NL8004123A - METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A SHAPED, CAPITONED MATERIAL AND APPARATUS FOR CARRYING OUT THE METHOD - Google Patents

Description

-Q- * Ν.Ο. 29,287 -1-

Method for manufacturing a sheet-shaped, quilted material and a device for carrying out the method.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a sheet-like padded material and an apparatus for forming plastic sheets, in particular multilayer sheets, and in particular an apparatus 5 for obtaining products in the form of sheets or membranes consisting of several layers, of which at least certain layers consist of a plastic material to be heat-welded, for obtaining in particular padded sheets.

Various types of padded materials 10 are already known for covering seats, forming covers for seats and car seats, for upholstery fabrics, wall coverings, etc.

Presses that have to exert great forces are used to weld different layers together by heat. The known heated presses have plates that are controlled by pressure jacks that can perform a large stroke. Such jacks are not only very expensive, but also work relatively slowly, which requires a hydraulic pressure installation.

In certain cases it is possible to use high frequency welding presses that are less heavy. However, high frequency thermal welding cannot be used with all plastics.

The object of the invention is to provide a method for the production of a padded and quilted material, according to which less expensive production of a large series can be obtained, without this affecting the quality of the padding and padding, as well as the products obtained by this method.

With this aim the invention encompasses a product with a padded and padded surface which is formed by a top layer and a bottom layer of a plastic foam material that can be compressed, the method being characterized in that cells and foam material are applied locally according to the cuts of the desired padding - cLg and padding pattern are flattened and cells in the flattened state are permanently recorded.

The invention also relates to a device characterized in that it comprises: 8004123 -2- - a first plate which has a large opening and closing stroke, - a second plate which has a small opening and closing stroke to act according to pressure, - displacing members controlling movement of the first plate, 5 - printing members controlling the closing movement of the second plate, - the second plate carrying forming tools being movable between an operating position relative to the first printing operation plate, and a position in which the plate is loose with respect to the first plate, which second plate is provided with displacing means, which can disappear when the plate is in the working position relative to the first plate, in order to assume a floating position and the approaching one another and be able to follow the compressive movement of the two plates, 15 because one of the plates performs a large stroke to close the gap between the plate and, which spacing is required for the introduction and removal of the products, and the other one,. . ,.

plate pressure stroke does not require pressure jacks that must have a large stroke. This not only allows for a significant reduction in the cost of the device, but also a reduction in the operating cycle time, resulting in an increase in the power of the device.

According to another feature, a suction fluid is connected to the cavities of the tool to form a vacuum therein.

This provides many advantages because it allows not only to draw out the toxic or dangerous gases which escape during heat welding, but also to deform layers of the assembly before heat welding. In this way, a product is obtained with an asymmetrical structure corresponding to a known capi-50 toned sheet which would have been cut along the central plane. After all, thanks to the deformation of the sheets before heat-sealing at least at the seams of the padding, the back face of the product remains flat; the padding does not tend to emerge at the back. This 55 provides significant savings in filler material for padding.

Another advantage of the underpressure exists when opening the mold; the product remains on the plate carrying the tool and separates from the other smooth plate that is heated. kO The characteristics according to which one side the plate that carries the tools 800 4 1 23 -fck '* -3- can be brought into and out of the device, and, on the other side, the smooth plate heated in the in particular the following advantages: - the tools can be easily changed; they are simply placed on the second plate. The tool put on the plate can consist of several separate parts; - placing the sheets in place is simple; under the influence of their weights, the sheets tend to sink into the cavities of the mold and assume the shape of the padding, which effect occurs in the same sense as the suction; the hottest surface during heat welding is the rear surface of the manufactured product; this allows weaker sheets to be used for the front face, ie the visible face; it is easier and less expensive to coat the smooth plate with a non-adherent layer than to apply it to the tools in numbers equal to the number of tools depending on the desired decorative motifs, etc.

