JPS62263031A - Manufacture of long fiber reinforced resin steering wheel core - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) steering wheel core excellent in fatigue strength without disturbing product shape by a method wherein a rolled laminate is formed by winding a resin-impregnated long fiber and, after a pin is removed, the ring-spoke branch parts of the rolled laminate are compression-formed by being pressed with a molding tool and, after that, the rolled laminate by cured by heating. CONSTITUTION:Pins are planted at the ring-spoke branch parts of a wind up jig,around which a resin-impregnated long fiber is wound so as to obtain a rolled laminate in the form of a steering wheel. The cross section of a ring part 2 is not circular and has a protuberant portion 7, which is developed by the pin 15 installed at the ring-spoke branch part and presses the rolled laminate 16 after the pin 15 is drawn out of the wind up jig 10. The ring-spoke branch part is compression-formed with the wind up jig 10 and a molding tool 1 so as to turn the cross protuberant portion. Under the above-mentioned state, a compression-formed body 17 is cured by heating and finally a fiber reinforced plastic steering wheel is obtained by retreating the molding tool 1 and removing the body 17 from the wind up jig 10.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a steering wheel core used in vehicles such as private cars, and more specifically, it is made of a continuous at fa of fiber-reinforced fat (Fan). This relates to the steering wheel core.

(Prior Art) Recently, steering wheels for vehicles such as automobiles have been made by impregnating continuous fiber bundles of glass fiber, carbon fiber, etc. with synthetic resins such as polyester resins, epoxy resins, etc. in order to achieve quantization. Attempts have been made to manufacture a steering wheel using a core obtained by winding the core into a winding jig, layering it and hardening it, and various manufacturing methods have been proposed.

Conventionally, one example of a method for manufacturing a steering wheel core is a method using a @weir jig 10 as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7. Figures 5 and 6 show the winding pattern J- of the long fR fiber F.
The winding jig 10 inside is shown, and they are a rear view (view from the boss part side) and a side view, respectively.
■It is a cross-sectional view of the railway line.

This winding jig 10 has a circular upper jig 13 fixed to the peripheral edge of one side of a lower jig 12 on a disk fixed to a main shaft 11. The outer circumferential surface has a cross section of approximately U.
A letter-shaped ring end winding cancellation 9 is formed. The main shaft 1
A boss metal fitting 14 is attached to the tip of 1.

Further, the upper jig 13 has a notch for branching the spoke part 4 from the ring part 2, and the ring/spoke branch part 5 of the winding jig formed at that part regulates the fiber arrangement. This bottle 15 is implanted in the lower jig 12. The bin 15 roughly entangles the fibers at the branch 5,
This is necessary to improve the fatigue strength of the steering wheel.

The production of the F-type PH steering wheel core using the winding jig 10 is performed using the long fiber F that is continuously supplied.
Attach it to the ring S winding part 9, and then attach it to the ring and spoke branch parts (5a, 5b).

5C), change the direction and attach the boss metal fitting 14.
After winding it around the boss part winding groove 8, the branch part (5a
. It is done by

(The wholesaler's point that the invention attempts to solve) However, the above FRP! The manufacturing method for the B steering wheel core had the following problems.

That is, at the ring/spoke branch, the J fibers intersect and overlap at the branch bin, so the fibers at the branch overflow from the grooves of the winding jig, and the steering wheel core obtained by curing the resin is As shown in the figure, there was a problem in that the periphery of the branched portion was raised and the product shape was distorted. 7 in the diagram
indicates a raised area.

As a countermeasure, it is possible to control the number of fibers in the ring/spoke branch portion during manufacturing, or to cut the raised portions afterwards.

However, the former method results in a decrease in strength. Furthermore, in the latter method, in addition to a decrease in strength, the fatigue properties are significantly deteriorated due to cut 13 scratches.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems. 11. The present invention is designed to solve the above-mentioned problems. P j
, 1! The object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a steering wheel core.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A method for manufacturing an FRP style steering wheel core according to an uninvented invention that achieves the above object is for regulating the arrangement of the fibers at the ring/spoke branch part of the winding jig. bottle,)
After installation, the resin-impregnated length 4iL was wound around the winding jig to form a steering wheel-shaped wound laminate, and after removing the bottle, the winding on the winding jig was completed. The laminate is pressed with a mold to form the ring/spoke branch part of the double-wound laminate into a pressure JQ bottom mold, and the compression molded product is heated and hardened.

(Function) The configuration described above provides the following effects.

That is, by implanting a bottle at the ring/spoke branch of the winding jig, it is possible to arrange the fibers in a complicated arrangement at the branch and prevent the fiber layers from peeling off at the branch.

