JPS6147232A - Continuous sheet forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve eht efficiency of the title device by a method wherein the transfer and application of continuously delivered heat softening state stock sheet to sheet forming devices are done with a vacuum suction pad. CONSTITUTION:Thermoformable material sheet S with the predetermined thickness and width is continuously extruded from a die 2, past through the rollers of a sheet thickness control roller pair 3 and on sheet intermediary conveying rollers 4 and between the fixed blade and movable blade of a sheet cutting device 5 and transferred onto the top surface of the belt 7 of a conveying device 6 so as to be conveyed forward at the speed same as the delivery speed in flat state without being stretched and un-uniformly thicknessed. Every detection of the attainment of the length of the portion of the sheet on the device 6 side to the predetermined linear dimension by a sensor or every elapse of the predetermined period of time set at a timer circuit causes the device 5 to intermittently actuate so as to cut off said portion of the sheet from the following portion of the sheet as a cut-to-specified length sheet. A vacuum suction pad 11 is shifted between the conveying device 6 and vacuum forming devices 8, 9 and 10 in order to transfer the cut stock sheet on the conveying device 6 to each vacuum forming device by holding the sheet under vacuum suction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention A1 Object of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is directed to continuous production of thermoformable material sheets or continuous heating of already produced thermoformable material sheets. The present invention relates to a continuous sheet forming device in which a sheet of material in a heat-softened state (formable state) is continuously applied to the sheet forming device to continuously form the material sheet.

[Conventional technology]

Here, thermoformable materials specifically include vinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, A-B・S, T-P-E
These include various thermoplastic resins such as talc, wood flour-calcium carbonate, crushed paper, rice husk, and other fillers mixed therein, rubber-based thermoformable materials, and the like.

Specifically, the continuous manufacturing device for the material sheet is a sheet extruder, a rolling roll device, a calender device, etc.

Specifically, sheet forming equipment includes vacuum forming equipment, pressure forming equipment, vacuum pressure forming equipment, press forming equipment,
Plug forming equipment, etc.

The general manufacturing method for conventional sheet forming products is
As a thermoformable material sheet (hereinafter abbreviated as material sheet), which is a raw material, it is pre-manufactured and cut into a predetermined size or rolled and stocked, and is cooled to room temperature and in a hardened state, and then reheated with a heating device. . Then, the material sheet subjected to the reheating and softening treatment is applied to a sheet forming device to obtain the desired sheet molded body.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, this has the following problems.

(a) Transferring and applying a material sheet that has been softened by a heating device to a sheet forming device is generally done manually in many cases, which lacks efficiency. In automation, the sheet processing capacity of the heating device is generally greater than the sheet forming processing capacity of the sheet forming device, especially for thin sheets, so there is a problem in matching the two devices.

Therefore, the processing capacity of the heating device is reduced to match the sheet forming processing capacity of the sheet forming device.

(b) It takes a lot of thermal energy to bring the material sheet, which is cured at room temperature, into the required heat-softened state where it can be molded, resulting in poor thermoeconomic efficiency.

(C) Advanced technology, skill, and heating equipment are required to heat and soften relatively thick material sheets or laminated material sheets as uniformly as possible. In general, the softening state of such material sheets is often such that even though the surface part is sufficiently softened, the inside is insufficiently softened, resulting in poor overall formability or poor moldability. There is a tendency that the degree of transfer of the uneven pattern such as grains engraved on the surface to the surface of the sheet molded product is poor, and that the transferred pattern fades over time.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can efficiently and thermoeconomically continuously manufacture sheet-formed products without such problems.

Summary: Structure of the Invention [Means for Solving the Problems] That is, the present invention provides a continuous manufacturing apparatus for thermoformable material sheets or a continuous heating apparatus for already manufactured thermoformable material sheets,
A conveyor device that receives the thermally softened sheets continuously sent out from the manufacturing or heating device described above in a substantially flat manner and then conveys the sheets at a speed that is almost synchronized with the feeding speed of the sheets; A device that cuts the delivered sheet portion from the subsequent sheet portion or punches it into a predetermined shape each time the sheet portion is sent out for a predetermined length to the conveyor device;
i4f! or moving between a plurality of sheet forming devices and the conveyor device and the sheet forming device;
The gist of the present invention is a continuous sheet forming apparatus comprising: a vacuum suction device that holds a cut or punched material sheet on a conveyor apparatus by vacuum suction and transfers the same to a sheet forming apparatus;

[Function] With the above configuration, as will be described in detail in the next example, the material sheet that is continuously sent out from the material sheet manufacturing device or heating device can be heated while it is still in a sufficiently thermally softened state. The sheets are automatically and speedily distributed to the sheet forming apparatus one after another by a vacuum suction cup, and the sheet forming process can be performed without the various problems of the prior art as described above.

