JPS62282916A - Preparation of integral foamed molded product - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prepare a foamed molded product wherein a foam body is perfectly covered with a skin and a thermoplastic resin sheet, by molding the skin, the thermoplastic resin sheet and the foaming body in specific foam molding processes. CONSTITUTION:A primary foamable raw material 60 is charged to the inside of a skin 24 and, thereafter, a primary upper mold 54 having a thermoplastic resin sheet 44 set thereto is registered with a primary lower mold 50 and a foamed layer 40 covered with the skin 24 and the thermoplastic resin sheet 44 is formed between the primary lower mold 50 and the primary upper mold 54 to obtain a foamed half-finished product 20. Subsequently, foamed half- finished products 20, 22 are set to a secondary lower mold 62 and a secondary upper mold 64 while the core body 48 integrated with a stay 14 is set to the lower mold 62. After the finish of setting, a secondary foamable raw material 61 is charged in the recessed part 36 of the foamed half-finished product 20 and the secondary lower mold 62 is registered with the secondary upper mold 64 and secondary foam molding is performed to form a foam body 46. The foamed half-finished products 20, 22 are integrally bonded by the foamed body 46 to obtain a headrest product having good appearance.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an integrally foamed molded product, and in particular, to a method for manufacturing an integrally foamed molded product, in particular, a method for manufacturing an integrally foamed molded product, in particular a product having a skin or a leather-like surface layer on the outer surface, such as an automobile hem rest. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an integrally foamed molded article suitable for use in manufacturing an integrally foamed molded article.

(Prior art and its problems) One type of integral foam molded product is one whose outer surface is composed of a skin or a leather-like surface layer formed on the outer surface of a foamed body. Typical examples include automobile headrests, safety pads, and armrests.

By the way, in this way, the outer surface is the epidermis or leathery surface layer (
An integral foam molded product consisting of a skin (hereinafter simply referred to as a skin),
Particularly in the case of automobile headrests, in recent years, the outer surface of the headrests has been constructed with different skins of different colors and materials in order to improve the aesthetic appearance and sense of luxury. In such cases, conventionally,
Skins of different colors and materials were sewn or welded in advance into a bag shape, and foaming raw materials were loaded into the bag-shaped skins and foamed. For this reason, conventionally, a step of sewing or welding the outer skin into a bag-like shape has been essential, making the manufacturing process cumbersome.

Furthermore, in the past, such bag-like skins were sewn or welded with the joints of each skin exposed on the front side, so it was necessary to turn the joined bag-like skins inside out. , it is necessary to leave a part of the unbonded state, and as a result, it is inevitable that the foam leaking from the unbonded part will spoil the appearance of the molded product. There were some defects that required repairs. Furthermore, this problem of repairing unjoined parts is a problem even in products where the skin is formed into a bag shape by rotational molding or blow molding, and in products where a predetermined core is inserted and buried inside, such as in automobile headrests. It was similarly inherent.

(Solution Means) The present invention was made against the background of the above-mentioned circumstances, and is characterized by the following: ( a
) A skin fabricated corresponding to the molding surface is set on a molding lower mold having a molding surface in the shape of vertically dividing the integrally foamed molded product into two, and a molding molding mold with the skin set thereon. After loading a predetermined foaming raw material into a mold, or after loading the foaming raw material into the lower molding mold without setting the skin, a predetermined foaming material is placed on the molding surface of the lower molding mold. A molding upper mold set with a resin sheet is molded together to form a product cavity between the molding lower mold and the molding upper mold, the molding surface of the molding upper mold being covered with the resin sheet, and the product cavity By primary forming the foamed raw material within the molded product, at least the surface corresponding to the outer surface of the integrally foamed molded product is composed of the skin or a leather-like surface layer formed by the foaming operation of the foamed raw material. , manufacturing a pair of foam semi-finished products each having a shape in which the integrally foamed molded product is vertically divided into two, each having a predetermined recess covered with the resin sheet formed on a surface corresponding to the dividing surface. (b) aligning the pair of foam semi-finished products obtained in the semi-finished product manufacturing process in a mold so that their dividing surfaces match, and forming a recess in the foam semi-finished products; A predetermined foam raw material is subjected to secondary foam molding in the space formed by butting them against each other, and the space is filled with the foam to be generated, and at the same time, the pair of foam semi-finished products are integrally formed. The present invention includes a step of joining a semi-finished product to the integrally foamed molded product.

(Operations/Effects) According to the method of the present invention, an integrally foamed molded product having an outer surface composed of two types of skin or leather-like S layer portions having different colors and materials, and having an excellent appearance and luxurious feel, can be obtained. , it is possible to manufacture the skin without sewing or welding it into a bag shape, and it also successfully avoids the problems of conventional methods such as the foam leaking out from the unjoined parts of the skin and changing the appearance of the molded product. It is. In addition, for items such as automobile headrests where the core is inserted or buried inside, by inserting the core from between the split surfaces of the foam semi-finished product, foam leakage can be avoided. It can be easily buried, and therefore the problem of repairing the unbonded portion of the skin due to insertion of the core can be avoided.

Moreover, according to the method of the present invention, a resin sheet is set on the molding surface of the upper mold when manufacturing each foam semi-finished product, and the inner surface of the recess of each foam semi-finished product is covered with the resin sheet. Therefore, the recess is not covered with such a resin sheet (compared to the case where the foam is directly exposed on the inner surface of the recess, the shape retention of each foam semi-finished product is improved, and its shape is improved). It has the advantage that deformation is well suppressed, and therefore these semi-finished foam products can be stored for a long time, making it easier to manage the manufacturing of these semi-finished foam products and, by extension, integral foam molded products. There are advantages such as:

Furthermore, according to the method of the present invention, primary foam molding is performed with the molding surface of the upper mold covered with the resin sheet.
Another advantage is that there is no need to perform a cumbersome and unreliable mold release process on the upper mold.

In addition, in the method of the present invention, as the skin of each foam semi-finished product,
Products manufactured by various methods such as vacuum forming, blow forming, slanoche forming, injection molding, and sewing can be used, and one or both of the foam semi-finished products can be composed of integral foam with a leather-like surface layer. Therefore, there is an advantage that there is a wide selection range of materials that can be used as the skin (including the leather-like surface layer), and there is a large degree of freedom in designing the integrally foamed molded product.

In addition, according to the method of the present invention, it is possible to select different foaming raw materials when manufacturing each foam semi-finished product, and it is possible to select different foaming raw materials from each other when manufacturing each foam semi-finished product. It also has the advantage of being able to give different tactile sensations.

Furthermore, the shape and wall thickness of the foam layer of each foam semi-finished product, as well as the foam raw materials used for secondary foam molding, can be selected as appropriate depending on the purpose, and by combining them, integral foam molding can be achieved. It also has the advantage of being able to adjust the appearance of the product as appropriate.

(Example) Hereinafter, in order to clarify the present invention more specifically,
The embodiment will be described in detail based on the drawings. Here, an example in which the present invention is applied to the manufacture of a perforated headrest for automobiles will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to headrests, safety pads, and armrests that do not have perforated parts. It is also possible to apply it to the production of other integrally foamed molded products.

First, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a headrest manufactured according to the method of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the main parts thereof. In those figures, 12 is a headrest main body, which can be attached to a car seat (not shown) by a pair of stays 14 and 14.

The headrest main body 12 is an annular integrally foamed molded product having a rectangular frame shape with a cavity 16 in the center, and the molded product is divided into two vertically at a dividing surface 18 to form a pair of foam halves. Products 20, 22 are formed by being joined together at their parting surfaces 18. Each foam semi-finished product 20.22 is
A skin 24.26 on the surface corresponding to the outer surface of the molded product, respectively.
and the edges 28.30 of their skin 24.26
are respectively bent inward by a predetermined length along the dividing plane 18 to form corresponding openings 32 and 34 of the same size. Further, inside the skins 24, 26, foam layers 40, 42 of a predetermined thickness are provided, each having a recess 36° 38 having the opening 32, 34 of the skin 24, 26 as an opening. , predetermined thermoplastic resin sheets 44, 45 are integrally bonded to the inner surfaces of these recesses 36, 38. And 20 such foam semi-finished products
．． 22 are butted together at the dividing surface 18, and each recess 36.38
They are joined together by filling a predetermined foam 46 into the space formed by butting them together. This constitutes the hemi-7 dress main body 12.