The invention is described in more detail with modification to the drawing, in which: fig. 1 is a very schematic cross-section through a product according to the invention which is formed of two layers, for carrying out the padding, fig. 2 the layer according to fig. 1 shows, after compression and heat-welding, fig. 3 is a cross section through a second embodiment of a product according to the invention, fig. before these different layers are only partially bonded together, Fig. 5 is a section through a device according to the invention, Fig. 6 is a section through a part of the device according to Fig. 5, Fig. 7 is a operating scheme for the device and the supply and discharge devices, in non-continuous operation, and ifO Fig. 8 is an operating scheme for the device and the supply 8004123 .if.

devices in continuous operation.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the simplest embodiment of the invention comprises a coating layer A and a bottom layer B of foam material (Fig. 1). The two layers A and B are compressed and taped (Fig. 2) to give the surface the effect of padding and padding, leaving a track T according to the chosen pattern, i.e. a line, points a small area, etc.

According to the trace T, it is pressed to press the cells at G in a permanent manner, with adhesion, while leaving the other surfaces of layers A and B free without adhesion, to obtain a swelling.

This permanent crushing represents more or less. much of the thickness of the layer B.

According to Fig. 3, the product is obtained from an assembly consisting of a coating layer and a bottom layer B formed of two parts Ba, Bb which have the same or different physical and chemical characteristics.

According to fig. The product consists of an upper coating layer A, a filling layer B and a lower layer D. The layers A and B are separated from each other by a layer E of a heat-adhesive material. The same applies to the filling layer B and the underlayer D.

The coating layer A may consist of a single layer or of an assembly of several layers joined together by adhesive bonding or lamination.

The outer surface of the covering layer A preferably consists of a fabric, a non-woven fabric, a braided vegetable or plastic material, etc. according to the desired external view. When this outer layer forms part of an assembly, of, for example, three layers that form the covering layer, an intermediate layer of, for example, foam material and / or a lining is applied next to the outer layer, these three layers being joined together by sealing against each other or by lamination ,

In the case that the outer layer consists of a light fabric or a material with relatively widely spaced pores, it is important to stick at least one second layer against this layer, which has a certain density or closes the pores to prevent the heat-adhesive material between the coating layer and the filler layer or the underlayer from seeping through the pores of ifO from the outer layer of the coating layer.

8004123 -5-

The layer of heat-adhesive material between the coating layer and the layer of filler material or the underlayer is preferably an air-permeable layer so that air can flow from one face to the other face of the product. This layer can be integral with the foam of the expanded material that coats the inner surface of the outer layer when the coating layer is formed by a two-layer product without liner. This heat-sticking layer can also be formed by the lining of the coating layer.

The heat-sticking layer is advantageously formed by an adhesive foil which has a certain permeability for air to pass through, such as an adhesive foil with perforations or cuts. If the final product need not have the air permeability characteristic, a heat adhesive 15 which is impermeable can be used.

The filler layer preferably consists of a sheet of natural fibers such as cotton or linen, synthetic fibers such as viscose, or synthetic fibers such as fibers of polyether, acrylic resin, nylon, etc.

The material of the layer D essentially has a supporting and retaining function to give the assembly the necessary mechanical resistance.

This bottom layer D advantageously consists of a layer of a foam plastic. In the particular example selected, this open-pore foam is impregnated with particles of a heat adhesive. This impregnation can also be replaced by a layer of a heat-adhesive material located between layers B and D, such as the layer of heat-adhesive material between layers A and B.

The particles with which the foam layer D has been impregnated are selected depending on the temperature at which sticking action occurs, which temperature in turn depends on the materials A, B, D, E.

In order to give the product the greatest resistance and the least sensitivity to external forces, it is suitable to choose the temperature at which the sticking action occurs as high as possible. However, this temperature can be limited by the choice of materials, such as materials for layers A and B that determine the appearance of the product and properties such as resistance to abrasion, etc. Depending on these materials, the 8004123 -βάθη heat-sticking materials for the layer E and the heat-sticking particles embedded in F are chosen such that the sticking action occurs at the highest possible temperature.

The heat-adhesive material is a thermoplastic or a thermosetting material, such as nylon, ethyl vinyl acetate, acrylic vinyl resins, etc., or mixtures of these materials and polyethylene such as alcohol.

In addition to the supporting function, the layer D also gives a certain elasticity to the product, in combination with the elasticity of the filling material B.

Finally, the layer D can supplement the sound insulating properties ensured by the layers A and B, especially in the case of a layer B consisting of previous layers.

The products according to the invention have many applications in the field of seat upholstery, the manufacture of covers for car seats and sofas, upholstery upholstery products, such as wall hangings, etc.

For example, it is particularly advantageous to use the product according to the invention for the manufacture of footwear, in particular fantasy footwear such as boots, as well as the so-called pre-ski. In this case, since the boot has to be impermeable to water, in the manufacture of the product forming the upper part of the boot, patterns such as bulk incorporated protruding stitches can be applied without the need to stitch this plastic material , as is usually the case, because it makes the boot permeable.

As shown in Fig. 5, the multi-layer assembly forming and heat sealing apparatus includes a base carrying a first plate or top plate 2 and a second plate 30 or bottom plate 3. These plates 2, 3 are placed relative to each other and in the interspace a stack of several sheets can be received to compress them and heat-seal them according to decorative or functional surfaces or lines.

The top plate 2 is connected to the frame 1 by means of displacement members 4, which members are formed by knee levers 1f1, which are hinged to the frame 1 on one side and to the plate 2 on the other side. The hinged connection between the two levers 41, b2 is also connected to a rod 5 which is operated by a jack 6. The movement kO of the rod 5 in the direction of the arrow A gives a downward or 8004123 -7- upward movement to the plate 2 in the direction of the arrow B.

The members forming knee joints can be between a raised position in which the two arms 41, 2 form a relatively closed angle and a lowered position (not shown) in which the rod 5 is moved sufficiently to the right in the figure, about the two arms 41 , k2 in alignment * or even on the other side of the vertical XX passing through the pivot point between the lever k'l to the chassis 1.

Such a position is important for the pressure step.

In fact, when the plate 2 is fully lowered, the arms * f1, k2 are practically aligned with each other, so that the compressive force acting in the vertical direction and transmitted by the arms 4 · 1, 4-2 to the base 1 has a very small component of essentially zero towards the rod 5, so that the component transferred to the auger 6 during compression is extremely small.

If, according to the above-mentioned variant, the arms * F1, kZ swing to the right of the vertical through the hinged connection of the arms M with the bottom, and when an angle stop is applied to the hinge, this stop absorbs all compressive forces so that no compressive force is transferred to the auger 6.

The second or bottom plate 3 consists of a box 31 in the form of a parallelepiped, the top surface of which is provided with perforations 32. This box is connected to an air extraction system which is schematically represented by the fan 7.

The plate 3 rests on rollers 33 which can roll over the reels 8 connected to the chassis 1. On the top surface, ie the surface provided with the perforations 32, the box 31 carries the tool 9 which serves for compression and thermal welding. The tool 9 consists of an assembly of vertical strips 91 which are on their sides and whose tops in the horizontal plane correspond to the patterns to be obtained by hot-welding. The tool 9 is in the form of an unsealed grate placed on the top surface of the box 31, so that connection through the openings 32 to the inside of the box 31 is obtained.

The assembly of heat-weldable wells 10 is placed on top of the tool 9. In Fig. 5, the sagging shape is schematically shown, which takes on the material of the layers of the assembly 10 in the gap between the strips 91 of the molding tool 8004123 9.

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By the rollers 33 rolling over the horizontal reels 8, the plate 3 with the tool 8 can either be brought into the device, under the top plate 2 for compression and heat welding 5, or be brought out of the device, the top surface of which tool 9 is released for placing an assembly 10 or removing it after treatment.

The rollers 33 which are carried by arms, which are controlled by a shown auger, are retractable in the heat-welding position so that the plate 3 is resiliently supported by the pressure jacks.

The pressure jacks 11 acting on the plate 3 are small stroke jacks. These jacks are fed from the hydraulic source 12.

To facilitate the movement of the plate 3 relative to the jack 11 and at the same time to prevent the pressure forces from being exerted on the rollers 33 and consequently on the reels 8 when the plate 3 is in the pressure position , the rollers 33 are retractable (not shown); the rollers are lifted slightly so that the plate 3 rests only on the jacks 11 during the compressing movement with a small stroke.

Although in theory such a measure is not necessary, because the jacks lift the location 3 11 when it is above it, it is nevertheless important in practice to have a relatively large clearance between the bottom surface of the plate 3 and the top surface of have the jacks 11. In order to be able to obtain such a release, after the compression step, when the top plate 2 is raised, it must also be possible to raise the bottom plate 3 for release with the jacks 11.

The bottom surface of the plate 2 is formed by a layer of non-adherent properties at the operating temperatures of the device to prevent the sheets of the assembly 10 from sticking to it.

In order to simplify the construction of the device, the top plate 2 carries the means for the heating necessary for the heat welding.

This solution gives the advantage that the warmest part of the printing plates is the top plate 2, that is to say the plate corresponding to the back face of the products.

* f0 Another advantage of this solution is that the inner surface 8004123 -9- of plate 2 is completely smooth, so that the obtained assembly 10 has an asymmetrical structure; the embossed parts are those facing the tool 9, ie the front of the product, while the rear surface is relatively smooth. This saves up to half of the fillers which ensures swelling of the assembly 10 between the heat seal lines (expanded plastic material).

The device according to Fig. 5 works as follows:

After an assembly of heat-weldable sheets has been placed on the tool 9 of the plate 3 «in its released position, this plate is automatically or manually pressed into the device to move it into the working position under the plate 2.

The apparatus may begin the operating cycle with the rollers 33 retracted and the top plate 2 lowered, after which the bottom plate 3 is raised to compress the sheet assembly. During this pressure stage, the top plate 2 remains immobile, the pressing forces being mainly supplied by the jacks 11.

For the pressure stage, from the moment that the plate 3 is placed inside the device, the fan 7 creates a negative pressure inside the box formed by the bottom plate 3. This negative pressure is transferred via the openings 3 to the cavities formed by the strips 91 of the tool 9. This negative pressure plays in particular the following roles: The negative pressure causes certain sheets of the assembly 10 to be drawn into the cavities in order to to accentuate the swelling of the assembly to the interior of the mold prior to heat sealing, i.e. assembly fixation; during the heat-welding process, the underpressure draws out the dangerous or poisonous vapors, which are generated by the partial or total conversion of the material under the influence of the heat for the heat-welding; the underpressure keeps the assembly 10 in shape after the heat-forming step, during the raising of the top plate 2; this prevents the assembly from sticking to the plate 2, which would make it considerably more difficult to remove the product from the device.

After the top plate 2 has been raised and the rollers 33 have been put back into place, the bottom plate 3 can be automatically or manually pulled out of the device to take off the assembly 10 and treat a new one. assembly.

According to Fig. 6 showing a section through the bottom plate 3 and the top plate 2 in the working position, the top plate 2 has a non-adhering layer 21 facing the assembly 10, and the 5 a support plate 22 for holding non-adherent layer 21.

This figure also shows how openings 32 are provided in the bottom plate 3, as well as the shape of the sheets on the strips 91 of the tool 9.10. In Fig. 6, the deformation of the bottom layer 101 as well as of the filling layer 102 of the assembly 10 is exaggerated to the inside of a cavity bounded by strips 91 in shape 9. In order to obtain a heat-welded assembly 9 with a padded appearance, it is not necessary that the fabric or more generally the outer layer 101 be bonded to the inner layer or filler layer 102 over its entire surface. In certain cases, for example, when the assembly 10 is subjected to very heavy wear, for example, when the padded assembly is used for the upholstery of a seat, backrest, etc., which is subjected to great bending forces, it is important to have a light heat seal between the sheets 101 and 102 without, however, this heat seal being expressed by a compression of the assembly equal to that obtained by the heat sealing at the strips 91.

According to the invention, in order to obtain this light heat sealing, an air-permeable sheet 13 is arranged inside the cavities of the mold, which sheet has a suitable thickness chosen in view of the nature of the assembly 10 and the effect of the padding to be carried out.

It is also possible to reduce the height of the strips 91 so that the sheets lie against the bottom of the cavities. However, this solution has drawbacks over the previous ones. After all, the height of the padding cannot be uneven; in this case, sheets 13 of different heights are placed in the different cavities of the mold 9. Moreover, the sheet 13 aspirates air across the entire bottom of the cavity without obstructing the openings 32. This allows the number of openings 32 to be reduced. Conversely, with strips 91 of insufficient height, the layer 101 will be able to block holes 32 and block the extraction of toxic fumes, 8004123 • »5 -11-

During compression, the elastic layer 13 applies a certain amount of pressure to the bottom layer 101 to apply it to the corresponding surface of the filler layer 102 and effect heat welding on these surfaces.

