JPH09254165A - Skin integrated foamed product and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce percent defective by certainly preventing the penetration of a foamed resin into the aperture parts of a skin material and to certainly prevent the lowering of appearance quality and the feel. SOLUTION: A formable resin is foamed within a bag-shaped skin material 1 having the first and second folded-back end parts 42, 43 opposed within apertures 4 to each other so that the first folded-back end parts 42 have energized end parts so as to be bent toward the second folded-back end parts 43. Since the energized end parts 44 are pressed to the second folded-back end parts 43 by foaming pressure, the apertures 4 are closed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an integral skin formed by arranging a bag-shaped skin body such as an automobile headrest, seat, armrest, etc. in a molding die and injecting a foaming resin into the skin body to cause foaming. The present invention relates to a foamed product and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A headrest of an automobile is formed of a foamed molded body having a core material inside and a skin covered on the surface. As a method of manufacturing this headrest, a method of forming a foamed molded body and then coating a separately formed skin body is generally used. However, since the number of man-hours required for coating is large and there is a problem that deformation occurs at the time of coating, in recent years a bag-shaped skin body is placed in a molding die, and foam resin is foamed inside the skin body to cover the skin. The method of forming a skin-integrated foam product integrated with the body is becoming mainstream.

In this latter manufacturing method, a bag-shaped skin formed in advance by sewing or the like is first placed in a molding die. At this time, a reinforcing core material is put inside the skin. Then, the foamed resin is injected into the epidermis through an opening provided in the epidermis to perform foam molding. The foamed resin foams and its volume increases, and the pressure causes the epidermis to press against the mold surface to shape it into a predetermined shape, and the foamed resin is filled in the epidermis to form a skin-integrated foamed product. Therefore, according to this manufacturing method, it is possible to say that this is an excellent manufacturing method because the number of steps is small and high shape accuracy can be obtained.

By the way, in the above manufacturing method, it is necessary to hide the opening of the skin body into which the foamed resin is injected so as not to be conspicuous. It is also necessary to take measures to prevent the foamed resin from leaking through the opening of the skin. Therefore, for example, there is a method of disposing a locking plate inside the opening of the skin and fixing a pair of ends of the facing skin on both sides of the opening to the locking plate with clips.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-97810 discloses that
Foam molding is performed in a state where the pair of ends of the skin located on both sides of the opening are superposed, and the foamed resin enters between the ends of the superposed portion to join the pair of ends and to form the opening. A hiding method is disclosed. As a method of easily closing the opening, a pair of folded-back end portions 101 and 102 that are bent inward and face each other and abut against each other are provided in the opening 100 as shown in FIG. In this way, the folded-back end portions 101, 10 are caused by the foaming pressure.
2 are pressed so as to be close to each other and press-contacted, and the opening 10
It is possible to close the opening 100 while preventing resin leakage from 0. In addition, the foamed resin has a pair of folded back end portions 10.
It is necessary to make the lengths of the folded-back end portions 101 and 102 sufficiently long so that the folded-back end portions 101 and 102 can be prevented from entering and exposing.

[0006]

Among the methods of closing the opening of the bag-shaped skin, the method of using the locking plate and the clip is as follows.
Before the foaming of the foamed resin, the end portions of the epidermis on both sides of the opening must be fixed to the locking plate, resulting in low productivity. Further, the number of parts such as the locking plate and the clip is increased, and the man-hours in terms of production management are great. Further, in order to perform the work efficiently, it is preferable to inject the foamed resin after fixing the end portion of the skin body to the locking plate in advance. However, in this case, the locking plate 200 needs an injection hole for the foamed resin, and a cap for closing the injection hole is required, but the presence of this cap is not preferable in terms of design.

On the other hand, according to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-97810, the inconveniences of the above method can be avoided. However, it is difficult to control the overlap margin between the end portions to be constant because the state of the end portion of the epidermis on the inner peripheral side in the overlapping portion is indefinite. Therefore, in order to prevent the foamed resin from seeping out from the polymerized portion to the surface side of the skin body, it is necessary to set a large overlap margin in the polymerized portion.
Therefore, the area of the polymerized portion becomes larger than the amount of the foamed resin entering between the polymerized portions, and as a result, there are many portions that are not joined to the polymerized portion, and there is a problem that the portion is rolled and the appearance is deteriorated. . For this reason, it is necessary to bond the polymerized portion with an adhesive or the like after molding, resulting in a large number of steps.

