Method for producing a vehicle interior part

Abstract

A method for producing a vehicle interior component may include heating a polymeric material to a molten state to produce a molten polymer. The molten polymer may be extruded to form more than one molten polymer filament. The fastening device may be inserted into a molten polymer, and the molten polymer may be cooled in a fluid bath to create a consolidated filament structure to which the fastening device is secured.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Danish patent application No. PA202370026 filed on January 19, 2023, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 356,249 filed on June 28, 2022, the disclosures of both applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for producing a vehicle interior component. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of systems and methods according to embodiments described herein;

[0006] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of a portion of the method shown in;

[0007] Figure 3 Shows that it can be Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a fastening arrangement used in conjunction with the method shown in FIG.

[0008] Figure 4 Shows Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of a portion of the method shown in;

[0009] Figure 5 shows a secondary extrusion head that can be used as part of systems and methods according to embodiments described herein;

[0010] Figure 6 shows a consolidated filamentary structure to which a fastening device is secured according to embodiments described herein;

[0011] Figure 7 Shows Figure 1 a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a portion of the method shown in; and

[0012] Figure 8A-8C It shows that it can be Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the steps performed in the embodiment shown in FIG.

[0013] Detailed Description

[0014] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the detailed description that follows, many specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments described. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various embodiments described may be practiced without these specific details. In other examples, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks are not described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the embodiments.

[0015] It should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary, and that various forms and alternative forms are possible. The drawings are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or reduced in order to show the details of particular components. Therefore, the specific structural details and functional details disclosed herein should not be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching those skilled in the art to implement the embodiments according to the present disclosure in various ways.

[0016] “One or more” includes a function performed by one element, a function performed by more than one element (eg, in a distributed fashion), several functions performed by one element, several functions performed by several elements, or any combination of the foregoing.

[0017] It should also be understood that, although in some cases, the terms first, second, etc. are used in this article to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first contact can be called a second contact, and similarly, a second contact can be called a first contact without departing from the scope of the various embodiments described. Both the first contact and the second contact are contacts, but they are not the same contact.

[0018] The terms used in the description of the various embodiments herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that when used in this specification, the terms "includes", "including", "comprises", or "comprising" specify the presence of the features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, parts, or groups thereof.

[0019] As used herein, the term "if" is optionally interpreted to mean "when..." or "upon..." or "in response to determining..." or "in response to detecting...", as appropriate to the context. Similarly, the phrases "if it is determined" or "if [the condition or event] is detected" are optionally interpreted to mean "upon determining..." or "in response to determining..." or "upon detecting [the condition or event]" or "in response to detecting [the condition or event]", as appropriate to the context.

[0020] refer to Figure 1 , a schematic diagram of a system 10 that can be used with a method 11 according to an embodiment described herein is shown. A hopper 12 contains solid particles of a polymer material 14 to be extruded. In this embodiment, the material 14 is a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), although the method described herein can use different types of polymers to produce finished products as needed and effectively. The material 14 is fed from the hopper 12 to an extruder 16. The extruder 16 melts the material 14 and conveys the material 14 to a die plate 18 including a die plate 20. The extruder 16 can be, for example, a conventional extruder including a barrel that receives a rotatable screw. The rotation of the screw forces the material 14 to move through the barrel and helps to heat the material due to the friction generated when the screw rotates. A heating element can be disposed on the barrel and heats the polymer material 14 in the barrel.

[0021] The material 14 exits the extruder 16 at position 22 under pressure and in a molten state. Unless otherwise specified, the term "molten" as used herein means that the material is at least partially molten. This does not mean that the material must be in a completely liquid state; rather, it means that the material is not completely solid and is still able to flow through the elements of the system 10. For example, the molten material is still able to flow through the die plate 20, but it may be very viscous and begin to solidify. Once the solid particles of polymer material 14 are melted in the extruder 16, the material will begin to cool as it stops being agitated by the extruder screw and moves away from any heaters. At different points in the process 11, the material may have a higher or lower viscosity, but if it is still partially molten and able to flow—even slowly—the term "molten" applies herein.

[0022] The die plate 20 extrude the material 14 into the filaments 24. More specifically, the die plate 20 has a plurality of holes disposed therethrough (see, e.g., Figure 2), molten material 14 passes through these holes. Single filament 24 is extruded from each template hole. Filament 24 falls downward from template 20 to funnel 26 under system pressure and gravity. Funnel 26 helps filament 24 to consolidate or group into a more compact arrangement, filament 24 bends or loops in funnel 26, and each filament 24 contacts and is bonded to at least one other filament 24. In this embodiment, funnel 26 has funnel inlet 28 and funnel outlet 30 that is smaller than funnel inlet 28. More specifically, funnel 26 is narrower at funnel outlet 30 than at funnel inlet 28. Individual separated filaments 24 enter funnel inlet 28, then filament 24 bends or loops and moves into contact with each other and slides downward to funnel outlet 30 along funnel 26 as they accumulate, and consolidated filament structure 32 leaves funnel outlet 30 and enters water tank 34. When the filaments 24 reach the funnel 26 , those filaments near the outer portion of the funnel 26 —approximately 2 to 3 rows —slide down the angled surface of the funnel 26 , which creates a skin on the consolidated filament structure 32 .

