JPH08142076A - Production of cushion material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To inexpensively produce a cushion material different in hardness with regions. CONSTITUTION: A female mold 51 is filled with a large number of small cushion pieces 6 to which a reactive adhesive is preliminarily bonded. An upper cushion element 3 having hardness almost same to that of the small cushion pieces 6 is placed on the small cushion pieces 6. Side part cushion elements 4 having hardness higher than that of the small cushion pieces 6 are arranged to the lower side parts on both sides of the female mold 51 so as to be embedded in the small cushion pieces. The small cushion pieces 6, the upper cushion element 3 and the side part cushion elements 4 are compressed under pressure by a male mold 52. Next, heated steam is introduced into the female mold 51 to react the reactive adhesive to solidify the same. By this constitution, the small cushion pieces 6 are mutually fixed and the upper cushion element 3, the side part cushion elements 4 and the small cushion pieces 6 are fixed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for manufacturing a cushioning material having different hardness depending on parts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A cushioning material having different hardness depending on its part is used, for example, in a vehicle seat S as shown in FIG. The seat S includes a seat portion A that supports the buttocks of a seated person, a backrest portion B that supports the back, and a headrest portion C that supports the head. In the seat portion A and the backrest portion B, the central portions A ₁ and B _{1 of the} seat portion A and the backrest portion B are the side portions A ₂ and B ₂
It is more dented and softer. Therefore,
When sitting on the seat S, the seated person is supported so as to wrap the buttocks and the back from both sides, and a good sitting feeling can be obtained.

FIG. 6 shows a cushion material D used for the seat portion A. The cushion material D has a shape substantially corresponding to the seat portion A, and has a central portion D ₁ and both side portions D ₂ corresponding to the central portion A ₁ and both side portions A ₂ of the seat portion A. The central portion D ₁ is recessed from both side portions D ₂ and is soft.

Conventionally, when manufacturing the above-mentioned cushion material D, either a molding method or an adhesion method has been adopted. There are the following two molding methods. One method uses a lower mold and two types of upper molds. For example, after molding the central portion D ₁ of the cushion material D by the lower mold and the first upper mold, the lower mold and the second upper mold are formed. A mold is used to mold the side portions D ₂ having high hardness on both sides of the central portion D ₁ . Another molding method is to mold both sides D ₂ having high hardness in advance, and mold the soft central part D ₁ in a state where they are arranged in a mold.

On the other hand, in the bonding method, a large block having hardness corresponding to the soft central portion D ₁ and the hard side portions D ₁ is prepared in advance, and each block is transferred to the central portion D ₁ and both side portions D ₂ . Cut out materials of the corresponding size. Then, the material is cut into a predetermined shape and size to form a central portion D ₁ and both side portions D ₂ . Then, these are bonded with a non-reactive adhesive to manufacture the cushion material D.

[0006]

In any of the molding methods, since the respective parts D ₁ and D ₂ are molded by injecting a liquid resin into the mold and foaming it, the mold used is Is required to be highly accurate so that the liquid resin does not leak outside. Therefore, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the mold increases, and the manufacturing cost of the cushion material D also increases.

On the other hand, in the bonding method, it takes a lot of time and labor to cut out the respective parts D ₁ and D ₂ from the block and cut them into a predetermined shape or to bond them. Therefore, there has been a problem that the manufacturing cost rises.

[0008]

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is to provide a cushion block body and a large number of smaller cushion pieces in a female mold. It is characterized in that the cushion block and the cushion small piece are housed, and the cushion block and the cushion small piece adjacent to the cushion block are fixed to each other while the cushion block body and the cushion small piece are pressed by a male mold, and the cushion small pieces are fixed to each other.

[0009]

In the invention according to claim 1, the cushion block and the cushion small piece are fixed to each other in a pressurized state to form a cushion material having a predetermined shape.
At this time, by performing pressure molding so that the hardness of the portion constituted by a large number of cushion small pieces is different from the hardness of the cushion block after molding, it is possible to manufacture a cushion material having different hardness depending on the portion.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, an example of the cushion material manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described based on FIG. 2. The cushion material 1 is built in the seat portion A of the seat S of the vehicle shown in FIG. 5, for example. , A central portion 1A and both side portions 1B. Of course, the entire cushion material 1 and the respective portions 1A and 1B have shapes substantially corresponding to the entire seat portion A and the respective portions A ₁ and A ₂ .

The lower portion of the central portion 1A and the outer peripheral portions of both side portions 1B are constituted by a main cushion body 2. A plate-shaped upper cushion body 3 is provided on the upper surface of the central portion of the main cushion body 2. In this case, the upper cushion body 3 extends from the front end portion to the rear end portion of the main cushion body 2, but may be provided only in the portion supporting the buttocks. That is, the upper cushion body 3 may be surrounded by the main cushion body 2. Side cushion bodies 4 are embedded on both sides of the main cushion body 2. In this case, the side cushion 4 is formed in a trapezoidal shape in which the lower bottom surface and one side surface are orthogonal to each other.
A shape such as an ellipse can be appropriately selected according to the application.