In addition, by pressing the protruding ring/spoke branching portions of the wound laminate caused by the provision of the bins with a mold, i.e., the integral thickened portion is removed between the mold and the winding jig. By compression molding, the protruding shape of one branch can be eliminated.

Furthermore, the compression molding eliminates voids between the laminated fibers at the branching portion, making it possible to increase the fiber density per unit volume at that portion.

(Example) An example of the method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the invention is not limited thereto in any way.

The manufacturing device used in this embodiment is a conventional device with two molds attached, and these are symmetrically attached to both sides of the winding jig 111j. Figure g3 is a perspective view of the mold 1, whose mold surface 6 is made of a bone curved surface with the same curvature as the outer circumferential surface of the ring portion of the steering wheel core. The mold is fixed to a hydraulically driven cylinder rod so that it can slide in the direction of the winding jig. When the winding jig stops rotating after the winding and stacking of the fiber Aa is completed, the ring/spoke branch part is exactly at the attachment position of the mold, and the winding jig and Together with the above-mentioned mold, they constitute a pair of press molds.

In manufacturing the F-Pa steering wheel core using the apparatus thus constructed, a bottle is planted in the ring/spoke branch of the winding jig to regulate the fiber arrangement.
The steps up to winding the resin-impregnated long fibers around the winding jig to form a wound laminate in the shape of a steering wheel are the same as the conventional explanations in FIGS. 4 to 6, so that explanation will be given here. will be omitted, and only the subsequent manufacturing process will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the ring/spoke branch of the wound laminate immediately after winding the resin-impregnated long fibers around the winding jig. As can be seen from this figure, the cross section of the ring part 2 is not circular;
A raised portion 7 is formed. This is caused by the pin 15 at the ring/spoke branch of the winding jig, and the fibers caught on the pin 15 and changed direction from the ring to the spokes or vice versa, and the fibers in the ring. This is because the fibers are not laminated densely because the straight fibers extend over the grid near the bottle.

That is, a large number of voids occur in the ring/spoke branching portions of the wound laminate, and even if these voids are cured as they are to form a product, the fatigue properties will be poor. Therefore, perform the following operations.

First, after removing the pin 15 from the winding jig 10, move the mold 1 in the entry direction as shown in the gt diagram, and then
Press the upper wound laminate 16. Figure 1 shows the ring
It is a sectional view of the spoke branch part, and the mold 1 in the figure is the third mold.
This corresponds to the 1=■ line cross-sectional view in the figure. The ring/spoke branch part of the wound laminate 16 is compressed into a bottom shape between the winding jig 10 and the mold 1, and as shown in FIG. , the raised part disappears. After the compression molded body 17 is heated and cured in this state, the mold 1 is moved back and removed from the winding jig 10 to form an FRP steering wheel. This product has no irregularities in shape and has superior strength and fatigue properties compared to products made using conventional manufacturing methods.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention provides the following effects.

First, after winding and laminating the 7y1 fat-impregnated long fibers, the thickened shape at the ring/spoke branching portions is compression molded using a mold to obtain a product with a regular shape.

Compression molding also eliminates voids in the laminated fibers, allowing f,! , can increase the thrust density and improve fatigue properties.

Furthermore, since no disturbance occurs in the product shape, there is no problem of burrs, and post-processes such as burr removal are no longer necessary, which improves productivity.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of the ring and spoke branch before and after pressing with a mold, respectively. Figure 5 is a perspective view of an example of the mold. Figure 4 is manufactured by a conventional method. Figures 5 and 6 show an example of a winding jig, a rear view and a side view, respectively, and Figure 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the seat 1 of Figure 6. be. In the figure, 1... Molding mold 2... Ring part 3...
Boss capital 4...Spoke parts 5a, 5b, 5
c...Ring/spoke branch part 7...Elevated part
10... Winding jig 15... Bin 1
6...Wound laminate 17...Compression molded product 18...Steering wheel core F...Resin-impregnated long fiber Patent applicant Toyota Motor Corporation Tsuji attorney Patent attorney Yumi Kaly 1st figure 3 Figure π4 construction Figure 5 ) 162C Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] After planting pins to regulate the fiber arrangement in the ring/spoke branch of the winding jig, the resin-impregnated long fibers are wound around the winding jig to form a wound laminate in the shape of a steering wheel. Then, after removing the pin, the ring/spoke branch part of the wound laminate is compression-molded by pressing the wound laminate on the winding jig with a mold, and the compression-molded object is cured by heating. A method for producing a steering wheel core made of long fiber reinforced resin, characterized by: