Vacuum pulling and crimping device and method of crimping surface skin by vacuum pulling

Abstract

To provide a vacuum pulling crimping device and a method of crimping a surface skin by vacuum pulling that can be crimped to a base material using a pull by vacuum without laminating to the back surface on a woven, non-woven or knitted fabric having air permeability.SOLUTION: The vacuum-pulling and crimping device 100 has a pedestal 10 with a plurality of vacuum holes for setting the base material 50, a vacuum device 20 that draws air from the vacuum holes in the pedestal 10, and a sheet member 30 that is positioned above the pedestal 10 and pressed against the pedestal 10 by the vacuum device 20 to draw air.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vacuum drawing and pressing device for pressing an air-permeable skin (hereinafter also referred to as "air-permeable skin") such as a woven fabric, a non-woven fabric, or a knitted fabric onto the surface of a base material such as plastic, and a method for pressing the skin using such a vacuum drawing and pressing device.

Background Art

[0002] When manufacturing interior materials used in an automobile interior, a decorative skin is coated on the surface of a base material made of plastic by vacuum forming. As the material of the vacuum forming skin used for such vacuum forming, a material in which a polypropylene foam (for example, an electron beam crosslinked polypropylene foam) is laminated on the surface skin made of PVC or TPO is used. Since such a vacuum forming skin laminated with a polypropylene foam is air-impermeable, it can be pressed onto the base material by pulling it with a vacuum forming machine in a state where it is heated to give elasticity.

[0003] However, since woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, etc. are air-permeable, the skin cannot be pressed onto the base material by vacuum forming. Therefore, such air-permeable skins have conventionally been laminated with an air-impermeable material such as polypropylene foam on the back surface and coated by vacuum forming, or individually pasted by hand.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum drawing pressure bonding apparatus that can be pressure-bonded to a substrate by using drawing by vacuum without laminating an air-permeable woven fabric, non-woven fabric, knitted fabric, etc. on the back surface, and a method for pressure-bonding an epidermis by vacuum drawing.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means.

[0007] A vacuum drawing pressure bonding apparatus according to the present invention is a vacuum drawing pressure bonding apparatus for adhering an epidermis such as a woven fabric, non-woven fabric, or cloth having air permeability to a substrate, a pedestal portion provided with a plurality of vacuum holes for setting the substrate, a vacuum device for evacuating air from the vacuum holes of the pedestal portion, a sheet member disposed above the pedestal portion and pressed against the pedestal portion by evacuating air by the vacuum device, and is characterized by comprising the above.

[0008] According to the vacuum drawing pressure bonding apparatus of the present invention, by pressing an air-permeable epidermis with an air-impermeable sheet member, it can be pressure-bonded by vacuum drawing without laminating an air-impermeable material on the back surface. Further, by pressing through the sheet member, the epidermis to be pressure-bonded can be pre-cut into a shape to be covered, so that the portion to be discarded can be minimized and the yield can be improved. Further, since there is no lamination, it is not necessary to pre-heat the laminated portion.

[0009] Further, in the vacuum drawing and crimping device according to the present invention, the pedestal portion may be made smaller by the length for winding the skin around the end of the base material. By using a pedestal portion that is slightly smaller than the base material used in this way, when vacuum drawing is performed, the sheet member is drawn by vacuum so as to entangle the air-permeable skin, so that the skin can be pressed against the end of the base material so as to be entangled. Therefore, if an adhesive or the like is applied in advance, the entangled portion can be simultaneously crimped in the crimping step. Even when no adhesive or the like is used, shaping can be performed, so that it can be easily fixed with a tacker or the like even when fixing in a subsequent step.

[0010] Furthermore, in the vacuum drawing and crimping device according to the present invention, the sheet member may be installed in a state where a non-stretchable sheet member is relaxed. By using a sheet member having stretchability or elasticity, pressure can be uniformly applied to the skin without gaps against the base material.

[0011] The present invention also provides a method for adhering a skin such as a woven fabric, non-woven fabric, or cloth having air permeability to a base material using the above-described vacuum drawing and crimping device. Such a method is a skin adhesion method characterized by comprising the following steps. A base material setting step of setting the base material on the pedestal portion, A positioning step of positioning the skin cut in a state where a winding margin is ensured with respect to the set base material on the base material or the sheet member, An arranging step of arranging the sheet member so as to be located below the base material from the upper surface side of the base material, A crimping step of sucking the sheet member by the vacuum device and crimping the skin to the base material.