3 The device described above allows for various changes and modifications.

According to a variant of the invention, the bottom plate 3 of fig. 5 consists of two parts, one of which is movable and the other is fixed against horizontal displacement in order to reduce the weight of the movable part which must be able to come out of the device .

According to one of the variants, tool 9 can thus be mounted directly on the retractable rollers 33, the box 31 remaining connected to the jacks 11.

Another solution consists of dividing the box 31 into two parts, one of which serves to support the tool 9 during horizontal movements between the position inside the device and the position outside the device, and the elements of the plate 3, which ensure the mechanical retention of the plate during the compression step, are held in a location within the device.

Infig. 7, a placement diagram for a manufacturing plant performed using the above-described device 100 is shown.

In the arrangement diagram of Figure 7, the device 100 is out of alignment with the feed table 101 and the discharge table 102.

The feed table 101 receives the assembly M consisting of continuous sheets not yet cut to the appropriate dimensions.

These continuous sheets coming off rolls (not shown) are driven mechanically or by an operator who cuts the sheets using a cross cutter 103 to obtain the N-cut assembly.

Subsequently, the assembly N is placed on the form 9 of the bottom plate 35 in the extended position. The plate 9 is slid into the device proposed by its chassis 1 for the heat welding operation. At the end of the operating cycle, the plate 3 is extended and the operator lifts the assembly to place it on the exit table 102.

iF Fig. 8 shows a schematic for an installation performed with the aid of the machine 100, for continuous operation where the heat welding operation does not remain continuous.

To this end, the longitudinal side of the assembly M runs parallel to the reels 8 of the plate 3. The assembly comes from an entrance table 104 in superimposed layers and then runs on the plate 3. The assembly is then simultaneously pressed with the plate 3 is advanced inwardly into device 100 to undergo the heat sealing operation there. At the end of this operation, after the plates have been disassembled, the assembly M is fixed in a manner that this assembly cannot move, the plate 3 is brought back to form yet another piece of the assembly for height of the feed table 10 ^.

8004123

Claims (7)

1. Method for the production of a padded and quilted product consisting of a covering layer and a bottom layer of a material with elastic cells which can be compressed, characterized in that the cells are locally according to the track (T) of the desired padding and padding pattern are flattened and cells in the flattened state are permanently secured over at least a portion of the thickness of the backing. 2. An article in the form of a padded and padded surface consisting of a coating layer, a layer of a filling material and a bottom layer of a material with cells, characterized in that the coating layer is connected to the bottom layer by gluing along lines and points. , with a permanent compression of at least the cells of at least a part of the thickness of the bottom layer at the location of the attachment of this layer with the coating layer. 3. Article according to claim 2, characterized in that the article comprises a filling material between the covering layer and the bottom layer. 4. Apparatus for forming and heat sealing a composite of different layers, said apparatus comprising two plates, at least one of which is heatable, and which can compress the assembly to weld this heat, characterized in that the device includes: a first table (2) with a large opening and closing stroke, a second table (3) which has a small opening and closing stroke for the compressive action, displacement members (41, ** 2, 43 »6) that control the movement of the first plate (2), which members consist of pairs of arms (41, 42, 43) forming a knee joint, one end of which is with the first plate (2) and the other end is with the base (1) connected, and the pivot point (43) is connected to an operating jack (5,6), pressure members (11) capable of controlling the closing movement of the second plate (3), said members consisting of small stroke pressure pistons , while the second plate (3 ^ cfe forming tools ( 9) carries · is movable between a working position relative to the first plate (2) for compression, and a position in which it is free relative to the first plate (2), which plate (3) is provided with positioning means which can retracted when the 4θ plate (3) is in the working position relative to the first 8004123-14 plate, to assume a floating position and to be able to follow the approaching and compressing movement of the two plates (2, 3 ). Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the device comprises suction means (7) which are connected to cavities of the tool (9) in order to be able to create an underpressure therein. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the second plate (3) consists of a part which can remain in the working position relative to the first plate (2) and a slidable part which carries the tool (9) and that can become free for loading and removing the processed objects. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the plate (2) is heatable and the surface thereof is coated with a non-adhering layer (21). ****** 8004123