[0023] The water tank 34 holds water 36 and receives the consolidated filament structure 32 from the funnel 26. The water 36 performs at least two functions. First, it helps to temporarily support the consolidated filament structure 32 to prevent it from collapsing or shrinking into a less open or less porous arrangement. Therefore, the water 36 provides some resistance, which causes the extra bending and looping of the filaments 24 to further build the consolidated filament structure 32. Secondly, the water 36 cools the polymer filaments 24 from the outside to solidify it. The temperature of the water 36 can be much lower than the temperature of the filaments 24 when the filaments 24 leave the template 20, for example, the water can be in the temperature of the surrounding environment around the box 34. Although the fluid used in this embodiment is liquid water 36, in other embodiments, other types of fluids can be used.

[0024] The water tank 34 includes various rollers and conveyors that help move the consolidated filamentary structure 32 through and out of the water 36. A traction conveyor 38 is submerged in the water 36 and engages opposite sides of the consolidated filamentary structure 32 to move the consolidated filamentary structure 32 away from the hopper 26 at approximately the same speed as the consolidated filamentary structure 32 exits the hopper 26. The gap between opposite portions of the traction conveyor 38 is slightly narrower than the width of the consolidated filamentary structure 32 to allow the traction conveyor 38 to better grip the consolidated filamentary structure 32. As previously described, Figure 1 38. The diagrams are schematic and have been simplified for purposes of illustration. For example, a conveyor belt such as the traction conveyor belt 38 may be as shown in FIG. Figure 1 The neutral orientation is located toward the front and rear of the system 10, rather than on the left and right sides as shown.

[0025] Another roller 40 helps the filament structure 32 of consolidation to keep submerged, and helps to guide it through the water 36 towards the conveyor belt 42 and the vibrating table 44 that are located outside the water tank 34. When the filament structure 32 of consolidation is on the conveyor belt 42, the vibrating table 44 vibrates the filament structure 32 of consolidation to remove at least some water 36. Pressurized air can also be blown to the filament structure 32 of consolidation, and the filament structure 32 of consolidation can also be squeezed to remove more water 36. Finally, the filament structure 32 of consolidation can be cut into desired size and shape. As described above, the filament structure 32 of consolidation forms a stranded mesh material (stranded-meshmaterial), which can be used as a pad blank for a part of a vehicle interior component, for example. In some cases, the filament structure 32 of consolidation can have a rectangular cross section, which is subsequently cut or shaped into a desired profile for its intended use.

[0026] Figure 2 A portion of a system such as system 10 that performs an embodiment of the method described herein is shown. More specifically, Figure 2 A die plate 46 is shown having more than one hole disposed therethrough for extruding the molten polymer into more than one molten polymer filament 48, which for clarity is not shown in FIG. Figure 2 Only some of the molten polymer filaments 48 are marked. Figure 1 In the process illustrated in FIG. 4 , molten polymer filaments 48 fall downward from die plate 46 toward funnel device 50. Once having passed through funnel device 50, molten polymer filaments 48 enter fluid box 52 where they are introduced into a fluid bath. In this embodiment, fluid box 52 contains water 54. As described above in conjunction with Figure 1 As described, fluid baths are used in particular for cooling molten polymers. Figure 2 Also shown is the step of fastening device 56 being introduced into the molten polymer.In this step, fastening device 56 is inserted into the molten polymer or is combined with the molten polymer.In this embodiment, after forming the molten polymer long filament 48, fastening device 56 is introduced into the molten polymer.As explained in more detail below, in other embodiments, when the molten polymer is extruded through the template (that is, by forming the same template of the molten polymer long filament 48), fastening device such as fastening device 56 can be introduced into the molten polymer.

[0027] like Figure 2As shown in FIG. 1 , the fastening device 56 includes a strand portion 58 that is configured as an elongated member. The fastening device 56 may include plastic beads, cloth (e.g., duon), or it may be a string, rope, or other similar structure. When this type of fastening device is used, it may provide, for example, attachment to a decorative cover or other material to be positioned on the resulting product such as a loop, clip, or the like of a consolidated filament structure. As combined Figure 3 As explained in more detail, the fastening device 56 may include more than one discrete fastener. The strand portion 58 may have a defined length, and in particular, may be long enough to accommodate the resulting product (such as Figure 1 The length of the consolidated filament structure 32) shown in FIG. Figure 2 In the embodiment shown in , fastening device 56 and more particularly strand portion 58 are continuously inserted into molten polymer over at least a portion of its defined length. In this embodiment, it is continuously inserted from spool 60, which rotates as indicated by directional arrow 62.

