Apparatus for molding resin product

Abstract

To remove a resin product from a mold in a short time without applying a large load to the resin product.SOLUTION: The molding apparatus 1 of the resin product is equipped with a first mold 2 for molding the surface side of a skin main body and the outside of a winding part, a second mold 3 for molding the rear side of the skin main body and the inside of the winding part and an opening / closing device 4 for switching the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 to a mold closed state and a mold opened state. The second die 3 includes first forming blocks 31, 33, and 35, second forming blocks 32, 34, and 36, and a driving mechanism 38 that moves the first forming blocks 31, 33, and 35 relative to the second forming blocks 32, 34, and 36.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a molding apparatus for molding soft resin products such as vehicle parts. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, some resin skin materials used as vehicle interior materials have a skin main body that covers a substrate or cushioning material, and a roll-up portion that protrudes from the peripheral edge of the skin main body to the back side and is formed to roll up the substrate, etc. A known molding device for a resin product having such a roll-up portion is one disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, which includes a mold in which a first insert that molds the inside of the roll-up portion and a second insert that molds the back side of the skin main body are configured to be movable relative to each other. In the molding device of Patent Document 1, when the mold is opened after molding the resin product, the first insert is moved relative to the second insert, so that the molding surface of the first insert is released from the roll-up portion of the resin product while the skin main body of the resin product is held by the molding surface of the second insert, and the resin product can then be removed from the second insert. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-76862 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In order to save labor, there is a demand for a system in which a multi-axis controllable robot can grasp and automatically remove a resin product from a mold after molding. To meet this demand, it is conceivable to provide a removal tab on the resin product so that the robot can grasp the tab at the time of removal, creating an opportunity to peel the resin product from the mold, and then gradually peel the resin product from the trigger point.

[0005] However, in the case of resin products with rolled-up portions, the terminal portions in particular can get caught in the mold, making it difficult to remove. To address this issue, a robot could change its grip on the resin product and perform the operation of peeling off the terminal portions, but this requires time, which results in a longer time required to remove the resin product from the mold.

[0006] Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, when removing the resin product, it is conceivable to move the first insert relative to the second insert, thereby separating the molding surface of the first insert from the entrapment portion of the resin product. However, this type of action forcefully deforms the resin product while removing the mold, which is known as forced removal, and moreover, since the entrapment portion is forcefully removed all at once along its entire longitudinal direction, it places a heavy burden on the resin product and may cause damage to the resin product.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above points, and its object is to enable a resin product to be removed from a mold in a short time without placing a large burden on the resin product. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the above object, one aspect of the present disclosure can be premised on a molding device for a resin product that molds a resin product having a skin main body and a roll-up portion integrally molded with the skin main body so as to protrude from a peripheral portion of the skin main body to a back side and extend along the peripheral portion. The molding device for a resin product includes a first mold that molds the front side of the skin main body and the outside of the roll-up portion, a second mold that molds the back side of the skin main body and the inside of the roll-up portion, and an opening / closing device that moves one of the first mold and the second mold toward or away from the other and switches the first mold and the second mold between a mold-closed state and a mold-open state.

[0009] The second mold has a first molding block and a second molding block arranged in line in the longitudinal direction of the roll-up portion, and a drive mechanism that moves the first molding block relative to the second molding block in the protruding direction of the roll-up portion.

[0010] According to this configuration, when the first and second molds are closed by the opening / closing device and a resin material is supplied between the first and second molds, the supplied resin material is molded by the molding surfaces of the first and second molds to form a resin product. After the resin product is molded, the first and second molds are opened by the opening / closing device, and the resin product is held in the second mold, which molds the back side of the skin main body and the inside of the rolled-up portion. When the resin product held in the second mold is removed, the drive mechanism moves the first molding block constituting the second mold relative to the second molding block in the direction in which the rolled-up portion protrudes, thereby detaching the first molding block from the resin product. At this time, because the first molding block and the second molding block are aligned in the longitudinal direction of the rolled-up portion, it is only necessary to forcibly remove only a portion of the longitudinal direction of the rolled-up portion from the first molding block, for example, while the remaining portion remains held by the second molding block. This reduces the strain on the resin product compared to conventional methods in which the entire longitudinal direction of the rolled-up portion is forcibly removed at once.

[0011] Furthermore, because the first molding block is detached from the resin product, a gap is formed between the first molding block and the resin product. By inserting the robot's gripping part into this gap, the resin product can be gripped more firmly and over a wider area than when gripping with a conventional tab. This allows the robot to remove the resin product from the second molding block without having to change hands. Furthermore, the resin product can be removed from the second mold even if a tab is not provided on the resin product.

[0012] The molding machine may have a plurality of the first molding blocks and a plurality of the second molding blocks, in which case the first molding blocks and the second molding blocks may be arranged alternately in the longitudinal direction of the reeling portion. In this case, the drive mechanism can move the plurality of first molding blocks relative to the plurality of second molding blocks in the protruding direction of the reeling portion at the same time. In other words, when removing the resin product, the plurality of first molding blocks arranged at intervals from each other will detach from the resin product, resulting in multiple portions that can be grasped by a robot. This allows the robot to grasp multiple portions of the resin product, making it even easier to remove the resin product.

[0013] The longitudinal dimension of the roll-up portion of the second molding block can be set longer than the longitudinal dimension of the roll-up portion of the first molding block. The drive mechanism can move the first molding block relative to the second molding block so that the first molding block separates from the resin product before the second molding block. Furthermore, a supply port for supplying a peeling fluid to the back side of the skin main body can be formed in a portion of the first molding block corresponding to the back side of the skin main body.