〔Example〕

A detailed explanation will be given below based on an embodiment of the apparatus shown in the figure.

Fig. 1 is an overall plan view of the device, and Fig. 2 is a side view of the sheet conveyor device. , 2 is a sheet discharge die attached to the extruder head. A thermoformable material sheet S having a predetermined thickness and width is continuously extruded and discharged from this die at a predetermined speed.

6 is an endless rotary belt conveyor device as a sheet conveyor device disposed in front of the sheet discharge die 2;
4 and 5 are a pair of sheet thickness adjustment rollers, a sheet relay conveyance roller, and a sheet cutting device, which are respectively disposed between the sheet discharge die 2 and the conveyor device 6. The belt 7 of the conveyor device 6 is, for example, a metal net or thin belt made of stainless steel or the like, or a heat-resistant cloth belt treated to prevent adhesion of a heat-melted or heat-softened material sheet (fluororesin coating, etc.). The support roller 7a is suspended between a plurality of support rollers 7a, and is continuously driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow at a circumferential speed that is substantially synchronized with the speed at which the material sheet S is discharged from the sheet discharge die 2.

The material sheet (S) continuously discharged from the sheet discharge die 2 is located between the rollers of the sheet thickness adjustment roller pair 3, the sheet relay conveyance roller 4, and the fixed blade and movable blade of the sheet cutting device 5, which are normally open. The sheet is then transferred to the top surface of the belt 7 of the conveyor device 6, and as the belt 7 rotates, it continues to be stretched or deflected forward in a substantially flat state at approximately the same speed as the discharge speed from the sheet discharge die 2. The meat is transported without raising it. The sheet cutting device 5 cuts the material sheet every time a material sheet leading edge detection sensor (not shown) detects that the length of the conveyed material sheet portion from the device position to the conveyor device 6 side reaches a predetermined length dimension, or It operates automatically intermittently every time a predetermined time set in the timer circuit elapses,
The sheet portion is cut and propagated from the following sheet portion as a regular sheet having a predetermined length. Reference numeral 7b is a heater provided to keep the material sheet portion conveyed by the belt 7 warm.

8, 9, and step 0 are the sheet forming machines of the 1φ 2nd and 3rd machines installed at three locations on the left side, right side, and almost in front of the conveyor device 6, and in this example, each is an upward-facing type vacuum machine. It is a molding device.

Reference numeral 11 moves between the conveyor device 6 and the second and third vacuum forming devices 8, 9, and 10 of the above-mentioned book 1, holds the cut material sheet on the conveyor device 6 by vacuum suction, and then attaches the cut material sheet to each vacuum forming device. This is a vacuum suction cup for transferring to.

The vacuum suction hole 1 is a heat-resistant, rigid flat plate in the shape of an urn, which is approximately the same size as the top surface of the belt 7 of the conveyor device 6, and has a large number of vacuum suction holes 12 formed in each part of the bottom surface. When activated, it becomes a vacuum suction state. In addition, a heat insulating heater 13 is embedded within the wall thickness.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the moving drive mechanism portion of the vacuum suction cup 11. Reference numeral 14 denotes a guide rail disposed in the left-right direction in front of the conveyor device 6, 15 is a rack tooth attached to the rail along its length, and 16 is a left-right movement block that can freely slide along the rail. The block has a built-in binion 15a (Fig. 2) that meshes with the rack teeth 15 and is driven to rotate in forward and reverse directions by the first forward and reverse motor M1. The block 16 is driven to move to the left along the rail 14, and conversely is driven to move to the right along the rail 14 by the reversal driving of the binion.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a horizontal Njc-turn disk disposed on the upper surface of the left-right moving block 16, which is rotated counterclockwise or clockwise by a second forward/reverse rotation motor M2.

18 is a vertical rod whose base is firmly fixed on the above-mentioned turning disk 17 and stands almost vertically, 19 is a motor support stand firmly attached to the upper end of the vertical rod 18, and 20 is a turning circle m1.
7 and the above-mentioned motor support stand 19 is a vertical threaded rod that is parallel to the vertical rod 18 and is rotatably supported by a bearing, and is driven in the normal rotation a by a third forward/reverse rotation motor M3 disposed on the motor support stand 19. Or it is driven in reverse.