[0028] As described above, a fastening device such as fastening device 56 may include a Figure 3 More than one discrete fastener is schematically illustrated in FIG. Figure 3 In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 , the fastening device 64 includes a strand portion 66 that forms an elongated member of the fastening device 64 . Figure 3 The fastening device 64 shown in FIG. 6 is a section of what may be a much longer structure. In addition to the strand portion 66, the fastening device 64 includes more than one discrete fastener 68, which may be, for example, a Christmas tree fastener, a clip, a thumbtack, etc. Because the fasteners 68 are attached to the strand portion 66 that is continuously fed into the molten polymer, the fasteners 68 are introduced and inserted into the molten polymer at a predetermined frequency defined by the distance between the fasteners 68 and the rate at which the fastening device 64 is inserted into the molten polymer.

[0029] The fasteners 68 are also introduced and inserted into the molten polymer at predetermined locations, which may also be defined by the distance between the fasteners 68 and the rate at which the fastening device 64 is introduced into the molten polymer. The position of the fasteners 68 relative to the molten polymer filaments 48 may also be determined by the positions at which the fasteners 68 are positioned as they are inserted into the molten polymer. For example, Figure 2 In the embodiment illustrated in FIG, the fastening device 56 is inserted very close to one edge of the molten polymer filament 48. This can produce a finished product with the fastening device 56 very close to one surface, which makes it easily accessible for attachment to other products.

[0030] Figure 4Also shown is a portion of a system such as system 10 that performs an embodiment of the method described herein. More specifically, Figure 4 A die plate 70 is shown having more than one hole disposed therethrough for extruding molten polymer into more than one molten polymer filament 72, which for clarity is not shown in FIG. Figure 4 Only some of the molten polymer filaments 72 are marked. Figure 1 In the process illustrated in the figure, molten polymer filaments 72 fall downward from a die plate 70 and are received by a funnel device 74. Once introduced into and through the funnel device 74, the molten polymer filaments 72 enter a fluid box 76, which in this embodiment contains water 78. The fastening device 80 includes a strand portion 82, which can be similar to Figure 2 The strand portion 58 and Figure 3 The strand portion 66 is shown in FIG. Figure 4 In the embodiment shown in , the fastening device 80 is introduced into the molten polymer through the larger holes 84 in the die plate 70, which can be referred to as a "co-extrusion" technique. When the molten polymer is extruded into the molten polymer filament 72, the strand portion 82 can be continuously fed through the hole 84.

[0031] Figure 1 A secondary extrusion head 85 is shown in dashed lines, by means of which the fastening device 80 can be introduced under the die plate 20 . Figure 5 2 shows a bottom view of the secondary extrusion head 85 juxtaposed with the template 20. Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 8 , a fastening device such as fastening device 80 may be introduced through secondary extrusion head 85 , and in particular through hole 87 .

[0032] Where the fastening means does not include discrete fasteners (such as Figure 3 In applications where the fastener 68 is shown in FIG. 1 , the strand portion 82 may be inserted through a standard hole in the template 70. Alternatively, a dedicated inlet tube may be inserted through the template 70 to accommodate a fastening device having discrete fasteners that are larger than the standard template holes. Figure 6 A portion of a consolidated filamentary structure 86 is shown with a fastening device 88 attached to the consolidated filamentary structure 86. The fastening device 88 includes a strand portion 90 attached to the consolidated filamentary structure 86. More specifically, the fastening device 88 is secured to the filament 92 by being placed in contact with the filament 92 while the filament 92 is still in a molten state (for clarity, the fastening device 88 is shown in FIG. 1 ). Figure 6 Only some of the filaments 92 are marked in the figure) so that when the filaments 92 cool, a strong bond is formed.

[0033] exist Figure 7 , a portion of a system such as system 10 is shown. More specifically, Figure 7 A die plate 94 is shown having more than one hole disposed therethrough for extruding the molten polymer into more than one molten polymer filament 96. For clarity, the die plate 94 is shown in FIG. Figure 7 Only some of the polymer filaments 96 are labeled. The molten polymer filaments 96 fall downward from the die plate 94 where they are introduced into the funnel device 98. After leaving the funnel device 98, the polymer filaments 96 enter the fluid box 100, which in this embodiment contains water 102. Figure 7 In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 , the fastening device can be introduced into the molten polymer filaments 96 through a funnel device 98 . Figure 7 The isolated details in Fig. 8A A schematic diagram of the process of inserting the fastening device into the molten polymer filament 96 through the funnel device 98 is shown in FIG. Figure 8B and Figure 8C Shown in.