In addition, inside the foam 46, the stay 1・t114 is
A core body 48 is embedded therein (see FIG. 7). Further, the skin 24.26, like the thermoplastic resin sheets 44.45, is integrally joined to the foam layer 40.42, and the thermoplastic resin sheets 44.45 are joined at the edges 28, 30 thereof. is welded to the edge. Here, as the skin 24, a thermoplastic resin sheet laminated on the inner surface of a cloth material is used, and as the skin 26, a thermoplastic resin sheet is used as is.

Next, a detailed procedure for manufacturing the above-mentioned headrest will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. As is clear from these figures, here, Figs. 3 to 6 show the manufacturing procedure of the foam semi-finished product, and Figs. 7 and 8 show the process of joining the foam semi-finished product together. It shows the steps to make the headrest. Therefore, in the following, the procedure for manufacturing each of the foam semi-finished products 20.22 will be explained according to FIGS. 3 to 6, and then the foam semi-finished products 20.22 will be explained according to FIGS. 7 and 8. The procedure for joining 22 to form a headrest will be explained. In addition, as for the foam semi-finished products 20 and 22, the manufacturing process is almost the same except for the mold used and the material of the skin, so here we will explain the case of manufacturing one of the foam semi-finished products 20. Only the foam semi-finished product 22 will be described in detail.
A detailed explanation of the manufacturing procedure will be omitted.

That is, when manufacturing the foam semi-finished product 20, first, as shown in FIG.
A primary molding lower mold 50 that gives the external shape of the headrest main body 12, that is, a shape in which the headrest main body 12 is vertically divided, and a middle mold 52 placed on the blow molding lower mold 50, the molding surface and the mold matching surface are A correspondingly manufactured skin 24 is set. Further, a predetermined thermoplastic resin sheet is molded to correspond to the molding surface and the mold mating surface for the primary molding upper mold 54 that forms a product cavity corresponding to the foam semi-finished product 20 with the molding lower mold 50. Set 44. Here, the skin 24 may be made by, for example, a vacuum forming method, but is not limited to this, and may be made by blow molding, slush molding, injection molding, sewing, etc. It is also possible to use one manufactured by an appropriate method. Further, here, the medium 52 is for defining the edge 28 of the skin 24, is made of a plate material of a predetermined thickness, and has a cavity 56 corresponding to the opening 32 of the skin 24. It is said to be a structure. Further, the blow molding upper mold 54 is provided with a protrusion 58 for forming the recess 36 on its mold mating surface, and the surface of the protrusion 58 is used as a molding surface.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a predetermined primary foaming material 60 is loaded into the skin 24 set in the lower blow molding mold 50 through the opening 32, and then the blow molding lower mold 50 ( The thermoplastic resin sheet 4 for the medium size 52)
5, the primary molding upper mold 54 set with
The opening 32 is closed by the protrusion 58. As a result, a product cavity covered with the skin 24 and the thermoplastic resin sheet 44 is formed between the blow molding lower mold 50 and the primary molding upper mold 54.

After the product cavity is formed, the secondary foaming raw material 60 is foamed (secondary foaming molding) to form the foam layer 40 between the skin 24 and the thermoplastic resin sheet 44. After the foam layer 4° is formed, the excess portions of the skin 24 and thermoplastic resin sheet 44 are melted and removed along the openings 32 of the skin 24, as shown in FIG. As a result, the foam semi-finished product 20 as described above is obtained.

As mentioned above, the other foam semi-finished product 22 is also made using the corresponding primary molding lower mold 50 mold and primary molding upper mold,
It will be manufactured separately following the same procedure. However, the primary foaming raw material used in manufacturing this foam semi-finished product 22 and the primary foaming raw material used in manufacturing the foam semi-finished product 20 do not necessarily need to be the same.

On the other hand, in order to integrally join the foam semi-finished products 20 and 22 manufactured according to such a procedure to form a headrest,
As shown in FIG. 7, a mold similar to or common to one of the primary molding lower molds used for the secondary foam molding is used as a secondary molding lower mold 62, and a molding mold similar to or common to the other molding mold is used. is used as the secondary molding upper mold 64. In addition, here, the primary forming lower mold 5 used for manufacturing the foam semi-finished product 20
A mold similar to 0 is used as the secondary molding lower mold 62, and a molding similar to the primary molding lower mold used for manufacturing the foam semi-finished product 22 is used as the secondary molding upper mold 64.

That is, in order to join the foam semi-finished products 20 and 22, as shown in FIG. While the body semi-finished products 20 and 22 are respectively set, the core body 48, which is integrally formed with the stays 14 and 14, is set to the secondary molding lower mold 62. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, a predetermined secondary foaming raw material 66 is loaded into the recess 36 of the foam semi-finished product 20 set in the lower mold 62 for secondary molding, and as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, after the secondary molding lower mold 62 and the secondary molding upper mold 64 are matched so that the dividing surfaces 18 of the foam semi-finished product 20.22 match, the secondary foaming raw material 66 is foamed (secondary molded). (Next foam molding). As a result, the annular space formed by the recesses 36 and 38 of the foam semi-finished product 20° 22 is filled with the foam 46, and the foam 46 filled in this space causes the foam to The semi-finished products 20, 22 are joined together to form the headrest body 12 and thus the headrest. The secondary foaming raw material 66 may be the same as one or both of the secondary foaming raw materials (60), or may be different from them. Further, the core body 48 may be set after the secondary foaming raw material 66 is loaded.

According to such a manufacturing method, the outer surfaces of the headrest main body 12 are made of skins 24 and 26 that are manufactured as separate members.
Therefore, as mentioned above, by using different materials for the skins 24 and 26 (here, a cloth material is used as the skin 24 and a thermoplastic resin sheet is used as the skin 26). ),
The appearance can be easily varied, and the appearance and luxury can be improved compared to a case where the outer surface is made of the same material, such as a thermoplastic resin sheet. In addition, by changing the foam layer 40 of the foam semi-finished product 20, the foaming raw material 60,66 of the foam 46, or the shape and wall thickness of the foam layer 40 of the foam semi-finished product 20, the usability of the headrest can be improved. (Feel) can also be adjusted as appropriate.

Moreover, according to the method of this embodiment, although the outer surface is composed of the skins 24 and 26 made of different materials, unlike the conventional method, the skins are sewn into a bag shape or There is no need for troublesome processes such as welding.
Therefore, a headrest with such an outer surface can be easily and inexpensively manufactured. Furthermore, by following the method of this example, the problems of conventional methods, such as leakage of foam from the unjoined portions of the bag-shaped skin and spoiling the appearance of the molded product, can be avoided, and a headrest with excellent appearance can be obtained. Therefore, the insertion and embedding of the core body 48 can be easily performed without causing such problems.

Further, according to the method of this embodiment, as the epidermis 24.26,
Products manufactured using various methods such as vacuum forming, blow molding, slush molding, injection molding, and sewing can be used, so the selection range of materials that can be adopted as the skin 24° 26, as well as the selection range of the appearance and feel of the headrest, etc. The headrest is extremely wide, and therefore there is a high degree of freedom in the design of the headrest.

Furthermore, according to the method of this embodiment, as described above, the inner surfaces of the recesses 36 and 38 of each foam semi-finished product 20 and 22 are composed of thermoplastic resin sheets 44 and 45, and the thermoplastic resin sheets 44.45 is the epidermis 24 at each edge
．． 26, the foam layer 40, 42 is exposed directly to the inner surface of the recess 36, 38, so that each foam semi-finished product 20
The shape retention of the foam semi-finished products 20 and 22 is extremely high, and therefore the foam semi-finished products 20 and 22 can be stored for a long period of time, making it easier to manage the production of the foam semi-finished products 20 and 22 and, by extension, the headrest. It is.

