JPH10138260A - Manufacture of component with sealing packing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To freely set a shape of a sealing packing in a range of removable from a stamping die by vulcanizing and foaming contained foamable rubber material in the die heated to a predetermined temperature. SOLUTION: Upper and lower molds of a hot press die 15 are closed, and the die 15 is heated to a predetermined temperature in the state that it is operated by a predetermined pressure. Then, a compressed molding of foamable rubber material 19 set in the die 15 together with an evaporator body 11 is started to be vulcanized and foamed, foamed in a short time, and integrated with the body 11. When the die 15 is heated and foaming of the material 19 of the rubber material is completed in a cavity, the die 15 is removed after the die 15 is cooled. Foamable sealing packing 12 formed on an entire periphery of the sidewall of the body 11 is planely processed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention uses a foamable rubber material which starts vulcanization and foaming by heating to a predetermined temperature, and forms a foamable seal packing on a component such as an evaporator. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a part with a seal packing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a part with a seal packing, for example, there are various doors in an air conditioner for an automobile. A mix door for adjusting the amount of air flowing into the heater core, a differential door for closing each outlet opened in the air flow passage, a vent door, a foot door, and the like are arranged in the air flow passage of the automotive air conditioner. However, since high airtightness is required for each of these doors, for example, a foamed seal packing made of a rubber material is attached on the surface thereof.

[0003] The seal packing is attached to a door body made of a resin through a process as shown in FIG. 4 to give the door a desired airtightness. Hereinafter, a manufacturing process of the door will be described with reference to FIG.

First, a predetermined resin material is poured into a mold to form the door body 1 (step S1). Next, the rubber containing the foaming agent is placed in a heating furnace and heated to foam the foamed rubber to form foamed rubber 2 (S2), and the foamed rubber is sliced to a preferable thickness as a seal packing (S3). The double-sided tape 4 is attached to one side of the sliced seal packing 3 (S4), and the seal packing 3 is sliced again to a predetermined width and a cut K is made so as to be easily bent (S5). Then, the seal packing 5 processed into a desired shape is attached along the peripheral portion of the door body 1 (S
6) A door for an air conditioner for a vehicle is formed.

[0005] As a part with a seal packing in the field of automotive air conditioners, there is an evaporator to which a seal packing is attached for heat insulation or prevention of air leakage, in addition to the above door. As is well known, the evaporator cools the air by exchanging heat between the circulating refrigerant and the air. Also in the case of this evaporator, a plurality of seal packings 5 (for example, 5
~ 8) are attached.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional forming method, many steps are required until the seal packing 5 is attached to the door main body 1 and the evaporator, and the manufacturing cost is naturally low. However, the number of steps increases the cost. Also, on the processing surface, if dust or the like adheres to the adhesive surface of the double-sided tape 4, the adhesive force is reduced. Not only becomes important, but also the aging of the adhesive strength of the double-sided tape 4 is considered. Furthermore, depending on the cutting precision of the seal packing 5, there are many uncertain factors such as greatly affecting the airtightness, and there are many problems such as difficulty in managing these.

Further, in the case of an evaporator,
The degree of deformation differs for each evaporator due to the thermal effect during brazing, and the dimensional variation is relatively large.
For this reason, when the evaporator to which the seal packing 5 of the same shape is stuck is installed in the cooler unit, there may be a part that is strongly or unevenly compressed, and a part where the effects such as heat insulation and prevention of air leakage are reduced. There was a possibility that this would occur.

[0008] The seal packing formed by chemical foaming, such as urethane foam (isocyanate + polyol), has an open-cell structure, and thus has a problem of water resistance and corrosion due to water. Since the structure or the semi-closed cell structure is adopted, the above problem is solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve various problems associated with the above-mentioned prior art, and uses a foamable rubber material to reduce the cost and to provide a highly reliable hermetic seal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing the same.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component having a seal packing using a foamable rubber material which starts vulcanization and foaming by heating to a predetermined temperature. A method, wherein a step of compression-molding the foamable rubber material into a predetermined shape at a temperature lower than the predetermined temperature, and a step of storing a part as a work and the compression-molded foamable rubber material in a press mold And heating the press mold to the predetermined temperature, and vulcanizing and foaming the foamable rubber material stored in the press mold heated to the predetermined temperature. And a method of manufacturing a part with a seal packing, wherein the foamable rubber material, which has been foamed, is integrated with the work, and a foam seal is tightly formed on the work.

