JP4652114B2 - Vacuum forming equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum forming apparatus for vacuum forming an interior panel such as an instrument panel.

  A vehicle such as an automobile is provided with an instrument panel in the front part of the vehicle interior. This instrument panel can be, for example, a three-layer structure composed of a skin (single-layer skin), a foam layer and a core material, or a multilayer laminate sheet in which a skin layer, a foam layer, a barrier layer, etc. are laminated. And a core material is formed on the back side of this skin (multilayer skin).

  Such an instrument panel can be formed using a vacuum forming apparatus. That is, after heating the sheet member made of synthetic resin, which is a material of the instrument panel, the sheet member is pushed by the upper mold, thereby preventing the thickness of the concave product surface from being reduced, and then formed on the surface of the lower mold. Using a large number of vacuum holes for vacuuming, the sheet member is adsorbed on the surface of the lower mold, and the sheet member is formed into a desired shape (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 10, the seat member of the instrument panel is provided with an A portion having corner portions 2 and 3 and a B portion having corner portions 4 and 5 on the lower side of the handle. In these A and B portions, the lower walls 6A and 7A (provided toward the back side of the paper) are slightly bent upward and inclined with respect to the front vertical walls 6B and 7B. That is, the intersection angle between the lower wall 6A and the vertical wall 6B and the intersection angle between the lower wall 7A and the vertical wall 7B are each set to be less than 90 degrees. This is because the instrument panel is assembled slightly upward, so that it is difficult to assemble the instrument panel to the vehicle unless the lower walls 6A and 7A are inclined.

  FIG. 11 is a perspective view of part A immediately after vacuum forming, and shows a state in which the peripheral edge 8 has not been cut yet. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. Finally, the peripheral edge 8 is cut.

As shown in FIG. 12, the crossing angle θ between the lower wall 6A and the vertical wall 6B slightly bent upward is less than 90 degrees. Further, the upper wall 6C and the side wall 6D (see FIG. 11 ) intersect with the vertical wall 6B at a substantially right angle.

  When the part A is formed by a vacuum forming apparatus, the part A is vacuum formed using a mold member 10 having a recess 9 as shown in FIG. The recess 9 is formed with a lower inner wall surface 9A corresponding to the lower wall 6A of the A portion, a bottom inner wall surface 9B corresponding to the vertical wall 6B, and an upper inner wall surface 9C corresponding to the upper wall 6C. The lower inner wall surface 9A is formed in a so-called undercut in which the back side enters the inside rather than the opening end side. Although not shown in the figure, the concave portion 9 is also formed with a side inner wall surface corresponding to the side wall 6D of the A portion.

Actually, the mold member 10 is often used as a lower mold, and is set with the concave portion 9 facing upward. Conventionally, after vacuum forming, the operator pulls the lower portion 6F upward from the lower wall 6A while pressing the upper portion 6E from the upper wall 6C with a finger (in the state of FIG. 13, pulls downward). The sheet member 11 is peeled off from the mold member 10.
JP 2003-340915 A

  However, in the above prior art, since the lower inner wall surface 9A of the recess 9 is formed in an undercut, when the sheet member 11 is peeled off from the mold member 10, the lower wall 6A is placed in the lower portion as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, there is a problem that wrinkles 12 are likely to be generated obliquely upward from the corner portion 3 due to excessive force applied to the vertical wall 6 </ b> B by hitting the wall surface 9 </ b> A.

  The subject of this invention is providing the vacuum forming apparatus which can suppress generation | occurrence | production of a wrinkle, when peeling a sheet | seat member from a type | mold member.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 includes a lower mold having a concave portion and a plurality of vacuum holes formed on the upper surface including the inner wall surface of the concave portion. A vacuum forming apparatus for vacuum forming the sheet member into a desired shape by bringing the sheet member into close contact with the inner wall surface of the recess by evacuating the set sheet member through the vacuum hole. Are inclined side wall surfaces that are inclined with respect to the bottom surface of the recess and are formed in undercuts, curved side wall surfaces that are opposed to the inclined side wall surfaces, and the inclined side wall surfaces and the curved side wall surfaces. A lifting means for lifting upward the sheet member that is in close contact with the bottom surface of the recess, and the opening edge of the inclined side wall surface is connected to the side wall surface. Through the corners and said And tangent to the surface side inner wall surface, provided in a range sandwiched between the tangent to the opening edge of the angle portion as and the inclined side inner wall surface, the sheet member after the vacuum forming from said recess At the time of peeling, the sheet member on the bottom surface of the recess is lifted upward by the lifting means, whereby the sheet member that is in close contact with the inner wall surface of the inclined side portion is peeled off.

