in complication.

The present invention solves the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a headrest that can be integrally formed with a skin and a stay by using a skin made of a breathable skin material such as a fabric, and a manufacturing method thereof. To do.

[0005]

A headrest according to the first aspect of the present invention is a bag-like skin, a stay having a base set in the skin, and a foaming material injected into the skin to form the skin and the stay. And a foam body integrally formed with the foam, wherein the skin is made of a breathable skin material, the stay is composed of a hollow pipe having a plurality of small holes at the base of the stay, and the foaming raw material is foamed. It is characterized in that it is made of functional resin beads. Here, the "base portion" refers to a stay portion arranged inside the foam when the headrest is completed. The "hollow pipe" includes a rectangular tubular body.

A method of manufacturing a headrest according to the second aspect of the present invention is
Using a foam mold having openings in the mold wall facing the cavity, a stay made of a hollow pipe having a plurality of small holes formed in the base, and a breathable skin that is formed into a bag are After arranging it in the foam mold so as to cover the base, the mold was closed, then the foaming resin beads as the foaming raw material were filled from the filling gun into the cavity, and then connected to the steam pipe or the steam pipe. By supplying steam from the stay to the cavity, the steam and its condensed water are discharged to the outside of the cavity while promoting heat fusion of the expandable resin beads, and a foam integrated with the skin and stay is formed. To do. A method of manufacturing a headrest according to the third aspect of the present invention is the same as that of the second aspect.
According to the invention, the stay is preheated before the mold is closed.

[0007]

According to the headrest and the method for manufacturing the same of the present invention, when the foam mold is provided with the breathable skin such as fabric and the stay base and the mold is closed, the cavity is filled with the foaming resin beads as the foaming raw material. Since the diameter of the expandable resin beads is much larger than the texture, etc., it cannot penetrate this,
There is no leakage of the foam material outside the skin. In addition, since steam is blown into the cavity by using small holes provided in the stay base that forms part of the product, the steam is effectively spread throughout the cavity, and the heat-sealing of the expandable resin beads is prevented. A foam that facilitates and integrates with the skin and stay is easily made.

[0008]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in detail below based on examples. (1) Headrest manufacturing method FIGS. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of a headrest and a manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a foaming mold used for manufacturing a headrest, in which a skin and a stay are set, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 shows a filling state of foamable resin beads after the mold is closed. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view during foam molding, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the headrest.

First, the foaming mold 1 used in the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described. The foaming mold is composed of a fixed mold 1a and a movable mold 1b, and forms a cavity C having a headrest A shape (FIGS. 1 and 2). Each mold wall 11 facing the cavity C is provided with a plurality of openings 12 that are evenly distributed, and these openings 12 connect the chambers 3 and 4 with the cavity C. Drain valves 31 and 41 and release valves 32 and 42 are attached to the chambers 3 and 4, respectively. Further, the steam pipes 6, 6 to which the stay ends 53 are attached are arranged on the extension lines of the parting line between the fixed die 1a and the movable die 1b. And, in the approximate center of the two steam pipes 6 and 6, there is a filling gun 7 having its inlet directed into the cavity C and mounted on the fixed mold 1a (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 4). .

Next, a headrest A using the foaming mold 1 and a method for manufacturing the same will be described. First, the stay 5 including a hollow pipe bent in a substantially U shape is prepared. In this stay 5, a small hole 52 of about 1.5 mmφ is formed in the base 51.
The holes 52 are formed at intervals of 2 mm, and 30 small holes 52 are opened in total. The small holes 52 serving as steam outlets are suitable if they are smaller than the diameter of the expandable resin beads 8a described later, and from the standpoint of promoting heat fusion of the expandable resin beads 8a by steam, it is preferable to make them as large as possible. Becomes From this viewpoint, the small holes 52 are preferably in the range of 1.0 to 1.5 mmφ, and the number of the small holes 52 is preferably about 30 to 40.

The stay 5 is preheated to 80 to 100 ° C. in advance. The base portion 51 of the stay 5 is arranged in the cavity C, but since the heat capacity of the base portion 51 occupying the entire headrest A is relatively large, it is better to preheat the foamed body 9 prior to the integral molding so as to improve the productivity. Because. The stay 5 that has been preheated is positioned and set on the fixed mold 1a by utilizing the notch 54 for height adjustment.

Next, the fixed skin 1a of the foaming mold 1 is covered with the skin 2.
To arrange. The skin 2 is a bag-like fabric that is a breathable skin material, and is set on the stationary mold 1a so as to cover the base 51 using the opening 21 (FIG. 1). The surface skin 2 may be a woven or knitted fabric having a weave, a stitch, or the like, as well as a non-woven fabric or the like serving as a breathable skin material. Further, it is also possible to adopt an operation procedure of setting the stay 5 after disposing the skin 2.