According to such a manufacturing method, since the vulcanization and foaming of the compression-molded article of the foamable rubber material which has been compression-molded in advance is started in the press mold, the sealing gasket can be formed within a range where the seal packing can be removed from the press mold. The shape can be set freely.

When a part with a seal packing is formed as described above, a step of slicing the foamed rubber, a step of attaching a double-sided tape to the sliced foamed rubber, and The step of slicing into a width and the step of making a cut in the packing are not required, and the number of molding steps for a part with a seal packing can be reduced. Further, in the rubber-based foam, since foaming is completed in a relatively short time by applying a predetermined amount of heat, the time required for manufacturing a part with a seal packing is reduced. The manufacturing cost is reduced through the reduction in the number of molding steps and the manufacturing time.

Further, since the part with the seal packing is formed in the same form as that of the insert molding, the precision of the part size after the molding is improved. In addition, since the seal packing is made of a foamed rubber having a closed cell structure or a semi-closed cell structure, airtight reliability is improved. In addition, since the seal packing can be integrally formed with the part instead of being attached to the part, there is no possibility that the seal packing is peeled off due to aging. Further, since the sealing surface can be processed with high precision, a part with a seal packing having extremely high airtight reliability can be formed while significantly reducing the processing cost.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing a method of manufacturing a part with a seal packing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an evaporator formed by the manufacturing method of the present invention together with a cooler unit. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an example of a seal packing forming die used in the manufacturing method of the present invention.

The evaporator 10 of an air conditioner for a vehicle will be described as an example of a part with a seal packing.
The evaporator 10 is formed by integrally forming a foam seal seal 12 in close contact with the entire periphery of a side wall of an evaporator body 11.

According to the present embodiment, first, in the first step, the foamable rubber material 1 serving as the material of the seal packing 12 is formed.
9 is compression molded into a predetermined shape (for example, a thin plate shape) (step S11). The foamable rubber material 19 starts vulcanization and foaming only when heated to a predetermined temperature (for example, 150 to 200 ° C.). To explain conceptually, this foamable rubber material contains an additive for initiating vulcanization and foaming in a microcapsule, and when heated to a predetermined temperature, the microcapsule is broken and the additive is broken. Compounded in rubber, vulcanization and foaming begin. The foamable rubber material is, for example, chloroprene rubber (CR), ethylene propylene dienter polymer (EPDM) belonging to ethylene propylene rubber, and the like. The compression molding of the foamable rubber material 19 is performed by punching using a press die. This compression molding is performed at a temperature lower than the predetermined temperature, and the start of vulcanization and foaming is suppressed. .

Next, the compression molded product of the evaporator body 11 and the foamable rubber material 19 is housed in a hot press mold 15 composed of an upper mold and a lower mold (S12). This hot press mold 1
5 has an inner peripheral surface formed in a shape corresponding to the inner peripheral surface shape of the cooler unit case in which the evaporator 10 is built.

Then, the upper and lower molds of the hot press mold 15 are closed,
The heat press mold 15 is heated to the predetermined temperature while a predetermined pressure is applied. Then, the compression molded product of the expandable rubber material 19 set in the press die 15 together with the evaporator main body 11 starts vulcanization and foaming, and is briefly (about 60 hours).
Within a second), it foams and becomes integral with the evaporator body 11 (S4).

FIG. 2 shows the evaporator 10 thus formed. Evaporator 1 shown in FIG.
0 is formed by a press die (only the upper die is shown) having a cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. In addition,
The cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional view in a state where the evaporator main body 11 is housed.

By heating the press mold 15 shown in FIG.
When the press die 15 is completed, the press die 15 is cooled, the die 15 is removed, and the foaming seal packing 12 formed on the entire periphery of the side wall of the evaporator main body 11 is subjected to plane processing, as shown in FIG. The seal packing 12 having a simple shape is formed. Since the seal packing 12 is tightly fixed to the evaporator main body 11, there is no possibility that the seal packing 12 will be peeled off due to aging or the like. Further, only the accuracy of flat processing is a factor affecting the airtightness of the seal packing 12. If only the above control is performed, the airtightness of the seal packing 12 can be sufficiently ensured.