21 is a vertically movable block disposed on the vertical rod 18 and the vertical threaded rod 20, which is driven to move upward along the vertical rod 18 in conjunction with the normal rotation drive a of the vertical threaded rod 20; It is moved downward in conjunction with the reverse rotation of the vertical threaded rod 20.

Reference numeral 21a denotes a sub-block part integrally formed on the side of the vertically movable block 21; 22 a front-rear inner rod that freely slides through the sub-block part in the front-rear direction;
3 is a longitudinally threaded rod, 24 and 25, which is also screwed into the sub-block part parallel to the front and rear inner rods 22 and penetrated therethrough.
The vacuum suction cup support blocks are firmly attached to the front and rear inner rods 22, respectively, and the front and rear threaded rods 23, which are balancer blocks, are attached to the above-mentioned blocks 24, respectively. The balancer block 25 is rotatably supported by a bearing, and is driven in forward rotation a or reverse rotation by a fourth forward and reverse motor M4 attached to the balancer block 25. The vacuum suction cup 11 is firmly attached and held on the lower surface side of the support block 24. The screw rod 23 is driven in forward rotation a
As a result, the threaded rod 23 and the rod 22 move forward with respect to the sub-block portion 21a, that is, the vacuum suction #11 is driven forward. Conversely, by driving the screw rod 23 in the reverse direction, the screw rod 23 and the rod 22 move backward, that is, the vacuum suction cup 11 is driven backward.

In other words, the vacuum suction cup 11 is movable in the left-right direction, up-down direction, front-back direction, rotation, and combination directions thereof by the above mechanism, and the first to fourth motors M1 to M4 are controlled by a control circuit (not shown). By controlling the program, the vacuum suction cup can be automatically moved along a programmed trajectory.

Next, the steps of continuous sheet forming using the above embodiment apparatus will be explained in order. The movement of the vacuum suction cup 11 through the series of steps is automatically performed under program control of the above-mentioned moving drive mechanism.

(1) The vacuum suction ill has a home position above the conveyor device 6, and its lower surface faces the upper surface of the belt 7 with a gap larger than at least the thickness of the material sheet S. Further, the vacuum suction cup 11 is heated and kept warm by an embedded heater 13 to approximately the same temperature as the material sheet immediately after being discharged.

(2) As described above, the material sheet S continuously discharged from the sheet discharge die 2 passes through the sheet thickness adjustment roller pair 3 → the intermediate conveyance roller 4 → the sheet cutting device 5, and reaches the upper surface of the belt 7 of the conveyor device 6. The sheet is then conveyed forward by the belt 7 at approximately the same speed as the sheet discharge speed in an approximately flat state without stretching or uneven thickness. The material sheet portion conveyed by the belt 7 is kept warm by a heater 7b. Also, the vacuum suction cup 1 waits above the belt 7 and extends the I/
It is also kept warm by the heater 13 of No. 1.

(3) The conveyed material sheet S is automatically cut off from the following sheet portion by the operation of the sheet cutting device 5 when the length on the leading end side reaches a predetermined length dimension from the sheet cutting device 5.

(4) After the cut material sheet is conveyed by the subsequent rotation of the belt 7 and the rear end side is also transferred onto the belt 7, the vacuum suction ill is applied to the upper surface of the cut material sheet on the belt 7. Move downward until it lightly touches the sheet without crushing it. Simultaneously with this downward movement, each vacuum suction hole 12 on the lower surface of the vacuum suction cup is brought into a vacuum suction state by the operation of the vacuum pump VP.

(5) The vacuum suction cup 11, which is in full contact with the upper surface of the material sheet on the belt 7, is moved upward while reversing (in the conveyance direction of the material sheet) at a speed synchronized with the rotating speed of the belt 7. As a result, the material sheet on the belt 7 is moved to the vacuum suction cup 11.
It is stably held in close contact with the lower surface of the entire surface by vacuum suction force, and is lifted from the belt 7.

(6) The vacuum suction cup 11 holding the material sheet S on its lower surface moves above the first vacuum forming device 8, and then moves downward to cover the mold 8a by 7 m. At this point, the vacuum suction state on the vacuum suction ill side is released (each vacuum suction hole 12 is opened to the atmosphere), or the switch is made to the compressor, and air is ejected from each vacuum suction small hole 12. The vacuum suction system of the 8 vacuum forming devices is activated. As a result, the material sheet S is subjected to vacuum forming processing or vacuum pressure forming processing (Fig. 4). In this case, the material sheet S substantially retains the heating energy during extrusion and discharge, and is still in a sufficiently softened state as a whole. Therefore, the above-mentioned vacuum acid formation is well performed by vacuum pressure forming.