When the stay 5 and the skin 2 have been set in the foam mold 1, the mold is closed. Then, after closing the mold, only the filling air (2 to 5 kg / cm ² ) is made to flow from the filling gun 7 (FIG. 2). This is because by matching the outer skin 2 with the cavity shape, wrinkles of the outer skin 2 can be prevented during production.

After that, the foaming resin beads 8a as the foaming raw material 8 are filled from the filling gun 7 into the skin 2 of the cavity C (FIG. 3). In the present embodiment, as the expandable resin beads 8a, those obtained by primary foaming granular polypropylene impregnated with a foaming gas with a pre-expanding machine at a magnification of 45 times are used (Kanefuchi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Product name "Kaneka Eperan PP45"). Here, the foaming resin beads 8a as the foaming raw material 8 include a thermoplastic resin such as a homopolymer of polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyphenylene oxide or the like, a copolymer with other monomers, or a graft polymer such as ABS. The target is unexpanded or pre-expanded granular material in which gas, chemical blowing agent is added.

Next, the one-touch nozzle 61 of the steam pipe 6
Is connected to the stay end 53, and steam is introduced into the stay 5. The base 51 is arranged in the cavity C by the connection between the stay 5 and the steam pipe 6. The base 51 is a headrest A
Once completed, it will be hidden within the foam 9. still,
The stay 5 may be connected to the steam pipe 6 earlier than this operation procedure. For steam, the throttle valve of the steam pipe 6 is adjusted (1.2 to 1.6 kg / cm ² , 123 to 128).
℃), the vapor pressure will be gradually increased. Although preheating is performed by this operation, the drain valves 31 and 41 are closed when the preheating has progressed to some extent. Then, in order to carry out the main heating, steam having a pressure of 2.0 to 4.5 kg / cm ² and a temperature of 133 to 155 ° C. is flown. By the main heating, the steam passes through the steam pipe 6 and the small holes 5 provided in the base portion 51 of the stay 5.
Radially spread from 2 into the cavity C, and the expandable resin beads 8a are heated and fused. Exhausted latent heat and sensible heat,
The steam and condensed water that have finished their roles are discharged to the outside of the cavity C through the openings 12 of the mold wall 11. Alternatively, the steam pipe may be projected into the skin and the steam may be blown directly from the steam pipe.

By the above main heating operation, the expandable resin beads 8a become soft and change into the foam 9 in which the particles are fused and bonded. At the same time, the skin 2 is adhered and bonded to the molding surface due to the heat fusion of the expandable resin beads 8a. Similarly, the base 51 of the stay 5 is also integrated with the foam 9 (FIG. 4). Thus, a molded product integrated with the cavity-shaped skin 2 and the stay 5 is completed. When this molding is completed, steam is stopped, and then cooling and cooling operations are started. Fixed type 1
a, cooling water is circulated in a cooling water pipe (not shown) arranged in the movable die 1b. In addition, the drain valves 31, 4 described above
1. Opening the open valves 32 and 42 and taking in cooling air, the temperature of the foaming mold 1 is lowered. After opening the mold, the one-touch nozzle 61 and the stay 5 are disconnected, and a desired molded product is taken out of the foaming mold 1. And annealing (80 ℃, 20
Time), the opening 21 of the epidermis 2 is sealed with an adhesive, Velcro (registered trademark) or the like to complete the headrest A (FIG. 5).

(2) Structure of Headrest FIG. 5 shows the headrest A obtained by the above manufacturing method. The headrest A includes a skin 2 made of a breathable skin material formed in a bag shape, a stay 5 made of a hollow pipe in which a base 51 is set in the skin 2, and a foaming resin 8 which is a foaming raw material 8 from an opening 21 of the skin 2. A bead 8a is injected to form a skin 2, a stay 5, and a foam 9 integrally formed.

The skin 2 is made of a breathable skin material made of fabric as described above, and is integrated with the foam 9 when the expandable resin beads 8a injected from the opening 21 are fused. Therefore, the adhesive strength between the foam 9 and the skin 2 is large. By the way, since the skin 2 has a breathable structure, even if a steam outlet serving as a heating medium is not provided at the manufacturing stage, the steam uniformly passes in all directions from innumerable breathable weaves, etc. It is suitable for performing the heat fusion of No. 9 uniformly.

The stay 5 is formed by bending a hollow pipe into a U-shape.
Further, a plurality of small holes 52 are formed in the base 51 embedded in the foam 9. The stay 5 has the end portion 53 attached to the upper end of the seat back or the like to fix the headrest A to the vehicle seat. However, by constructing the stay 5 with a hollow pipe, the stay 5 serves as a heating medium for foam molding. It also plays the role of a steam flow path. Further, by providing the small hole 52 in the base portion 51, it becomes possible to inject steam from the small hole 52 into the cavity C, and furthermore, steam heating can be performed from the substantially central portion of the foam 9 toward the peripheral skin 2. It is like this. Here, since the small holes 52 are buried in the foam body 9 when the product is completed, there is no problem due to the formation of the small holes 52.

The foam 9 is a cavity-shaped molded product made of expanded polypropylene and is lightweight and has an appropriate cushioning property. Since the foam 9 is formed by foaming the expandable resin beads 8a as described above, there is no evidence that the foam 9 leaks to the outside of the skin 2 naturally larger than the texture of the skin 2 or the like.
Since the foam 9 is integrally formed with the skin 2 and the stay 5 arranged in the cavity,
They are firmly fixed to each other. By the way, the upper limit of the thickness T of the headrest A is desirably suppressed to about 150 mm, and more preferably about 130 mm (FIG. 4). This is because if the thickness T becomes too large, the unwelded portion remains on the expandable resin beads 8a. Further, the distances L1 and L2 from the base 51 arranged inside the foam 9 to the skin 2
Has a distance L1 of 70 mm or less, more preferably 50 mm
The distance L2 is preferably equal to or less than 120 mm, more preferably 100 mm or less (FIG. 5).
This is because the productivity is increased and the unwelded portion of the expandable resin beads 8a is not left.

(5) Effects of the Embodiments According to the headrest and the method for manufacturing the same of the above aspect, since the expandable resin beads 8a are used as the foaming raw material 8, it is preferable to use the skin 2 such as fabric.
On the contrary, while suppressing the passage of the expandable resin beads 8a, the gaps such as the weave helped the passage of the steam, and the heat fusion by the steam could be smoothly performed over the whole. In this way, the number of parts such as the urethane film, which was required in the conventional integral molding using the liquid foaming raw material, was reduced, and the troublesomeness of the sticking work was eliminated. Further, when the stay 5 which is a component of the headrest A, which is a product, is formed into a hollow pipe shape and moreover, a plurality of small holes 52 are provided in the base 51 located substantially in the center of the headrest A, and steam is ejected from the small holes 52, It spreads radially and no unwelded portion of the expandable resin beads 8a remained during foam molding. In addition, as described above, since the fabric skin having the steam outlet such as the texture is used throughout, the steam uneven flow does not occur, and the foam molding process is completed quickly. Further, since the stay 5 having the small holes 52 provided in the base portion 51 is assembled and shipped as a headrest product by using the steam only once, no trouble due to clogging of the small holes 52 or the like occurred. On the other hand, in the conventional headrest, the laminate film or the like attached to the skin 2 blocks the flow of air, but in the headrest A of the present invention, the breathable skin 2
Since it is configured by itself, it has a refreshing feeling and a clean feeling, and the headrest A was not distorted.

The present invention is not limited to those shown in the above embodiments, but can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention depending on the purpose and application. The materials, shapes, and the like of the skin 2, stay 5, and foam 9 are appropriately selected according to the application. Specifically, the base portion 51 of the stay 5 does not have to have the same shape as the stay end portion 53, and the small hole 52 may be provided as a hollow body. Further, the base portion 51 can be attached with a headrest frame or the like so as to be applied to a retractable headrest.

[0023]

As described above, according to the headrest and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture the headrest integrally formed with the skin and the stay by using it, while using the air-permeable skin. It has excellent effects such as simplification of products and the provision of low-priced products with excellent quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a foaming mold in which a skin and a stay are set.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a filled state of expandable resin beads after the mold is closed.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view at the time of foam molding.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a headrest.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Foaming Type 11 Mold Wall 12 Opening Hole 2 Skin 5 Stay 52 Small Hole 7 Filling Gun 8 Foaming Raw Material 8a Foaming Resin Beads 9 Foaming Body A Headrest C Cavity

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display area B29L 31:58

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A headrest comprising a bag-shaped skin, a stay having a base set in the skin, and a foam formed by integrally pouring a foaming raw material into the skin and the stay. A headrest characterized in that the skin is made of a breathable skin, the stay is made of a hollow pipe having a plurality of small holes formed in the base of the stay, and the foaming raw material is foamable resin beads. . 2. A stay made of a hollow pipe having a plurality of small holes formed in a base thereof by using a foaming mold having openings in a mold wall facing the cavity, and a breathable skin formed in a bag shape. After disposing the base in a foaming mold so as to cover the base with the skin, the mold is closed, and then the foaming resin beads as a foaming raw material are filled from the filling gun into the cavity, and then the steam pipe or By supplying steam to the cavity from the stay connected to the steam pipe, the steam and its condensed water are discharged to the outside of the cavity while promoting the heat fusion of the expandable resin beads, and the foam integrated with the skin and stay is molded. Headrest manufacturing method. 3. The method of manufacturing a headrest according to claim 2, wherein the stay is preheated before the mold is closed.