[0014] As a result, when the first molding block is moved relative to the second molding block and a separating fluid is discharged from the supply port, the separating fluid flows between the first molding block and the back side of the skin main body, causing the skin main body to separate from the first molding block, making it easier for the first molding block to separate from the resin product before the second molding block.

[0015] The resin product molding apparatus may further include a feeder that feeds a release fluid to the supply port. In this case, the feeder has an internal pipe extending through the first molding block to the supply port, and can feed the release fluid to the internal pipe after molding the resin product and before moving the first molding block relative to the second molding block. This allows the first molding block to be moved relative to the second molding block after the skin body is peeled from the first molding block by the release fluid, thereby further reducing the burden on the skin body.

[0016] The second molding block may be provided with a cooling pipe through which a cooling fluid flows, thereby allowing the second molding block to be cooled by the cooling fluid. Also, the first molding block may be provided to correspond to a gate that discharges the resin material.

[0017] The second mold may be configured to mold a notch in a portion of the longitudinal direction of the roll-up portion. For example, the first molding block may be a block that molds the notch. That is, when the first molding block is forcibly removed from the roll-up portion, the roll-up portion is more likely to deform due to the notch provided in the roll-up portion, thereby further reducing the burden on the resin product. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] As described above, since the first molding block and the second molding block are capable of moving relatively in the direction of the protruding portion of the roll-up portion, the resin product can be removed from the mold in a short time without placing a heavy burden on the resin product. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a molding device for a resin product according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the resin product. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a rear view of the resin product. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the second mold showing the positional relationship of the block from the start of movement to the completion of movement. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a front view of the block showing the air supply port. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the second mold showing the air supply path. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective side view of the second mold showing the block in the advanced position. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the second mold seen from diagonally above, showing a state in which the block is in the advanced position. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a side view of the second mold showing the state where the block is in the advanced position. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XII-XII in FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the second mold showing the cooling water paths. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the block. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a time chart showing the operation of the molding device. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a view equivalent to FIG. 10, showing a state in which a resin product is held by a block in the advanced position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description of the preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present invention, its applications, or its uses.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a molding apparatus 1 for a resin product according to an embodiment of the present invention. The molding apparatus 1 is an apparatus used for molding various resin products. Resin products that can be molded by the molding apparatus 1 are not particularly limited, but an example thereof is a skin material 100 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5. The skin material 100 is, for example, a component that constitutes an interior material (not shown) of an automobile. Examples of interior materials include, but are not limited to, door trim, glove box lids, and instrument panels.

[0022] The interior material includes a base material (not shown) molded from, for example, a hard resin, an elastic material (not shown) provided on the surface of the base material, and a skin material 100 provided to cover the surface of the elastic material. The interior material is formed by integrating the base material, the elastic material, and the skin material 100. Note that the interior material may not include the elastic material, or may be formed only from the skin material 100.

[0023] In this embodiment, the case where the skin material 100 is a door trim will be described. The skin material 100 has a shape that is long in a predetermined direction (the front-rear direction of the vehicle). The left-right direction in Figs. 2 and 5 is the longitudinal direction of the skin material 100, and the up-down direction in Figs. 2 and 5 is the lateral direction of the skin material 100. In this way, the skin material 100 has an elongated shape. Furthermore, the skin material 100 is made of a flexible resin material, and can bend or curve easily when an external force is applied. The shape of the skin material 100 is not particularly limited.

[0024] The skin material 100 has a skin main body 101 and a roll-up portion 102 that protrudes from the peripheral edge of the skin main body 101 to the back side of the skin main body 101 and extends along the peripheral edge. The skin main body 101 and the roll-up portion 102 are molded as a single unit. The skin main body 101 has an elongated shape in the longitudinal direction of the skin material 100. As shown in FIG. 3, a wall portion 103 that protrudes to the back side is molded integrally with part of the upper edge of the skin main body 101. The roll-up portion 102 is formed continuously with the tip of the wall portion 103 in the protruding direction. The wall portion 103 may be omitted.

[0025] The roll-up portion 102 is a portion that rolls up the edge of the substrate, and has a concave shape on the back side of the skin main body 101 that opens toward the inside in the surface direction of the skin main body 101. The open side of the roll-up portion 102 is the inside, and the opposite side is the outside. Because the roll-up portion 102 has such a cross-sectional shape, when the skin main body 101 is molded using a mold that opens and closes in the thickness direction, it has an undercut shape that makes it impossible to remove from the mold in that shape. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the skin material 100 is made of a flexible resin material, so that the roll-up portion 102 can be deformed to remove it from the mold.

[0026] 5, a plurality of notches 102a are formed in the rolled-up portion 102 at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the rolled-up portion 102. The notches 102a are intended to prevent tearing of the skin material 100 when the skin material 100 is removed from the mold. The positions of the notches 102a will be described in detail later.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, a molding apparatus 1 for resin products (hereinafter referred to as molding apparatus 1) has a first mold 2, a second mold 3, an opening / closing device 4, and a control unit 5. The first mold 2 is a mold for molding the front side of the skin main body 101, the outside of the wall portion 103, and the outside of the rolled-up portion 102, and has a first molding surface 2a. The second mold 3 is a mold for molding the back side of the skin main body 101, the inside of the wall portion 103, and the inside of the rolled-up portion 102. The opening / closing device 4 is, for example, a hydraulic cylinder device, and is a device for moving the first mold 2 toward and away from the second mold 3 and switching the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 between a mold closed state and a mold open state. