METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING AN INSERT FOR A CAR TRUNK AND AN INSERT MANUFACTURED ACCORDING TO THIS METHOD

Abstract

A method for manufacturing an insert (1) for a trunk recess (2) of a passenger car (4) with at least one receiving compartment (6) for an object (8), which has an outer contour adapted to the shape of the object (8) to be received, comprising the following process steps: Providing a base body (9) comprising a plurality of superimposed and interconnected flat plates (10) made of foamed, reversibly deformable plastic material, which are connected, in particular bonded, to one another on their adjacent surfaces in a contact area (12), inserting a flat stop tool (20) into the contact area (12) between two adjacent plates (10) n , 10 n+1) at the level of the position of the bottom (6a) of the receiving compartment (6), inserting a cutting tool (22; 122) that cuts through the foamed plastic material in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the planar stop tool (20), such that the cutting tool (22; 122) contacts the top of the stop tool (20), Generating a cutting core by moving the cutting tool (22) along the outer contour of the receiving compartment (6), and Removing the stop tool (20) from the base body (9).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an insert for a trunk recess of a passenger car and an insert manufactured according to this method according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] The trunks of passenger cars, hereinafter referred to as cars, typically have recesses in the form of troughs into which foam inserts with molded compartments can be inserted from above. These compartments can hold items such as tools, tie-down points, jacks, jumper cables, small compressors for inflating tires, and the like, to secure them in the vehicle during driving and prevent them from moving around during cornering or hard braking and acceleration.

[0003] Such an application for a boot well of a passenger car is disclosed, for example, in DE 43 40 675 A1.

[0004] A problem with conventional trunk inserts is that they are manufactured as foamed plastic components using injection molding. In this process, the liquid, foam, or spherical plastic material is injected into a mold specifically designed for each vehicle, where it then hardens to achieve its final shape. Although the production of uniformly designed trunk inserts from foamed plastic can significantly reduce unit costs in the large quantities typical of automotive manufacturing, this type of production does not allow for the inclusion of individually designed compartments.

[0005] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a trunk insert for a passenger car which has individually designed compartments with a variable shape and size that can be individually positioned in use.

[0006] This problem is solved according to the invention by a method having the features of claim 1.

[0007] Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to create a trunk insert for a passenger car in which at least one receiving compartment with a variable shape and size can be individually inserted at any position.

[0008] This problem is solved according to the invention by an insert having the features of claim 10.

[0009] According to the invention, a method for manufacturing an insert for a trunk well of a passenger car, which has at least one receiving compartment for an object, e.g. a beverage bottle and glasses etc., which has an outer contour adapted to the shape of the object to be received, comprises the following method steps: Providing a base body comprising a plurality of superimposed and interconnected flat plates made of foamed, reversibly deformable plastic material, which are connected, in particular bonded, to one another in a contact area on their adjacent surfaces; inserting a planar stop tool into the contact area between two adjacent plates at the level of the position of the bottom of the receiving compartment; inserting a cutting tool that cuts through the foamed plastic material in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the planar stop tool such that the cutting tool contacts the top of the stop tool; generating a cutting core by moving the cutting tool along the outer contour of the receiving compartment; and removing the stop tool from the base body.

[0010] The method according to the invention has the advantage that the inserts can be manufactured individually and cost-effectively according to the wishes of the vehicle owners, and the objects in these can be secured in the boot well of a vehicle in a particularly reliable and thermally insulated manner during the journey to prevent slipping.

[0011] Further features of the invention are contained in the dependent claims.

[0012] The invention is described below with reference to the drawings and by way of preferred embodiments.

[0013] The drawings show: Fig. 1 A schematic, abbreviated view of the trunk of a car with a trunk recess that can be closed by a lid and an insert according to the invention, which is designed and adapted to be inserted into it, Fig. 2 a schematic view of the base body of the insert, formed from several plates of reversibly deformable foam material, during the insertion of a receiving compartment with a hand-operated cutting tool and stop tool, Fig. 3 A schematic view of a base body formed from several plates of reversibly deformable foam material during the insertion of a receiving compartment using a motor-operated cutting tool in the form of a laser and a motor-operated stop tool moved synchronously with it.