Further, in the method of closing the opening by bringing the folded-back end portions into contact with each other, when the length of the folded-back end portions is short, the foamed resin that has entered between the pair of folded-back end portions is exposed on the surface of the skin body. It was difficult to stably produce good products. Therefore, if the length of the folded end is made sufficiently long,
As shown in FIG. 6, there is a case where the tip of one of the folded back end portions 101 is fixed in a state of being in contact with the skin body 103. In such a case, there is a problem that the sealed space 300 is formed, the filling of the foamed resin in that portion is hindered, and the appearance and touch are impaired.

Further, the foamed product integrated with the skin obtained by the method of closing the opening by abutting the folded-back end portions has a problem that the foamed molded product is exposed when the opening is opened and the appearance is not good. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and reliably prevents the invasion of the foamed resin into the opening of the epidermis to reduce the defective rate, and surely prevents the deterioration of the appearance quality and the tactile sensation. The purpose is to

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems The features of the foam-in-skin product of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems are characterized by a bag-like skin having an injection opening for a foamed resin and a foamed molded body filling the skin. In the foamed product integrated with skin, the skin has an opening, is bent into a substantially L-shape, and has a first folded end and a second folded end facing each other in the opening, and the first folded end is the second
Having a biasing end portion extending into the epidermis longer than the folding end portion, the biasing end portion abuts at least one of the end face of the second folding end portion and the surface opposite to the opening and closes the opening. To be there.

Further, the feature of the manufacturing method of the present invention, which is most suitable for manufacturing the above-mentioned skin-integrated foamed product, is that the first folded end portion and the second folded end portion which have an opening and are bent into a substantially L shape and face each other in the opening A bag-shaped skin body having a folded-back end portion, the first folded-back end portion extending into the epidermis longer than the second folded-back end portion, and having a biasing end portion bent to bend toward the second folded-back end portion. In the mold, a step of inserting an injection nozzle into the opening and injecting a predetermined amount of foamed resin into the epidermis from the injection nozzle, foaming the foamed resin in the epidermis, and urging the end portion urged by the foaming pressure. Is pressed against the second folded end to form the foamed molded article so as to close the opening,
It consists of

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As the skin material referred to in the skin-integrated foamed product of the present invention, a bag-shaped product made of woven cloth, non-woven cloth, vinyl chloride resin or the like can be used. These may be used individually, or a slab foam or the like laminated on the back side may be used. To make a bag again,
It can be performed by joining the skins cut into a predetermined shape by sewing, bonding, welding, or the like.

This skin has an opening, which is substantially L
It is composed of a first folded end portion and a second folded end portion that are bent in a letter shape and face each other. The first folded end portion is longer than the second folded end portion and has a biasing end portion that extends into the epidermis. This urging end portion abuts on at least one of the end surface of the second folded end portion and the surface opposite to the surface facing the opening, thereby closing the opening and preventing the foamed resin from leaking during foam molding. There is.

A foam molding is joined to the surfaces of the first folded end and the second folded end opposite to the surfaces facing the openings to close the openings of the first folded end and the second folded end. The shape is retained. Therefore, the foamed product with integrated skin according to the present invention has excellent appearance quality, and even if the opening is forcibly opened, there is no problem that the foamed molded product appears and the appearance is impaired.

The urging end may be integrated with the first folded end or may be a separate body integrated with the first folded end by sewing or bonding. Further, as the foam molded article, urethane type, rubber type, thermoplastic elastomer type,
It can be selected from various materials such as polyolefin. In the method for manufacturing a skin-integrated foamed product of the present invention, first, the first folded-back end has an opening and is bent into a substantially L-shape and has a first folded-back end and a second folded-back end facing each other in the opening. A bag-shaped epidermis having a biasing end extending into the epidermis longer than the second folding end and being bent toward the second folding end is arranged in the mold.