Here, the hardness of each of the cushion bodies 2, 3 and 4 increases in the order of the upper cushion body 3, the main cushion body 2 and the side cushion body 4. Therefore, the cushion material 1 has a soft central portion and hard side portions, and when seated on a seat portion using this, the buttocks are supported so as to be wrapped from both sides, resulting in a good seating feeling. Is obtained.

Next, a case of manufacturing the cushion material 1 having the above-mentioned structure will be described. In this manufacturing method, the mold 5 including the female mold 51 and the male mold 52 shown in FIG. 1 is used. The female die 51 is formed by bending or welding a relatively thin iron plate having a thickness of about 1.5 to 3 mm, and is formed in a container shape with an open top. The bottom surface of the female die 51 has substantially the same shape as the bottom surface of the cushion material 1, and shallow recesses 51a and 51a are formed on both sides. The inner peripheral surface has substantially the same sectional shape as the both side surfaces of the cushion material 1. On the other hand, the male die 52 is formed by press-molding a thin iron plate having the same thickness as the iron plate forming the female die 51. Male 5
The outer peripheral surface of 2 has the same shape as the inner peripheral surface of the female die 51, and is slidably fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the female die 51. Male 52
The lower surface of is formed in substantially the same shape as the upper surface of the cushion material 1.

In addition, a large number of small holes (not shown) are formed through the walls of the female mold 51 and the male mold 52, and heating gas such as steam is passed through some of the small holes. While being supplied into the mold 5, the heating gas can be discharged to the outside through the remaining small holes. Normally, female mold 51
A small hole is formed in the bottom wall portion of the male mold 52 and the heated gas is supplied from the small hole of the female mold 51, while the heated gas is discharged to the outside from the small hole of the male mold 52.

Cushion material 1 using the mold 5 having the above construction
In the case of manufacturing, as shown in FIG.
The cushion small pieces 6 are spread in the concave portions 51a of No. 1 to a desired thickness. This thickness is arbitrary and can be omitted. The cushion small piece 6 is made of a foam material such as an open-cell type urethane foam, and is several mm to several tens mm.
It has a size of the order. The cushion small piece 6 can be obtained, for example, by crushing an end material or a waste material of a cushion material used for the interior of a vehicle to the above size. Further, a reactive adhesive such as a urethane-based adhesive is attached to the cushion small piece 6 in advance.

Next, the side cushion body 4 (cushion block) is placed on the cushion small piece 6 laid in the recess 51a. In this case, it is desirable that the side cushion body 4 and the inner peripheral surface of the female die 51 be arranged so as to have a space approximately the same as the thickness of the cushion small piece 6 spread in the recess 51a. The side cushion body 4 is made of a foam material such as open-cell type urethane foam.
It has a higher hardness than the cushion piece 6. The side cushion body 4 is obtained by cutting out a part of a large block made of foam material and cutting it into a predetermined size and shape. In this case, the side cushion body 4 does not require high dimensional accuracy, so that cutting does not require much labor. Of course, the side cushion body 4 may be molded using a mold. Also, the side cushion body 4 is a male type 5
Since the hardness slightly increases due to the compression deformation during the pressure molding by 2, the initial size and the like are set in consideration of the size, shape and hardness after the compression deformation. A reactive adhesive may be attached to the side cushion body 4 in advance.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the cushion small pieces 6 are filled in the female mold 51 until a predetermined height is reached. The filling height is determined in consideration of the dimensions of the cushion material 1 and the hardness of the main cushion body 2 after pressure molding. Of course,
By this filling, the cushion small piece 6 is also filled between the side cushion body 4 and the inner peripheral surface of the female die 51.

After that, the upper cushion body 3 (cushion block) is placed on the central portion of the upper surface of the filled cushion small piece 6. The upper cushion body 3 is made of a foam material such as urethane foam which is an open-cell type and has a low hardness.
In this embodiment, the cushion piece 6 is made of a material having substantially the same hardness. The cushion small piece 6 is obtained, for example, by cutting out a part of a large block and cutting it into a predetermined size and shape. Of course, foam molding may be performed using a mold. A reactive adhesive may be attached to the upper cushion body 3 in advance.

As described above, after the cushion small piece 6, the upper cushion body 3 and the side cushion body 4 are arranged in the female die 51, the male die 52 is fitted into the female die 51 and the female die is brought to a predetermined position. Move to the bottom side of 51. By this, the cushion small piece 6, the upper cushion body 3, and the side cushion body 4 are pressed. Here, the predetermined position is a position at which the cushion material 1 having a predetermined size can be manufactured by the cushion small piece 6, the side cushion body 4, and the upper cushion body 3, and normally, the male mold 52 is used. The internal space of the female die 51 partitioned by is at a position that is approximately the same size as the cushion material 1. It should be noted that a position where the internal space is slightly smaller than the cushion material 1 may be set in consideration of spring back of the cushion small piece 6 and the like.

Next, while maintaining the pressurized state by the male die 52, heated steam is introduced from some of the small holes formed in the female die 51 and the male die 52, and the remaining steam is introduced. Discharge from the small hole to the outside. The heating steam to be introduced has such a temperature that it can contribute to the chemical reaction of the reactive adhesive adhered to the cushion small piece 6.

When the reaction of the adhesive on the surface of the cushion pieces 6 is completed, the supply of heating steam is stopped and the reacted adhesive is solidified. The solidified adhesive fixes the cushion pieces 6 to each other. The main cushion body 2 is formed by a large number of fixed cushion small pieces. Similarly, the upper cushion body 3 and the side cushion body 4 and the cushion small pieces 6 adjacent thereto are fixed to each other. This completes the molding of the cushion material 1.
The formed cushion material 1 is taken out from the female mold 51.

In the cushion material 1 manufactured as described above, since the upper cushion body 3 has its upper surface not constrained by the main cushion body 2 (the cushion small piece 6), the initial hardness is maintained even after the completion of molding. Almost keep. Further, the side cushion body 4 is slightly pressed and compressed to have a slightly higher hardness, but this also maintains almost the original hardness. On the other hand, the main cushion body 2 formed by fixing the cushion small pieces 6 to each other is fixed to each other in a compressed state of the cushion small pieces 6, and thus has a hardness higher than the initial hardness of the cushion small pieces 6. Therefore, the hardness of the main cushion body 2 is set to an intermediate hardness between the upper cushion body 3 and the side cushion body 4 by appropriately setting the compression amount of the cushion small piece 6, that is, the filling height to be filled in the female mold 51. can do. Therefore, according to the above manufacturing method,
It is possible to manufacture the cushion material 1 having different hardness depending on the part.

Further, regarding the female mold 51 and the male mold 52 of the mold 5, since the solid material is filled without filling the liquid resin in the space defined by them, the liquid resin is the mold 5. There is no danger of leaks. Therefore, the female die 51 and the male die 52 are not required to have high precision, and can be manufactured at low cost. Further, since the upper cushion body 3 and the side cushion body 4 are pressed into a predetermined shape together with the cushion small piece 6, high dimensional accuracy is not required when cutting them. Therefore, the upper cushion body 3 and the side cushion body 4 can be easily cut. In this way, the mold 5 can be manufactured at low cost and the cutting can be easily performed, so that the manufacturing cost of the cushion material 1 can be reduced.

In the cushion material 1 manufactured as described above, since the upper cushion body 3 which is the upper portion of the central portion 1A is soft and the main cushion body 2 which is the lower portion has a higher hardness than the upper cushion body 3, Not only a good seating feeling is obtained, but also a good stability feeling is obtained. Similarly, since the side cushion body 4 having a high hardness is covered by the main cushion body 2 which is softer than the side cushion body 4, both the sitting comfort and the stability can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified as appropriate. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the reactive adhesive adhered to the cushion small piece 6 is reacted with the heated steam, and the cushion adhesive 6 and the cushion small piece 6 are reacted by the reacted adhesive.
Although the upper cushion body 3 and the side cushion body 4 are fixed to each other, the cushion small piece 6, the upper cushion body 3
Alternatively, at least the surface layer portion of the cushion small piece of the side cushion body 4 may be melted by the heated gas and then solidified to bond them. In this way, the adhesive is not required, and the labor for attaching the adhesive to the cushion small piece 6 can be saved, whereby the manufacturing cost of the cushion material 1 can be further reduced.

In the above embodiment, the female mold 51
Although the upper cushion body 3 is placed on a large number of cushion small pieces 6 filled in the upper cushion 3 as shown in phantom lines in FIG.
It may be embedded in the cushion small piece 1 in a state of being exposed from.

[0027]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the effect that it is possible to inexpensively manufacture the cushioning material having different hardness depending on the portion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a cushion material manufactured according to the same example.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a step of the example.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another process of the same example.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a vehicle seat in which a cushion material to be manufactured according to the present invention is used.

6 is a cross-sectional view of a cushioning material used for the seat shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cushion Material 2 Main Cushion Body 3 Upper Cushion Body (Cushion Block) 4 Side Cushion Body (Cushion Block) 5 Mold 6 Cushion Small Piece 51 Female 52 Male

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display area B29K 105: 04 105: 26 B29L 31:58

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cushion block body and a large number of smaller cushion pieces smaller than the cushion block body are housed in a female mold, and the cushion block body and the cushion small pieces are adjacent to the cushion block in a state of being pressed by a male mold. A method for manufacturing a cushion material, which comprises fixing small cushion pieces together and fixing small cushion pieces together.