JPH08110191A - Radiator tank of fiber-reinforced resin and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make a radiator tank of fiber-reinforced resin sufficiently resistant to high pressure, relating to one set at the inlet or outlet of cooling water for a radiator core, by orientating the reinforcing fiber in parallel to a section breadthways across the tank. CONSTITUTION: For an upper tank 11 polypropylene in a molten state, which contains glass fiber in single form, is injected into a cavity 17 through a resin- injection hole 18, that is, the molten resin is made to flow into the cavity 17 through a film gate 24 formed along the longitudinal side of the upper tank 11. Then the flow of the molten resin takes place in the same direction as a cross section of the upper tank 11 so that the reinforcing fiber 25 is orientated in the same direction as the cross section of the upper tank 11. This method enables obtaining a radiator tank with a high tensile strength in the orientation direction of the fiber, hence one resistant to high internal pressure.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fiber reinforced resin radiator tank and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a fiber reinforced resin radiator tank mounted on the inlet side or the outlet side of cooling water of a radiator core and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cooling water is circulated inside the engine for cooling the engine. The cooling water that has passed through the engine and has been heated is circulated in a radiator arranged in front of the engine, for example, to be cooled and then returned to the engine side again.

The radiator for cooling the cooling water of the engine is provided with a corrugated fin type radiator core, and an upper tank is attached to the upper side of the radiator core and a lower tank is attached to the lower side thereof. The radiator body is supported by cushion rubber on both sides. Further, the radiator is connected to a reserve tank and / or a header tank, and when the cooling water in the radiator decreases, the cooling water is automatically replenished from these tanks.

[0004]

The upper tank or the lower tank mounted on the upper or lower part of the radiator core is resin-molded by using a mold as shown in FIG. The mold is composed of an upper mold 1 and a lower mold 2. By injecting resin through a resin injection port 4 and a gate 5 into a cavity 3 formed between them, for example, a shape as shown in FIG. The upper tank 6 was formed. The tank 6 is provided with a gate 5 corresponding to the resin injection port 4, and this portion is cut later.

In order to increase the strength of the upper tank 6, a composite of reinforced fibers with a thermoplastic resin is used, and the upper tank 6 is molded with such a fiber reinforced resin. However, as shown in FIG. 6, since the resin is injected through the resin injection port 4 formed at the position corresponding to the end portion in the length direction of the upper tank 6, the reinforcement in the molded upper tank 6 is performed. As shown in FIG. 7, the fibers were formed in a state of being oriented in the length direction of the tank 6.

On the other hand, in order to extend the life of the cooling water, a long-life coolant is mixed in the cooling water, and the boiling point of the cooling water rises due to such mixing of the coolant, and High water vapor pressure. Therefore, the upper tank 6 that can withstand higher pressure is required. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the tank 6
With the reinforcing fiber 7 oriented in the longitudinal direction, sufficient strength could not be obtained, and cracks could occur in the direction in which the fiber 7 is oriented, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the tank 6.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a radiator tank made of a fiber-reinforced resin and a method for manufacturing the same, which can withstand a high pressure. It is what

[0008]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a radiator tank made of fiber reinforced resin attached to a radiator core at the inlet side or outlet side of cooling water of a radiator core, the radiator tank extending along the width direction of the tank. The present invention relates to a radiator tank in which reinforcing fibers are oriented. Here, the reinforcing fibers do not have to be oriented in a direction that completely coincides with the width direction of the tank, and it is sufficient that they are oriented substantially in that direction as a majority, and those that are locally oriented in different directions are also possible. It includes. Such a radiator tank is obtained by injecting a molten resin containing reinforcing fibers made of single fibers into a mold through a film gate formed on a side end surface along the length direction of the tank.

As the matrix resin of the fiber reinforced resin used in the present invention, either a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin can be applied. As a thermoplastic resin,
Various resins such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, ABS resin, acrylic resin, polyamide resin, polyester resin, polycarbonate resin, polyacetal resin, and fluororesin may be used and are not particularly limited. As the thermosetting resin, various resins such as phenol resin, melamine resin, urea resin, unsaturated polyester resin, epoxy resin, acrylic resin and silicone resin may be used, and the thermosetting resin is not particularly limited also in this case.

Fibers such as glass fiber, metal fiber, silicon carbide fiber, alumina fiber and carbon fiber may be used as the reinforcing fiber compounded with such a resin. Such fibers are incorporated into the matrix resin in the form of single fibers. The length of the reinforcing fiber may be about 1 to 2 mm, and the ratio of the reinforcing fiber to the matrix resin may be 20 to 45%.

The resin composed of the reinforcing fibers is injected into the cavity through the film gate of the mold, and the reinforcing fibers are oriented along the widthwise cross section of the tank depending on the flow direction of the resin at this time. Therefore, the reinforcing fiber gives strength to the radiator tank especially against the force acting in the width direction of the tank, and it is possible to reliably prevent the tank from being cracked along the length direction of the tank. become. Therefore, in order to extend the life of the cooling water, a long-life coolant is mixed into the cooling water, its boiling point becomes high, and high vapor pressure is applied, which is particularly advantageous in terms of strength when the radiator tank receives a force in the expansion direction. We will be able to provide radiator tanks.

[0012]

[Function] The reinforcing fibers oriented along the widthwise cross section of the tank give a high tensile strength to the fiber-reinforced resin radiator tank in the fiber orientation direction, and a radiator tank that can withstand high pressure is obtained. To be

When molten resin containing reinforcing fibers composed of single fibers is flowed in through a film gate formed on a side end surface along the length direction of the tank, the reinforcing fibers compounded along the flowing direction of the molten resin are formed. Orientation, which results in orientation of the reinforcing fibers along the width cross section of the tank.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the structure of a radiator for cooling engine cooling water. This radiator has a radiator core 10, an upper tank 11 mounted on its upper side, and a lower tank 12 mounted on its lower side. It consists of and. The cooling water that circulates in the engine and is heated is introduced into the radiator core 10 through the upper tank 11, and is radiated in the radiator core 10 to be cooled to be pressurized by the water pump through the lower tank 12. It is designed to return to the inside of the engine.

The upper tank 11 and the lower tank 1
Both 2 are made of fiber reinforced resin. FIG. 2 shows a mold for molding the upper tank 11, and this mold is composed of an upper mold 15 and a lower mold 16. A cavity 17 is formed between the molds 15 and 16. Then, the melted resin is injected into the cavity 17 through the resin injection port 18. The molten resin injected from the resin injection port 18 will fill the cavity 17 through the gate 19.

The upper tank 11 according to this embodiment is made of polypropylene resin mixed with single glass fiber. A melt of polypropylene resin mixed with single fibers of glass fiber is injected into the cavity 17 through the resin injection port 18. At this time
As shown in FIG. 4, the melted resin is allowed to flow into the cavity 17 through the film gate 24 formed along the side end surface of the upper tank 11 in the lengthwise direction.

Therefore, the flow direction of the molten resin is along the cross-sectional direction of the upper tank 11. From this fact, as shown in FIG.
The cross-sectional direction is 1. It should be noted that the upper tank 11 has a mouth portion 22 continuously provided at a substantially central portion of the upper tank 11 in the longitudinal direction thereof. A flange 23 is formed on the tip side of the mouth 22.

The upper tank 1 molded in this way
As shown in FIG. 5, 1 is attached to the upper part of the radiator core 10, and the O-ring 28 is attached to the upper tank 1
It is adapted to be coupled to the upper portion of the radiator core 10 via a caulking metal fitting 29 in a state of being inserted in the opening edge portion of 1. Therefore, the upper tank 10 and the radiator core 10
The O-ring 28 provides a reliable seal between the two.

As described above, in the radiator tank 11 according to the present embodiment, the molten resin in which the reinforcing fibers are combined is made to flow through the film gate 24 formed at the side end portion in the lengthwise direction, whereby the reinforcing fibers are formed. 25 is oriented along the cross-sectional direction of the upper tank 11. Therefore, depending on such an orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers, the tensile strength in the same direction becomes large, and it becomes difficult to break even when an internal pressure is applied. In particular, it is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of cracks in the length direction of the tank 11.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the reinforcing fibers are oriented along the widthwise cross section of the tank. With such a configuration, a radiator tank having a high tensile strength in the fiber orientation direction can be obtained, and a radiator tank that can withstand a high internal pressure can be provided.

In the invention relating to the manufacturing method, the molten resin containing the reinforcing fibers made of single fibers is made to flow through the film gate formed on the side end surface along the length direction of the tank. Therefore, by injecting the molten resin containing such reinforcing fibers through the film gate, the reinforcing fibers are oriented in the inflow direction of the molten resin, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the length direction of the film gate. It becomes possible to orient the reinforcing fibers made of single fibers along the cross-sectional direction of the radiator core without using them, and it becomes possible to easily mold the radiator tank having excellent pressure resistance with the fiber-reinforced resin.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of a radiator.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of an upper tank molding die.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a molded upper tank.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a radiator to which an upper tank is attached.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional radiator tank molding die.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of a molded conventional radiator tank.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Radiator core 11 Upper tank 12 Lower tank 15 Upper mold 16 Lower mold 17 Cavity 18 Resin injection port 19 Gate 22 Mouth 23 Flange 24 Film gate 25 Reinforcing fiber 28 O-ring 29 Crimping fitting

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A fiber reinforced resin radiator tank mounted on the inlet side or outlet side of cooling water of a radiator core, wherein reinforcing fibers are oriented along a cross section in the width direction of the tank. Resin radiator tank. 2. A method for manufacturing a radiator tank made of a fiber-reinforced resin, which is attached to an inlet side or an outlet side of cooling water of a radiator core, wherein a monofilament is passed through a film gate formed on a side end surface along the length direction of the tank. A method for manufacturing a radiator tank made of fiber reinforced resin, characterized in that a molten resin containing a reinforcing fiber composed of is introduced.