[0034] exist Fig. 8A , a portion 104 of the funnel device 98 is shown. Fig. 8A As shown in FIG. 1 , portion 104 of funnel device 98 prevents fastening device 106 from being introduced into molten polymer filaments 96. Figure 6 and Figure 7 In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , portion 104 of funnel device 98 is removable to allow fastening device 106 to be combined with molten polymer filament 96. Figure 8B The middle figure shows that part 104 of the funnel device 98 has been moved to the left as indicated by directional arrow 108. This allows the fastening device 106 to move downward as illustrated by directional arrow 110. Figure 8B and Figure 8C , for clarity, the molten polymer filaments 96 have been removed. Once the fastening device 106 is introduced into the molten polymer filaments 96, the portion 104 of the funnel device 98 is moved back to its original position, as indicated by the directional arrow 112. This embodiment allows discrete fasteners to be individually placed in contact with the molten polymer filaments 96 at a predetermined frequency and predetermined positions.

[0035] Although exemplary embodiments are described above, this does not mean that these embodiments describe all possible forms according to the present disclosure. In this regard, the words used in this specification are descriptive and non-restrictive, and it should be understood that multiple changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the features of multiple implementation embodiments can be combined to form other embodiments according to the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for producing a vehicle interior component, comprising: heating the polymer material to a molten state so that the polymer material becomes a molten polymer; introducing the molten polymer into a die plate having more than one aperture disposed therethrough such that the molten polymer moves through the apertures and forms more than one molten polymer filament; introducing a fastening device into the molten polymer; and The molten polymer is cooled after it exits the die plate so as to form a consolidated filament structure and secure the fastening device to the consolidated filament structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fastening device is introduced into the molten polymer after the molten polymer is introduced into the die plate.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the fastening device is introduced into the molten polymer through the die plate.

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fastening means comprises a strand portion having a length, and the strand portion is introduced continuously into the molten polymer over at least a portion of the length.

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fastening means comprises more than one discrete fastener and the fasteners are introduced into the molten polymer at a predetermined frequency.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein cooling the molten polymer comprises introducing the molten polymer into a fluid bath, the method further comprising receiving the molten polymer with a funnel device before introducing the molten polymer into the fluid bath, and wherein the fastening device comprises more than one discrete fastener and the fasteners are introduced into the molten polymer through the funnel device.

7. A vehicle interior component formed by a method according to any one of the preceding claims.

8. A method for producing a vehicle interior component, comprising: heating the polymer material to a molten state to produce a molten polymer; extruding the molten polymer to form more than one molten polymer filament; inserting a fastening device into the molten polymer; and The molten polymer is cooled in a fluid bath to produce a consolidated filament structure to which the fastening device is secured.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the fastening device comprises an elongated member, and inserting the fastening device into the molten polymer comprises continuously feeding the elongated member into the molten polymer over at least a portion of the length of the elongated member.

10. A method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the elongate member comprises more than one discrete fastener.

11. A method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the fastening means comprises more than one discrete fastener and the fasteners are inserted into the molten polymer at predetermined locations in the molten polymer.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising introducing the molten polymer into a funnel device prior to cooling the molten polymer in the fluid bath, and wherein the fastener is inserted into the molten polymer through the funnel device.

13. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fastening means is inserted into the molten polymer after the molten polymer has been extruded to form the molten polymer filaments.

14. The method of any one of claims 8-11, wherein the fastening device is inserted into the molten polymer as the molten polymer is extruded to form the molten polymer filaments.

15. The method of any one of claims 8-11 or 14, wherein extruding the molten polymer comprises introducing the molten polymer into an extruder, and inserting the fastening device into the molten polymer comprises inserting the fastening device through a different extruder.

16. A gasket blank for a vehicle interior component, the vehicle interior component being formed by the method according to any one of claims 8-15.

17. A method for producing a vehicle interior component, comprising: heating the polymer material to produce a molten polymer; forming more than one molten polymer filament from the molten polymer; combining a fastening device with the molten polymer; as well as The molten polymer is cooled in a fluid bath to produce a consolidated filament structure to which the fastening device is secured.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the fastening device is combined with the molten polymer after the molten polymer filaments are formed.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the fastening device is combined with the molten polymer as the molten polymer filaments are formed.

20. The method of any one of claims 17-19, wherein the fastening device comprises an elongated member, and combining the fastening device with the molten polymer comprises continuously feeding the elongated member into the molten polymer over at least a portion of the length of the elongated member.

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