[0012] Furthermore, the method for adhering a skin according to the present invention may be characterized by comprising the following steps. A base material setting step of setting the base material on the pedestal portion, A positioning step of positioning the skin cut in a state where a winding margin is secured with respect to the set base material on the base material or the sheet member; An arranging step of arranging the sheet member so as to be positioned below the base material from the upper surface side of the base material; A crimping step of sucking the sheet member by the vacuum device, crimping the skin to the base material, and crimping the winding margin to the back surface of the base material.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a vacuum drawing and crimping device 100 according to an embodiment and a method for adhering a skin using this vacuum drawing and crimping device 100 will be described in detail. Note that the embodiments and drawings described below are examples of a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and are not used for the purpose of limiting to these configurations, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. Corresponding components in each figure are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals.

[0015] First, the molded product 90 produced by the vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device 100 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the molded product 90 includes a base material 50 and a skin 60 coated on the surface of the base material 50. The base material 50 is a molded product made of plate-shaped plastic. A plurality of small holes 51 for drawing air by vacuum are provided in the base material 50. The skin 60 is a cloth-like member having air permeability, such as a woven fabric, a non-woven fabric, or a knitted fabric. Preferably, a stretchable one may be used to improve the followability to the base material 50. As shown in FIG. 1, the end surface around the base material 50 is turned back and partially or entirely joined on the back side. Thereby, the skin 60 is also coated on the end surface, preventing the plastic base material from being visually recognized.

[0016] Next, the vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device 100 according to the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device 100 includes a pedestal portion 10, a vacuum device 20, and a sheet member 30.

[0017] The pedestal portion 10 has a form in which the upper surface is inverted with respect to the form of the base material 50 or a form similar thereto, and can be set in a state where the base material 50 is positioned on the upper surface. A vacuum hole 11 is provided in the pedestal portion 10, and air can be exhausted from the vacuum hole 11 by the vacuum device 20. As shown in FIG. 5, it is preferable to use the pedestal portion 10 having an area β that is slightly smaller than the outer circumference α of the base material 50. Preferably, the interval δ is made larger than the wrapping margin γ (γ < δ) so that the wrapping margin γ of the skin 60 can be wound. By manufacturing in this way, although details will be described later, the end portion of the skin 60 can be folded back during pressure bonding.

[0018] The vacuum device 20 is not particularly limited as long as it can suck air and make it low pressure, and an existing vacuum device can be used.

[0019] The sheet member 30 is made of an air-impermeable material that does not allow air to pass through. The sheet member 30 is disposed on the upper surface side of the skin 60 and is for pressing the skin 60 against the base material 50. Preferably, a material having stretchability or elasticity may be used. For example, rubber, elastomer, etc. may be used. This is because by using a material having stretchability or elasticity, it becomes easier to uniformly press the entire surface of the skin 60. More preferably, a non-stretchable air-permeable sheet may be used. For example, a plastic sheet, a tarp, a sheet in which one side of a woven fabric is coated with plastic (e.g., tent fabric, etc.) may be used. By using such a sheet, the skin 60 can be surely pressed against the base material by vacuum, and by attaching the sheet member 30 to the outer frame 31 with a margin so that the sheet sags in order to previously entangle the skin 60, the entanglement can be performed more surely than with a stretchable material. The sheet member 30 is fixed to the outer frame 31 in advance. At this time, as described above, it is preferable to fix it to the outer frame 31 so as to be in a state of hanging downward with a little margin. This is to be able to cover the entire surface of the base material 50 with a margin during pressure bonding to a three-dimensional base material 50. Such a sheet member 30 is set so that the outer frame 31 can move below the entire base material 50 as shown in FIG. 3 during pressure bonding.

[0020] The vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device 100 manufactured as described above is used as follows.

[0021] 1. Base material setting step First, as shown in FIG. 1, the base material 50 is set on the pedestal portion 10.

[0022] 2. Positioning step Then, the skin 60 cut to a size and shape with a previously secured wrapping margin 61 with respect to the base material 50 is prepared and set in a state of being positioned with respect to the base material 50. In this positioning step, the skin 60 may be set on the base material 50 side or on the sheet member side. At this time, if necessary, an adhesive may be applied to the base material 50, the skin 60, or both.

[0023] 3. Configuration process Next, the outer frame 31 is moved to a position below the base material 50 so as to press the skin 60 against the base material 50 from the upper surface side of the sheet member 30 and arranged. In this state, a process of removing wrinkles of the sheet member 30 by sliding the surface of the sheet member 30 on the surface of the sheet member 30 by hand or a robot may be added. By doing so, it is possible to prevent wrinkles from remaining on the skin 60 due to the wrinkles of the sheet member 30.

[0024] 4. Crimping process In this state, air is evacuated from below the pedestal portion 10 by the vacuum device 20 to reduce the air pressure on the upper surface side of the base material 50. As a result, the sheet member 30 made of an air-impermeable material is drawn by the vacuum and presses the skin 60 against the base material 50. At this time, when the pedestal portion 10 and the base material 50 are the same size, only the surface side of the skin 60 is joined to the base material 50. Therefore, after taking out the base material 50 to which the skin 60 is joined from the pedestal portion 10, the hemming 61 is manually adhered or fixed with a tacker or the like to complete the molded product 90. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the pedestal portion 10 is made with a smaller hemming portion with respect to the base material 50, the sheet member 30 presses the skin 60 to the back side while stretching while incorporating the hemming 61. Therefore, when an adhesive is used, it is adhered by this pressing to complete as the molded product 90. When no adhesive is used, it is completed by manually driving staples with a tacker. At this time, staples may be automatically driven by a robot.

[0025] As described above, conventionally, when coating a base material 50 such as a woven fabric, non-woven fabric, or knitted fabric having air permeability, an outer skin with an air-impermeable material laminated on the back surface of the skin was produced, and then it was mechanically coated by vacuum forming or manually coated. In contrast, according to the present invention, even for an outer skin 60 made of a woven fabric, non-woven fabric, or knitted fabric having air permeability, since the means of pressing with an air-impermeable sheet member 30 is adopted, it can be pressure-bonded by a vacuum suction pressure-bonding device 100. At that time, since it is not laminated on the back surface, it is not necessary to pre-heat the woven fabric, non-woven fabric, or knitted fabric, etc., and it is possible to immediately shift to the pressure-bonding process after setting. Also, since it is not necessary to clamp the outer skin 60 as in the conventional method, the pre-cut outer skin 60 can be used, so the yield of the outer skin 60 is very good. Further, since the end flange 61 can be cut and pressure-bonded in a preset state, the entrapped portion can be coated simultaneously in the pressure-bonding process, and after entrapment, it is not necessary to cut the excess much.

[0026] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments at all, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modes as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

Industrial Applicability

[0027] As shown in the above-described embodiments, it can be industrially used as a method for manufacturing automobile-related parts.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0028] 10... pedestal part 100... vacuum suction pressure-bonding device 11... vacuum hole 20... vacuum device 30... sheet member 31... outer frame 50... base material 51... small hole 60... outer skin 61... flange 90... molded product

Claims

1. In a vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device for bonding an epidermis such as a woven fabric, non-woven fabric, or cloth having air permeability to a base material, a plurality of vacuum holes are provided, a pedestal portion for setting the base material, a vacuum device for exhausting air from the vacuum holes of the pedestal portion, a sheet member disposed above the pedestal portion and pressed against the pedestal portion by exhausting air by the vacuum device, A vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device characterized by comprising the above.

2. The vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal portion is made smaller by a length for winding the epidermis around an end portion of the base material.

3. The vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet member is installed in a state where a non-stretchable sheet member is relaxed.

4. A method for bonding an epidermis such as a woven fabric, non-woven fabric, or cloth having air permeability to a base material using the vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device according to claim 1, the method comprising the following steps. A base material setting step of setting the base material on the pedestal portion, A positioning step of positioning the epidermis cut in a state where a hemming is ensured with respect to the set base material on the base material or the sheet member, An arranging step of arranging the sheet member so as to be located below the base material from above the base material, A pressure bonding step of sucking the sheet member by the vacuum device and pressure bonding the epidermis to the base material.

5. A method for bonding an epidermis such as a woven fabric, non-woven fabric, or cloth having air permeability to a base material using the vacuum drawing and pressure bonding device according to claim 2, the method comprising the following steps. A base material setting step of setting the base material on the pedestal portion, A positioning step of positioning the epidermis cut in a state where a hemming is ensured with respect to the set base material on the base material or the sheet member, An arranging step of arranging the sheet member so as to be positioned below the base material from the upper surface side of the base material; A crimping step of sucking the sheet member by the vacuum device, crimping the skin onto the base material, and crimping the hem onto the back surface of the base material.

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