[0014] As in Fig. Figures 1 to 3 show a method for manufacturing an insert 1 for a trunk recess 2 of a passenger vehicle 4, which has at least one receiving compartment 6 for an object 8 such as a beverage bottle and / or a glass and / or a bottle opener, which has an outer contour adapted to the shape of the object 8 to be received, comprising the following process steps: First, a base body 9 is provided, comprising a plurality of superimposed and interconnected flat plates 10 made of foamed, reversibly deformable plastic material. The plates 10 can advantageously be purchased as industrially manufactured mass-produced goods. The material can be, for example, closed-cell cellular rubber or foamed polyethylene.

[0015] The individual plates arranged one above the other to form a frame are connected to each other on their adjacent surfaces in a contact area 12 to provide the base body, in particular by gluing or, in the case of plates 10 made of a thermally weldable plastic material, by thermal welding or by a suitable plastic welding process such as ultrasonic welding or friction welding.

[0016] The basic body 9 can be adapted to the outer shape of the in by means of a cutting tool and a template, for example, from its outer contour. Fig. The base body 9 is adapted to the indicated trunk recess, with the number of individual plates arranged one above the other being selected according to the depth of the recess. Although the plates preferably have a uniform thickness, it is also possible for one or more plates to have a reduced thickness in order to vary the height of the base body as well as the depth of the receiving compartments 6. If it is determined that the base bodies 9 are to be used as mass-produced goods for a vehicle series, they can be prefabricated by machine to a thickness corresponding to the depth of the trunk recess of the vehicle model by selecting appropriately thick plates 10.

[0017] To individually position the compartments 6 at a desired location on the top of the base body 9, a flat stop tool 20 is next inserted into the contact area 12 between two adjacent plates 10.n , 10 n+1 The stop tool 20 is inserted between the base 6a of the receiving compartment 6 at the same level. It can, for example, be a thin and preferably spring-elastic metal plate, made of spring steel, for example, and with a thickness as small as possible, for example 0.2 to 1 mm.

[0018] By inserting the stop tool into the contact area between a bottom plate 10 n+1 , the upper side of which forms the base surface 6a of the receiving compartment 6, and the underside of the plate 10 above it n , the connection between these plates in the contact area 12 is released in accordance with the invention, so that the cut core resulting after the creation of the receiving compartment 6 can be freely removed upwards.

[0019] After the stop tool 20 has been inserted into the contact area of ​​the two plates 10 below the receiving compartment 6 and the plates have been separated, a cutting tool 22, 122 is next inserted from above in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the planar stop tool 20 into the foamed plastic material of the plates 10 in the area of ​​the contour of the receiving compartment 6, such that the cutting tool 22 – or more precisely its tip – contacts the top surface of the stop tool 20. The cutting tool 22, 122 is then moved around the outer contour of the desired receiving compartment 6 in order to expose the aforementioned cut core upon completion of the process, which can then be removed upwards from the receiving compartment 6 thus formed.In the case of a mechanical cutting tool 22, which in the simplest case can be a knife, this is preferably moved up and down during the movement along the contour of the receiving compartment 6, wherein the tip of the cutting tool 22, according to the invention, strikes the top of the stop tool at the end of a downward movement, so that the downward movement is limited.

[0020] As the inventor has recognized in this context, this manufacturing technique described above can advantageously produce a receiving compartment 6 with an external contour of any kind and a completely flat bottom 6a using very simple means such as a knife and a spatula, or a flat metal strip.

[0021] After the receiving compartment has been created in the manner described above, the stop tool 20 is pulled out of the base body 9 and the cutting core is removed.

[0022] Although the outer contour of the receiving compartment 6 can in the simplest case also be produced freehand with a knife, in the preferred embodiment of the invention a marking 24 corresponding to the outer contour of the receiving compartment 6 is arranged on the upper side of the base body 9, along which the cutting tool 22 is moved by hand or by machine.

[0023] To obtain a precise cutting edge when using a mechanical, manually operated cutting tool 22, the outer contour of the preferred embodiment of the method is provided by means of a template 26 arranged on the top of the base body 9 at the position of the receiving compartment 6, along which the cutting tool 22 is moved. The template 26 can be made, for example, of plastic, wood, metal, or another solid material and is placed from above onto the top plate 10 of the base body 9 and fixed to it, for example, by downward-projecting fingers that fit snugly with slight tension against the respective outer edges of the elastic foam material of the base body.

[0024] According to a further concept underlying the invention, the planar stop tool 20 is moved synchronously with the cutting tool 22 in the plane of the contact area 12 between the two adjacent plates 10 during the movement of the cutting tool 22 along the contour. n , 10n+1 moved along with it. This has the advantage that a stop tool 20 can be used which has a smaller width than the clear width of the receiving compartment 6, which makes inserting the stop tool 20 much easier, especially with large receiving compartments 6, such as those required for champagne bottles etc.

[0025] Although the cutting tool can, in the simplest case, be a hand-operated mechanical cutting blade 22, for high-precision and fast manufacturing it is advantageous if the cutting blade 22 is moved along the outer contour by a motor drive 30a, 30b, e.g., stepper motors of an XY cutting device, which is controlled by a known electronic control device. In this embodiment, the outer contour is stored as a curve in the control device, which is followed by the drives 30a, 30b in the manner of an XY plotter.

[0026] It is particularly advantageous if the flat stop tool 20 is located in the plane of the contact area 12 between the two adjacent plates 10. n , 10 n+1 at the height of the position of the base 6a of the receiving compartment 6, it is also moved by the motor drive 30a, 30b, e.g. via a purely mechanical coupling, as is the case, for example, in Fig.3 is indicated. Alternatively, the movement of the stop tool 20 can also be effected by a further drive (not shown in detail), which first moves the stop 20 laterally into the base body 9 between the base plate 10. n+1 and the plate 10" above is inserted before the cutting blade 22 is inserted into the base body 9 from above by hand or by a further Z-drive and then moved synchronously with the stop tool 20.

[0027] According to a further aspect of the invention, the cutting tool is a laser 122, which is movable along the outer contour of the receiving compartment 6 by a motor drive 130a, 130b. In this case, the planar stop tool 20 is a plate that absorbs or reflects the laser light, e.g., a thin-walled metal plate or a glass plate, which is not cut through by the laser light but merely heated. This advantageously utilizes the property of laser light that a comparatively low beam power is required to cut through the foamed plastic material, which is insufficient to cut through the thin-walled material of the stop tool 20 but merely heats it.As the applicant has found, the heat energy released by the laser, which cuts through the plastic material of the plates 10, is dissipated over a large area via the metal material of the stop tool 20, without melting and deforming the bottom 6a of the receiving compartment 6.

[0028] In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is further provided that the planar stop tool 20, after the production of the cutting core, is drawn from the plane of the contact area 12 between the lower plate 10 which delimits the bottom 6a of the receiving compartment 6. n+1 and the adjacent, above-placed plate 10 n is extracted from foamed, reversibly deformable and preferably thermoplastic plastic material and the plates 10 n , or 10 n+1 then reconnected, in particular glued or fused together.

[0029] According to a preferred embodiment, it can be provided that the lower plate 10, which delimits the bottom 6a of the receiving compartment 6, n+1 and the adjacent, above-placed plate 10" are reconnected after removal of the flat, planar stop tool 20 by injecting adhesive or by local heating in a part of the contact area 12 arranged around the receiving compartment 6, so that the bottom 6a of the receiving compartment 6 is firmly connected to the underlying plate 10 in its circumferential corner area. n+1 is connected.

[0030] According to a further aspect of the invention, an insert 1 for a trunk recess 2 of a motor vehicle 4, manufactured according to the method described above, comprises at least one receiving compartment 6 for an object 8, which has an outer contour adapted to the shape of the object 8 to be received. The clear width of the outer contour is preferably slightly smaller, e.g. 1 mm, over its entire length than the clear width of the projection of the object to be received in the compartment, so that the object is fixed in the receiving compartment 6 by the elastic, reversibly deformable foam material with slight all-around pressure after it has been inserted into it from above.The insert 1 has a base body 9 made of a plurality of superimposed flat plates 10 made of the foamed, reversibly deformable plastic material, which are connected, in particular bonded, to one another in a respective contact area 12 on their adjacent surfaces. The insert 1 is characterized in that the receiving compartment 6 is formed by inserting a flat stop tool 20 into the contact area 12 between two adjacent plates at the level of the position of the bottom 6a of the receiving compartment 6 and inserting a cutting tool 22, which cuts through the foamed, reversibly deformable plastic material and contacts the top of the stop tool 20, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the flat stop tool 20, while the latter is moved along the outer contour of the receiving compartment 6.The insert 1 has the advantage that the items 8 placed in the compartment(s) 6 are thermally very well insulated by the preferably closed-pore structure of the foamed plastic material, which makes it possible, for example, to transport a chilled bottle of mineral water, beer or champagne in the insert 1 for a longer period of time without their temperature increasing excessively, as is known to occur with items that are simply placed in the trunk or interior of a passenger car without insulating covering in strong sunlight. Reference symbol list 1 deployment 2 boot wells 4 cars 6 Recording compartment 6a Floor of the receiving compartment 8 Item 9 basic shapes 10 plates 10 n nth plate in base body 10 n+1plate arranged below the nth plate 12 Contact area 20 flat stop tool 20 22 cutting tools 26 Template 30a Drive for moving the mechanical cutting tool X-direction 30b Drive for moving the mechanical cutting tool in the Y direction 122 lasers 130a Drive for moving the laser in the X direction 130b Drive for moving the laser in the Y direction QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 43 40 675 A1