Next, an injection nozzle is inserted into the opening of the epidermis, and a predetermined amount of foamed resin is injected into the epidermis from the injection nozzle. Then, when the injection nozzle is pulled out of the skin body, the biasing end portion is bent so that it bends toward the second folding end portion. At this time, the biasing end may be bent in a dogleg shape, or may be bent in an L shape, a U shape, or a J shape. When bent into a U-shape or a J-shape, the second folded end can be held by the bent biasing end at the first folded end.

In that state, the foamed resin foams in the epidermis. When the foamed resin foams and its volume expands, the foamed resin first contacts the long first folded end portion and presses the biasing end portion by the foaming pressure. When the urging end portion is bent into a dogleg shape or an L shape, the urging end portion is bent by pressing so that the bending angle becomes more acute, and at least the first
It abuts the end face of the folded end or preferably grips the first folded end. When the urging end portion is bent in a U shape or a J shape, the urging end portion is bent so that the bending angle becomes a more acute angle.

Therefore, the opening formed between the first folded end portion and the second folded end portion is closed by the first folded end portion having the biasing end portion. Then, when the foamed resin further expands, the foamed resin will not contact the first folded end portion and the second folded end portion.
The surfaces of the folding end portions opposite to the surfaces opposite to each other are pressed, and the first folding end portion and the second folding end portion are pressed against each other. As a result, the foamed resin expands and fills the epidermis without penetrating between the first folded end portion and the second folded end portion. That is, the foamed resin is integrally formed with the skin without forming the foamed resin in the opening.

The urging end portion can be bent as described above by sewing or adhering it so as to bend it into a dogleg shape, an L shape, a U shape or a J shape, or by heat treatment. Examples of such methods include curling. Further, when the foamed molded product is formed, the foamed resin can be foamed without restraining the skin, but in this case, the shape of the skin-integrated foamed product varies. Therefore, it is desirable to place the skin in a mold having a predetermined shape and perform foam molding. Further, foam molding can be performed with an insert such as a core material arranged in the epidermis.

[0020]

The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to examples. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to the headrest of an automobile. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a headrest according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view thereof. This headrest is composed of a bag-shaped skin body 1, a urethane foam molding 2, and a leg member 3.

The skin 1 comprises a non-woven fabric 10 having a fluffed surface, a slab foam layer 11 integrally laminated on the back side of the non-woven fabric 10, and a urethane film 12 coated on the surface of the slab foam layer 11. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of cut skins are sewn in accordance with the inner surface and then inverted. An opening 4 formed as a non-sewn portion is formed in the lower portion of the headrest. That is, the opening 4 is formed by the first cut skin 40 and the second cut skin 41.
Is formed by sewing the portion excluding the opening 4 in accordance with the inner surface and then reversing it, and is formed between the first folded end portion 42 and the second folded end portion 43 facing each other as shown in FIG. Has been done.

At the tip of the first folded end portion 42, a biasing end portion 44 is formed which is bent in a substantially J shape toward the second folded end portion 43. And the first bent into a J shape
The second folding end portion 43 is held between the folding end portions 42, and the opening 4 is formed by the first folding end portion 42.
Is blocked. As a result, the foamed resin does not leak into the opening 4 and the foamed molded body 2 is not exposed, so that the headrest of this embodiment has an extremely excellent appearance quality.

This headrest was manufactured as follows. First, a plurality of cut skins were aligned with the inner surface, the portion excluding the openings 4 was sewn, and then inverted to form a bag-shaped skin body 1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the opening 4 is formed between the first cut skin 40 and the second cut skin 41, and the first cut skin 40 protrudes longer than the second cut skin 41. It was sewn according to. On the other hand, the end portion of the first cut skin 40 was bent in a J shape, and the bent portion was also sewn.