Furthermore, according to the method of this embodiment, each foam semi-finished product 20.2
2, as mentioned above, each secondary foaming raw material (6
0), the epidermis 24.26 and the thermoplastic resin sheath) 44
．． Since the foaming operation is carried out in the product cavity covered with 45, - the upper blow mold (5
The troublesome mold release process for 4) is no longer necessary.
This made it possible to simplify the manufacturing process accordingly.

In addition, in the method of this embodiment, when manufacturing each foam semi-finished product 20° 22, the excess portions of each skin 24, 26 and thermoplastic resin sheet 44, 45 are melted and removed, and each skin 2
4.26 edge! ! 28.30 is thermoplastic resin sheet) 44
．． However, the end surfaces 28 and 30 of the skins 24 and 26 do not necessarily need to be welded to the edges of the thermoplastic resin sheets 44 and 45, respectively.

However, in order to improve the shape retention of each foam semi-finished product 20.22 and the peel strength of each skin 24.26, it is necessary to
, 30 are preferably welded to the edges of the thermoplastic resin sheets 44, 45.

Further, in the method of the present embodiment, an example has been described in which different materials are used for the skins 24 and 26, but the materials constituting the skins 24 and 26 may be the same.

Furthermore, in the method of this embodiment, the skins 24 and 26 of the foam semi-finished products 20 and 22 are each made of a different material from the foam layers 40 and 42; It is also possible to configure one or both of the foam layers 22 to be made of integral foam, and to configure their outer surfaces to be made of a leather-like surface layer that is formed simultaneously with the formation of the foam layers 40 and 42. In addition, if one or both of the foam semi-finished products 20 and 22 are composed of such an integral foam, the manufacturing process of the foam semi-finished products 20 and 22 and, by extension, the headrest can be simplified accordingly.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these specific examples, and various changes, modifications, and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit thereof. It goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in a manner in which the following steps are taken.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a headrest manufactured by the manufacturing method according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part thereof. Figures 3, 4, and 5. FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8 are explanatory views for explaining the manufacturing process of the headrest shown in FIG. 1, respectively. 12: Headrest body 14; stay 18 bisecting surface 20.22: foam semi-finished product 24.26: skin 28, 30: edge 36.38:
Recess 40.42: Foam layer 44.45: Thermoplastic resin sheet 46: Foam 48: Core body 50, primary molding lower mold 52: Medium mold 54, primary molding upper mold 58: Protrusion 60, primary foaming raw material 62: 2 Lower mold for secondary molding 64: Upper mold for secondary molding 66: Secondary foaming raw material 3rd factor Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A method for producing an integrally foamed molded product having a skin or leather-like surface layer, the method comprising: a lower mold having a molding surface in the shape of vertically dividing the molded product into two; After setting the skin manufactured in accordance with the molding surface, and loading the prescribed foaming raw material into the molding lower mold in which the skin is set, the skin is then set on the molding lower mold. After loading the foamed raw material without any problem, a molding upper mold with a predetermined resin sheet set on the molding surface is fitted to the molding lower mold, and the molding is performed between the molding lower mold and the molding upper mold. By forming a product cavity in which the molding surface of the upper mold is covered with the resin sheet, and by performing primary foam molding of the foamed raw material within the product cavity, at least the surface corresponding to the outer surface of the integrally foamed molded product is covered with the resin sheet. The integrally foamed molded product is composed of a skin or a leather-like surface layer formed by a foaming operation of the foaming raw material, and has a predetermined recess covered with the resin sheet on the surface corresponding to the dividing surface. a semi-finished product manufacturing process of manufacturing a pair of foam semi-finished products each having a shape vertically divided into two; A foam in which a predetermined foaming raw material is subjected to secondary foam molding in a space formed by aligning the dividing surfaces so that they match and abutting the recesses of the semifinished foam products against each other to generate the space. A method for manufacturing an integrally foamed molded product, comprising: filling the foam with a foam molded product, and at the same time, simultaneously joining the pair of semifinished foam products to form the integrally foamed molded product.