[0003]

Claims

[1] Method for manufacturing an insert (1) for a trunk recess (2) of a passenger car (4) with at least one receiving compartment (6) for an object (8) which has an outer contour adapted to the shape of the object (8) to be received, comprising the following process steps: Providing a base body (9) comprising a plurality of superimposed and interconnected flat plates (10) made of foamed, reversibly deformable plastic material, which are connected, in particular bonded, to one another on their adjacent surfaces in a contact area (12), inserting a flat stop tool (20) into the contact area (12) between two adjacent plates (10) n , 10 n+1 ) at the level of the position of the floor (6a) of the receiving compartment (6), Inserting a cutting tool (22; 122) that cuts through the foamed plastic material in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the planar stop tool (20), such that the cutting tool (22; 122) contacts the top of the stop tool (20), Generating a cutting core by moving the cutting tool (22) along the outer contour of the receiving compartment (6), and Removing the stop tool (20) from the base body (9). [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that a marking (24) corresponding to the outer contour of the receiving compartment (6) is arranged on the upper side of the base body (9), along which the cutting tool (22) is moved by hand or by machine. [3] Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the outer contour is provided by a template (26) arranged on the top of the base body (9) at the position of the receiving compartment (6), along which the cutting tool (22) is moved. [4] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that the planar stop tool (20) during the movement of the cutting tool (22, 122) along the contour with the cutting tool (22) in the plane of the contact area (12) between the two adjacent plates (10) n , 10 n+1 ) is moved along with it. [5] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that the cutting tool (22) is a mechanical cutting blade which is moved along the outer contour by a motor drive (30a, 30b). [6] Method according to claim 5, characterized by , that the planar stop tool (20) is in the plane of the contact area (12) between the two adjacent plates (10) n , 10 n+1) at the height of the position of the floor (6a) of the receiving compartment (6) is moved synchronously with the cutting blade (22) by the motor drive (30a, 30b) or another drive. [7] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that the cutting tool (122) is a laser which can be moved along the outer contour of the receiving compartment (6) by means of a motor drive (130a, 130b), and that the planar stop tool (20) is a plate which absorbs or reflects the light of the laser, [8] Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the planar stop tool (20) after the generation of the cutting core from the plane of the contact area (12) between the lower plate (10) which limits the bottom (6a) of the receiving compartment (6) n+1 ) and the adjacent, above-placed plate (10 n ) pulled out of foamed reversibly deformable plastic material and the plates 1(0 n , 10n+1 ) are then reconnected, in particular glued or fused together. [9] Method according to claim 8, characterized by , that the lower plate (10) defining the bottom (6a) of the receiving compartment (6) n+1 ) and the adjacent, above-placed plate (10 n ) made of foamed reversibly deformable plastic material can be reconnected after removal of the flat planar stop tool (20) by injecting adhesive or by local heating in a part of the contact area (12) arranged around the receiving compartment (6). [10] Insert (1) for a trunk recess (2) of a passenger car (4) with at least one receiving compartment (6) for an object (8) which has an outer contour adapted to the shape of an object (8) to be received, comprising a base body (9) made of a plurality of superimposed flat plates (10) made of foamed, reversibly deformable plastic material which are connected, in particular bonded, to each other on their adjacent surfaces in a respective contact area (12),wherein the receiving compartment (6) is formed by inserting a planar stop tool (20) into the contact area (12) between two adjacent plates (10) at the level of the position of the bottom (6a) of the receiving compartment (6) and inserting a cutting tool (22) that cuts through the foamed reversibly deformable plastic material and contacts the top of the stop tool (20) in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the planar stop tool (20) while the latter is moved along the outer contour of the receiving compartment (6).

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