Therefore, the opening 4 has the first folded end portion 42.
And a second folded-back end portion 43, and a biasing end portion 44 is formed at the tip of the first folded-back end portion 42 so as to be pressed toward the second folded-back end portion 43. And opening 4
The leg member 3 (not shown) was inserted into the outer skin 1 and placed in a predetermined molding die. At this time, the opening 4 was arranged so as to be the uppermost part.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the injection nozzle 5 is inserted into the opening 4. Then, in the vicinity of the injection nozzle 5, the opening 4 is expanded, and the urging end portion 44 is pressed downward and swings to be deformed substantially in line with the first folding end portion 42. In this state, a predetermined amount of urethane foam resin is injected from the injection nozzle 5, and the injection nozzle 5 is immediately withdrawn to close the molding die. At this time, the opening 4 is closed to some extent by the elasticity of the skin body 1 and the elasticity of the periphery of the opening 4, and the biasing end portion 44 is sewn at the base so that the urging end 44 is sewn as shown in FIG. Restores almost the original shape shown.

The injected urethane foamed resin foams and expands due to the reaction, and the foaming pressure presses the skin 1 into a predetermined shape by the molding surface of the molding die, and the cured foamed resin causes the skin 1 to form. The shape is fixed to form a skin-integrated foam product. At this time, the urethane foam resin injected into the lower portion of the skin body 1 expands from the bottom to the top due to foaming.
Then, the urethane foam resin first contacts the lower end of the first folded end 42 or the urging end 44 and then further rises.
As a result, the biasing end portion 44 is pressed by the foaming pressure toward the surface of the second folding end portion 43 opposite to the surface facing the first folding end portion 42. Therefore, the biasing end 44 abuts on the lower portion of the second folded end 43, and the biasing end 4
The opening 4 is closed by 4.

When the urethane foam resin further rises, the surfaces of the first folded end portion 42 and the second folded end portion 43 opposite to the surfaces facing each other are pressed by the foaming pressure. Therefore, since the first folded end portion 42 and the second folded end portion 43 are firmly pressed against each other, the opening 4
Will be closed more firmly. Therefore, the urethane foam resin is surely prevented from entering between the first folded end portion 42 and the second folded end portion 43, and the skin-integrated foamed product in which the foamed resin does not leak into the opening 4 is obtained. Further, the length of the urging end portion 44 does not have to be so long, and it can be set to a range where it does not come into contact with the skin body 1, so that there is no problem due to residual air.

[0028]

In other words, according to the foamed product integrated with skin of the present invention, even if the opening is opened, the foamed molded product is not exposed but only the urging end is exposed, so that the appearance quality is improved. Further, according to the method for manufacturing a skin-integrated foamed product of the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the foamed resin from leaking from the opening only by providing the biased urging end portion, and only with a slight increase in the number of steps. The defective rate can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a skin-integrated foam product according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic overall perspective view of a foam product with integrated skin according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a skin body used for a skin-integrated foam product of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts in a state where an injection nozzle is inserted into an opening of a skin body in the method for manufacturing a skin-integrated foam product of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional skin-integrated foam product.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional foam product with integrated skin.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Epidermis 2: Foamed molded body 3:
Leg member 4: Opening 5: Injection nozzle 42:
First folded end 43: Second folded end 44: Energized end

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Agency reference number FI Technical display location B29L 31:58

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A skin-integrated foam product comprising a bag-shaped skin having an opening for injecting a foamed resin, and a foam molded body filling the skin, wherein the skin has an opening and is substantially L-shaped. Having a first folded end and a second folded end that are bent and face each other in the opening,
The first folded end has a biasing end extending into the epidermis longer than the second folded end, and the biased end is opposite to the end face of the second folded end and the surface facing the opening. A skin-integrated foam product characterized by contacting at least one of the side surfaces to close the opening. 2. A first folded end portion and a second folded end portion that have an opening and are bent into a substantially L shape and face each other in the opening, and the first folded end portion is the second folded end portion. Disposing a bag-like skin having a biasing end extending longer into the skin and bent toward the second folded end in a mold, and an injection nozzle at the opening And injecting a predetermined amount of foamed resin into the epidermis from the injection nozzle, and foaming the foamed resin in the epidermis to press the urging end against the second folded end by the foaming pressure. And a step of forming a foamed molded product so as to close the opening by being subjected to the above process.