(7) Next, the vacuum suction cup 11 returns from the position of the first vacuum forming device 8 to the home position above the conveyor device 6 and moves again. Also, if air is being blown out from each vacuum suction hole 12, it is released. Vacuum suction cup 1
If the molding device itself is equipped with a jig or mold that presses the periphery of the material sheet S transferred in step 1 into the mold, or pushes the material sheet into the mold, the material sheet S is transferred to the molding device 8. After the transferred vacuum suction cup 11 releases the holding of the material sheet S, it can be immediately returned to the home position and moved.

(8) Until the vacuum suction cup ll returns to the home position again, the conveyance of the next material sheet portion that is being continuously discharged from the sheet discharge die 2 by the conveyor device 6 has progressed considerably, and the conveyance for a predetermined length has been completed. At that point, the device 5 performs cutting to a fixed length.

(8) Next, the vacuum suction cup 11 operates in the same manner as in the above (4) and (5), and the next material sheet is vacuum-suctioned and held on the lower surface of the iron plate 11.

(10) Vacuum suction cup 11 holding the following material sheet
This time, it moves above the second vacuum forming device 9 1 and then moves down to cover the mold 9a,
The material sheet is vacuum-formed or vacuum-pressure-formed in the same manner as in item (6) above.

(11) Next, the vacuum suction cup 11 is sufficiently cooled until the vacuum suction cup 11 transfers the material sheet from the second vacuum forming device 9 position to the upper part of the conveyor device 6 again. After that, the mold is removed manually or automatically using a robot machine.

Thereafter, by repeatedly performing the steps (1) to (1B) above, the material sheets that are continuously manufactured from the sheet discharging die 2 are automatically and continuously one after another from the manufactured chopsticks. Sheet forming process is performed.

In the above embodiment, another sheet material layer pasting roller 26 is disposed between the sheet thickness adjusting roller pair 3 and the sheet cutting device 5 as shown in FIG. On one side or both sides of the material sheet S, other sheet material layers Sa, such as various thermoplastic resins, thermoformable rubber materials, nonwoven fabrics, woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, carpets, etc., are applied to a skin material layer, a cushioning material layer, and a lining material layer. The material layers (single layer sheet material or composite layer sheet material) may be laminated continuously. 27 is a heater for heating the other sheet material Sa. The material sheet S is moved back to the other G-tom position mentioned above.

(12) During this time, the conveyance of the next material sheet continuously discharged from the sheet discharge die 2 by the conveyor device 6 has progressed considerably, and when it has been conveyed for a predetermined length, the device 5 cuts it to a fixed length. Ru.

(13) Next, the vacuum suction cup 11 operates in the same manner as in the above (4) and (5), and the next material sheet is vacuum-suctioned and held on the lower surface of the iron plate 11.

(14) Vacuum suction cup 11 holding the following material sheet
This time, it moves above the third vacuum forming device 10 and then moves downward to overlie the forming mold 10a, and the vacuum forming process or vacuum pressure forming process of the material sheet is performed as described in item (8) above. It is done in the same way as in the case.

(15) Next, the vacuum suction cup 11 returns from the third vacuum forming device 10 position to the home position above the conveyor device 6 and moves again.

(16) The molded products in each of the first to third vacuum forming apparatuses 8 to 10 are bonded to the next material Sa to each vacuum forming apparatus in advance on the side of the other sheet material Sa. This can be done by forming an adhesive layer or by heat-pressure bonding.

The extruder 1 as a continuous production device for thermoformable material sheets may be another sheet production device such as a rolling roll device or a calender device, or it may be a continuous heating device for already produced thermoformable material sheets. There may be.

Each mold 8a to 1 of the first to third vacuum forming apparatuses 8 to 10
0a may have the same mold shape or may have different mold shapes, and may be other sheet forming devices such as a press molding device.

The vacuum suction ill for the material sheet may be of a rotary movable type, and a plurality of sheet forming devices may be arranged on its rotation locus, and the material sheet S may be transferred and applied to each of the sheet forming devices. It is also possible to install two or more vacuum suction ills to alternately pick up material sheets.

While the vacuum suction cup 11 holds the material sheet S on the conveyor device 6 by vacuum suction, moves toward one of the sheet forming devices 8 to 1O, and returns again, the vacuum above the conveyor device 6 is removed. By providing an auxiliary heater board that alternately moves to the home position of the suction cup as necessary, the portion of the material sheet being conveyed by the conveyor device 6 is kept warm during the movement of the vacuum suction cup. It's okay.