Even if the dimensions of the evaporator main body 11 vary due to the influence of heat during brazing, the compression molded article 19 of the foamable rubber material can be used in accordance with the dimensional variation.
Foams. Therefore, when the evaporator 10 with the seal packing 12 is installed in the cooler unit case composed of the two case bodies C1 and C2, a part that is strongly compressed or unevenly compressed does not occur, and effects such as heat insulation and prevention of air leakage are obtained. There is no danger of lowering.

According to the present embodiment, since the vulcanization and foaming of the compression molded article of the foamable rubber material which has been compression molded in advance is started in the press die 15, the seal gasket is formed within the range where the compression rubber can be removed from the press die 15. 12 can be freely set. That is, in the illustrated example, the sealing surface of the seal packing 12 is shown as a plane for simplicity,
By changing the shape of the inner surface of the press die 15 in various ways, it is possible to easily form seal packings having various shapes conforming to the inner surface of the cooler unit case, which is a mating member that comes into contact with the seal packing 12, and a member to be sealed having a complicated shape. However, airtightness can be maintained.

In addition, the number of man-hours such as slicing foam rubber and pasting double-sided tape as in the prior art is reduced, and the number of man-hours for forming the evaporator 10 with the seal packing 12 can be reduced, thereby reducing costs. it can.

In the case of chemical foaming such as urethane foam, it is necessary to wait for the foam to spontaneously foam in the mold, and to proceed to the next step for a relatively long time (approximately 1 hour). In contrast, in the case of a rubber-based foam as in the present embodiment, it is necessary to apply a predetermined amount of heat for foaming, and foaming is completed in a relatively short time. I do. Therefore, a series of time required for manufacturing the evaporator 10 with the seal packing 12 is reduced.

Further, since the evaporator 10 with the seal packing 12 can be formed in a form similar to that of the insert molding, the dimensional accuracy after the molding is improved.

Further, since the seal packing 12 is made of foamed rubber having a closed cell structure or a semi-closed cell structure, the sealing property is improved, and heat resistance and water resistance are improved as compared with the case of chemical foaming having an open cell structure. Excellent in light resistance and long life.

The heating temperature and the heating time of the press die 15 are appropriately determined according to the characteristics of the compression molded product of the expandable rubber material accommodated in the press die 15. Also,
The elasticity and the like of the seal packing 12 can be changed to some extent depending on the type of the foamed rubber 19 and its heating conditions.

Further, the evaporator 10 of an air conditioner for a vehicle is exemplified as a part with a seal packing.
The components are not limited to evaporators. For example, in the field of air conditioners for automobiles, a door to which a seal packing is attached to prevent air leakage is also an example of the component. When the door body is a resin product, it is necessary to determine the heating temperature and the heating time of the press die 15 in consideration of the heat resistant temperature of the door base material.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, vulcanization and foaming of a pre-compressed foamed rubber material are started in a press mold, so that the compression mold is within a range where the press-mold can be removed from the press mold. Can be used to freely set the shape of the seal packing. In addition, the number of steps required for molding a part with a seal packing is significantly reduced, and the time required for manufacturing is also reduced, so that manufacturing costs can be reduced. Further, since the part with the seal packing can be formed in the same form as that of the insert molding, the precision of the part dimensions after the molding is improved. Moreover, since the seal packing is made of foamed rubber, the airtight reliability is extremely high.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process chart showing a method for manufacturing a part with a seal packing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an evaporator formed by the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an example of a seal packing forming die used in the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a process chart showing a conventional method for manufacturing a door for an air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Evaporator for air conditioners (parts with seal packing) 11 ... Evaporator main body (parts) 12 ... Seal packing 15 ... Press mold 19 ... Foam rubber material

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FIB29L 31:26 (72) Inventor Manabu Matsunaga 1-2-1, Shimohozumi, Ibaraki-shi, Osaka Nitto Denko Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a part with a seal packing using a foamable rubber material (19) which starts vulcanization and foaming by heating to a predetermined temperature, wherein the foaming is performed at a temperature lower than the predetermined temperature. Compression molding the expandable rubber material (19) into a predetermined shape; storing the component (11) as a work and the compression molded foamable rubber material (19) in a press mold (15); Heating the temperature of the press mold to the predetermined temperature; and vulcanizing and foaming the foamable rubber material (19) stored in the press mold (15) heated to the predetermined temperature; A seal packing having the foamed rubber material (19) integrated with the work (11) and having a foam seal seal (12) tightly formed on the work (11); Method of manufacturing a can parts.