  According to the above configuration, when the sheet member is peeled from the concave portion, the portion of the sheet member that is in close contact with the inner wall surface of the bottom portion of the concave portion is lifted upward by the lifting means, and accordingly, the inner wall surface is in close contact with the inclined side portion. The part which is carrying out is peeled one by one from the back | inner side of a recessed part to the opening end side, and a sheet | seat member can be peeled from a 1st type | mold member, without applying an excessive force to a sheet | seat member.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, an upper mold having a convex portion that can be fitted into the concave portion is disposed above the lower mold.

  According to the above configuration, by pressing with the upper mold convex portion, the distance between the upper mold convex portion and the lower mold concave portion can be maintained at a predetermined value, resulting in a thinner sheet member. Can be prevented.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the lifting means is a pin that is provided on the bottom surface of the recess and pushes up the sheet member from below.

  According to the said structure, a sheet | seat member can be lifted easily by pushing up a sheet | seat member with a pin from the downward direction.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the lifting means is an adsorption mechanism that is provided on the convex portion and sucks and lifts the sheet member.

  According to the above configuration, the sheet member can be easily lifted by adsorbing the sheet member from above with the adsorption mechanism.

  According to the present invention, when the sheet member is peeled off from the mold member, an excessive force is not applied to the sheet member, and it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of wrinkles on the sheet member.

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

  1 and 2 show a vacuum forming apparatus 20 according to the present invention. The vacuum forming apparatus 20 is placed on a table 21 that is maintained horizontally, and is disposed above the lower mold 24 and a metal lower mold 24 in which a concave portion 23 is formed on the upper surface 22, and facing downward. And an upper metal mold 26 having a protruding portion 25 protruding. The lower mold 24 (lower mold 24 together with the table 21) and the upper mold 26 are reciprocally movable in the vertical direction (arrow D direction).

  The recess 23 of the lower mold 24 is provided with side inner wall surfaces 23A and 23B on both sides as shown in FIG. These side inner wall surfaces 23 </ b> A and 23 </ b> B are formed perpendicular to the bottom inner wall surface 23 </ b> D which is the bottom surface of the recess 23. The recess 23 is provided with an inclined side inner wall surface 23C on one side (right side in the figure). This inclined side inner wall surface 23C is formed into an undercut, that is, a shape in which the back side is cut into the inside rather than the opening end side (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

  Further, the concave portion 23 of the lower mold 24 is provided with a curved side inner wall surface 23F having a curved surface portion 23E in part on the other side (on the left side in the drawing). The curved side inner wall surface 23F is also formed perpendicular to the bottom inner wall surface 23D. Here, the curved surface portion 23E protrudes into the concave portion 23 in a convex shape.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the bottom inner wall surface 23D of the recess 23 is the lowest on the inclined side inner wall surface 23C side, and becomes steeper as the distance from the inclined side inner wall surface 23C increases. Left side end portion of the bottom inner wall surface 23D is connected directly to the upper surface 22 of the lower mold 24 through the curved side inner wall surface 23F.

  The convex part 25 of the upper mold 26 is formed in a shape substantially matching the concave part 23 of the lower mold 24, but only the right side surface of the convex part 25 is shaped to match the inclined side inner wall surface 23C of the concave part 23. Instead, a vertical wall surface 25A is formed.

  Inside the lower mold 24, a number of vacuum holes 27 for evacuation having openings on the upper surface 22, the bottom inner wall surface 23D and the inclined side inner wall surface 23C of the recess 23 are formed. It joins and is connected to the vacuum pump device 28.

  The vacuum pump device 28 is provided with a connection part 29 to which the proximal end side of the vacuum hole 27 is connected, a vacuum pipe 31 provided with a valve 30 in the middle of the connection part 29, and a tip of the vacuum pipe 31. And a vacuum pump 32.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a cylindrical hole 33 opening in the bottom inner wall surface 23 </ b> D of the recess 23 is formed in the lower mold 24 in the vertical direction, and a cylindrical pin is formed in the hole 33. 34 is provided to be movable in the vertical direction. The lower part of the pin 34 is connected to the cylinder 36 via the rod 35, and is driven by the cylinder 36. The cylinder 36 is also provided inside the lower mold 24. In this embodiment, the pin 34, the rod 35 and the cylinder 36 constitute lifting means. The pin 34 is not limited to the cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 2 but may be a polygonal prism such as a quadrangular prism.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the hole 33 and the pin 34 pass through a corner portion 23G where the side inner wall surface 23A and the inclined side inner wall surface 23C are connected, and are in contact with the curved surface portion 23E of the curved side inner wall surface 23F. It is provided within a range R sandwiched between a tangent line L2 passing through the corner portion 23G and in contact with the inclined side inner wall surface 23C.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper end of the pin 34 is cut obliquely to form an inclined end face 34A. A groove 34 </ b> B is provided in the inclined end surface 34 </ b> A in the radial direction of the pin 34.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  First, the sheet member 37 (see FIG. 2) is set on the upper surface 22 of the lower mold 24, the lower mold 24 is raised, the upper mold 26 is lowered, and the convex portion 25 is fitted into the concave portion 23, thereby the sheet member. 37 is pressed. Next, the valve 30 is opened, and the vacuum pump 32 is driven to evacuate through the vacuum pipe 31 and the vacuum hole 27, whereby the sheet member 37 is placed in the side inner wall surfaces 23 </ b> A and 23 </ b> B of the recess 23, It is closely attached to the wall surface 23C and the bottom inner wall surface 23D. Thereby, the sheet member 37 can be vacuum-formed into a desired shape.

  When the vacuum forming process is completed, the lower mold 24 is lowered and the upper mold 26 is raised, and the convex portion 25 is pulled out from the concave portion 23. At this time, when the cylinder 36 is driven, the driving force is transmitted to the pin 34 via the rod 35 and the pin 34 rises. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the sheet member 37 has a portion in close contact with the bottom inner wall surface 23 </ b> D pushed up from below by the pin 34, and accordingly, a portion in close contact with the inclined side inner wall surface 23 </ b> C. The recess 23 is sequentially peeled from the back side to the opening end side. Thereby, the sheet member 37 can be peeled from the lower mold 24 without applying an excessive force to the sheet member 37, that is, without generating wrinkles on the sheet member 37.

  According to the present embodiment, since the groove 34B is provided in the radial direction on the inclined end surface 34A of the pin 34, the frictional resistance between the sheet member 37 and the inclined end surface 34A when the sheet member 37 is pushed up by the pin 34 is large. Thus, the sheet member 37 can be prevented from being displaced from the pin 34 when the sheet member 37 is peeled off from the lower mold 24.

  6 and 7 show the second embodiment. In the present embodiment, an example in which the sheet member 37 is a sheet member for an instrument panel is shown. Also in the present embodiment, the pin 34 passes through the corner 3 where the side wall 6D and the lower wall 6A are connected, and touches the curved surface 6E of the upper wall 6C, and passes through the corner 3 and the lower wall 6A. It is provided within a range R sandwiched between a tangent line L2 in contact with. Here, the lower wall 6A corresponds to the inclined side wall surface, the upper wall 6C corresponds to the curved side wall surface, and the side wall 6D corresponds to the side wall surface.

  In addition, 6 A of lower walls are the shape by which the back | inner side was notched inside rather than the opening end side, and are formed in what is called an undercut. Further, the side wall 6D and the upper wall 6C are formed substantially perpendicular to the vertical wall 6B, and a curved surface part 6E is formed in part on the upper wall 6C.

  Also in this embodiment, when the sheet member 37 is peeled off from the lower mold after the sheet member 37 is vacuum-formed, the sheet member 37 is pushed up by the pins 34, so that the generation of wrinkles near the corner 3 of the sheet member 37 can be suppressed. .

  In FIG. 6, L3 is a bisector of tangents L1 and L2, and if a pin 34A is provided on this bisector L3, the generation of wrinkles can be effectively suppressed.

  In FIG. 7, L4 is a bisector of tangent lines L2 and L5 (tangent line passing through corner portion 3 and in contact with side wall portion 6D), and pin 34B can be provided on bisector L4. . Note that when the pin 34C is provided near the tangent L5, wrinkles are likely to occur near the corner 2 where the side wall 6D and the upper wall 6E are connected.

  FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment. In this embodiment, a suction mechanism 40 as a lifting means is provided in the convex portion 25 of the upper mold 26. The suction mechanism 40 includes a suction plate 41 and a cylinder 42 for reciprocating the suction plate 41 in the vertical direction. The suction disk 41 is accommodated in a recess 43 formed in the bottom wall surface 25 </ b> B of the convex portion 25, and is connected to the cylinder 42 via a rod 44. Although not shown in the figure, the suction disk 41 is connected to a vacuum pump device that evacuates the suction disk 41.

  In the case of this embodiment, the vacuum forming process is finished, the lower die 24 is lowered and the upper die 26 is raised, and at the same time, as shown in FIG. 25, the vacuum pump device is driven. Then, the portion that is in close contact with the bottom inner wall surface 23D is adsorbed by the suction plate 41 and pulled upward, and the portion that is in close contact with the inclined side inner wall surface 23C is the back of the recess 23 as in the first embodiment. It is peeled off sequentially from the opening end side. Thereby, the sheet member 37 can be peeled off from the lower mold 24 without generating wrinkles on the sheet member 37.

  In this embodiment, the upper die 26 is once raised for cooling, the upper die 26 is lowered again, the sheet member 37 is sucked and lifted by the suction plate 41, and then the lower die 24 is lowered. You may make it make it.

  According to the present embodiment, since the sheet member 37 is adsorbed to the adsorption board 41, it is possible to more effectively prevent the sheet member 37 from shifting when the sheet member 37 is peeled off from the lower mold 24.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vacuum forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a schematic block diagram when the other part of the vacuum forming apparatus of FIG. 1 is shown in cross section. It is a top view of the recessed part formed in the lower mold | type. It is a perspective view of the front-end | tip part of the pin for pushing up a sheet | seat member. It is a figure which shows a mode that the sheet | seat member was pushed up with the pin. Example 2 is shown, and is a front view of a sheet member for an instrument panel. It is a principal part perspective view of FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vacuum forming apparatus according to Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that the sheet | seat member was sucked up with the suction disk. It is a front view of the sheet | seat member for instrument panels. It is an expansion perspective view of the A section of FIG. It is sectional drawing along CC line of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the type | mold member for shape | molding the A section of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Vacuum forming apparatus 23 Recess 23A, 23B Side inner wall surface 23C Inclined side inner wall surface 23D Bottom inner wall surface 24 Lower mold 25 Protrusion 26 Upper mold 27 Vacuum hole 28 Vacuum pump device 34 Pin 36 Cylinder 37 Sheet member 40 Adsorption mechanism 41 Adsorption Panel 42 Cylinder

Claims (4)

A lower die having a recess and having a plurality of vacuum holes formed on the upper surface including the inner wall surface of the recess, and evacuating the sheet member set on the upper surface of the lower die through the vacuum holes A vacuum forming apparatus that performs vacuum forming into a desired shape by closely attaching the sheet member to the inner wall surface of the recess,
The concave portion is inclined with respect to the bottom surface of the concave portion and formed into an undercut, an inclined side inner wall surface, a curved side inner wall surface disposed opposite to the inclined side inner wall surface, the inclined side inner wall surface and the curved surface A side inner wall arranged on the side of the side inner wall,
A lifting means for lifting the sheet member in close contact with the bottom surface of the concave portion passes through a corner portion where the opening edge of the inclined side inner wall surface and the side inner wall surface are connected to each other and is in contact with the curved side inner wall surface. , Provided in a range sandwiched between the tangent passing through the corner and in contact with the opening edge of the inner wall surface of the inclined side portion,
When the sheet member after vacuum forming is peeled from the recess, the sheet member on the bottom surface of the recess is lifted upward by the lifting means to peel off the sheet member that is in close contact with the inner wall surface of the inclined side portion. A vacuum forming device.   The vacuum forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an upper die having a convex portion that can be fitted into the concave portion is disposed above the lower die.   The vacuum forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lifting means is a pin that is provided on the bottom surface of the recess and pushes up the sheet member from below.   The vacuum forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the lifting means is a suction mechanism that is provided on the convex portion and sucks and lifts the sheet member.

Images