Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – Pore forming in situ – Composite article making
Patent
1995-10-30
1998-07-28
Kuhns, Allan R.
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
Pore forming in situ
Composite article making
264 464, 264 54, 264257, 264259, 264291, 264292, 264404, 264442, 425111, 425112, 425145, 425150, 425567, B29C 4406, B29C 5502, B29C 4516
Patent
active
057859108
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing laminate-molded products, and in particular to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing laminate molded products having an external appearance of an excellent quality.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A conventional method for manufacturing laminate-molded products is, for example, a method disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication (B2) 63-66651. With this method, the edge of a sheet of skin material is sandwiched by a specific holding force between a fixed frame, which is provided on the side of a metal mold, and a fixed metal mold (a female metal mold); then the fixed metal mold is shifted so that it is close to a movable metal mold (a male metal mold). Thereafter, the edge of the sheet of skin material is slipped between the fixed frame and the fixed metal mold, and the sheet of skin material is drawn into the cavity of the fixed metal mold.
However, since, with this method, the clamping is performed when the edge of the sheet of skin material is held by the specific holding force, and the sheet of skin material is drawn into the metal mold while sliding against the fixed frame and against the female metal mold, the sheet of skin material will be torn when the holding force is too large and puckering of the sheet of skin material will occur when the holding force is too small.
Even with a holding force in the appropriate range, the tension that acts on the sheet of skin material and the deformation that is due to tension are not uniform when manufacturing deep-drawn products and products that have complicated shapes. If the holding force during the pressing procedure is constant, partial tearing and damage or puckering will occur, and will result in the deterioration of the external appearance and the quality of products.
There are further methods, including a method in which a sheet of skin material is placed into a metal mold and a melted thermoplastic resin is injected through a nozzle into the mold cavity and solidified so as to laminate the sheet of skin material and the resin (see Japanese Patent Publication (B2) 60-38250), and another method in which an adhesive is used to laminate a sheet of skin material onto a foamed body that is manufactured by a conventional foaming molding method (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (A) 60-124239).
However, as these methods also require the application of a high pressure during a cooling procedure that is performed after the injection process in order to prevent sink marks, etc., on the surface of the resin, the sheet of skin material that is pressed strongly against the metal mold may have a poor surface quality due to the deformation of the pattern, and melted resin may permeate the sheet of skin material and thus substantially reduce the value of the product. Although even large molded products can be manufactured so that they are lightweight when the resin substrate is a foamed body, the lamination of the sheet of skin material is difficult and complicated, and the strength of the adhesive bond that is provided tends to be insufficient.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In order to overcome the above shortcomings, it is one object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturing lightweight laminate-molded products having an external appearance that has an excellent quality.
A laminate-molding method, for manufacturing molded products, in which an injection device, a mold clamping device, and a fixed metal mold and a movable metal mold, that are attached to the mold clamping device, are employed to laminate a sheet of skin material, such as a woven fabric, a nonwoven fabric, a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer sheet or film, and a core resin, comprises a step of varying, continuously or by degrees, the tension on the sheet of skin material which is inserted into a cavity between the fixed metal mold and the movable metal mold of the mold clamping device and which is laminated by the movable metal mo
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Funahashi Tetsuzi
Oishi Masayuki
Sakashita Katsutoshi
Yokota Akira
Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho
Kuhns Allan R.
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