In addition, if the sheet forming device is a press forming device, a plug forming device, etc., it is preferable that the material sheet applied thereto is one whose outer circumferential shape has been punched and cut into a predetermined shape in advance. A device for punching and cutting the material sheet on the belt 7 of the device 6 into a predetermined shape may be provided, and the punched and cut material sheet may be held by a vacuum suction cup 11 and transferred to the sheet forming device. It is also possible to equip m11 with a punching and cutting blade so that it can also be used as the punching and cutting device described above. The above-mentioned punching and cutting process of the material sheet can be carried out without requiring much force since the material sheet is in a sufficiently softened state. A belt holder that can withstand punching force is provided below the belt 7. The remaining material of the material sheet after punching can be returned to the material sheet compound kneading section and used for reuse, resulting in energy savings.

C. Effects and More The present invention provides the following features: Transfer to sheet forming equipment 8-9/10 - Vacuum suction il is applied
It is efficient because it is done automatically and quickly.

■Even if the heating processing capacity (processing speed) of the sheet manufacturing equipment or heating equipment is higher than the sheet forming processing capacity (1 forming cycle time) of the sheet forming equipment, the sheet manufacturing process will be adjusted accordingly. By installing a plurality of forming devices and distributingly transporting the material sheets sent out from the sheet manufacturing device or heating device one after another to each of the sheet forming devices, the capacity of the sheet manufacturing device or heating device side can be improved. The capabilities of the forming equipment can be well matched, and the capabilities of the sheet manufacturing equipment or heating equipment can be maintained to the maximum during operation.

(2) A conveyor device 6 in which the softened material sheet sent out from the thermoformable material sheet manufacturing device or heating device is driven at a speed synchronized with the delivery speed of the material sheet.
The conveyed material sheet is received and conveyed almost flatly, and the conveyed material sheet is cut or punched into a predetermined length or shape and held by vacuum suction on the surface of a vacuum suction cup, and then transferred and applied to a sheet forming device. , there is no problem of stretching or uneven thickness of the material sheet.

■When applied to sheet forming equipment, the material sheet substantially retains the heating energy during sheet manufacturing and is still in a sufficiently softened state, so even if the material sheet is thick, the sheet The forming process is performed well. It is also extremely advantageous in terms of thermoeconomics. In particular, when the material sheet is manufactured using a sheet extruder or a rolling roll device, the material sheet is in a sufficiently softened state that is almost molten as a whole, so there is little internal distortion during molding.
Very good moldability and surface pattern transferability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the device; Fig. 1 is a plan view, Fig. 2 is a side view of the conveyor device section, Fig. 3 is an oblique view of the moving mechanism of the vacuum suction cup, and Fig. 4 is a vacuum forming device. FIG. 5, a longitudinal side view of the apparatus, is a view of another sheet material layer bonding roller portion. 1 is a part of the extruder main body, 2 is a sheet discharge die, 5 is a sheet cutting device, 6 is a belt conveyor device, 11 is a vacuum suction cup, 8, 9 and 10 are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd vacuum forming devices .

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A continuous manufacturing device for thermoformable material sheets or a continuous heating device for already manufactured thermoformable material sheets, and a heat-softened sheet that is continuously delivered from the above manufacturing or heating device to be approximately flattened. a conveyor device that receives the sheet and then conveys the sheet at a speed that is almost in synchronization with the sheet delivery speed; and a conveyor device that conveys the sheet at a speed that is almost in synchronization with the sheet delivery speed; a device for cutting or punching into a predetermined shape; one or more sheet forming devices; moving between the conveyor device and the sheet forming device; A continuous sheet forming device consisting of a vacuum suction cup device that holds the finished material sheet by vacuum suction and transfers it to the sheet forming device. (2) The continuous sheet forming device according to claim (1), wherein the vacuum suction cup is equipped with a heat-retaining heater. (3) Equipped with a device for laminating another sheet material layer on one or both sides of the sheet delivered from a continuous production device for thermoformable material sheets or a continuous heating device for already manufactured thermoformable material sheets. , a continuous sheet forming device according to claim (1). (4) The continuous sheet forming device according to claim (1), wherein the device for continuously producing thermoformable material sheets is a sheet extruder, a rolling roll device, or a calender device. (5) The continuous sheet forming device according to claim (1), wherein the sheet forming device is a vacuum forming device, a pressure forming device, a vacuum pressure forming device, a press forming device, or a plug forming device.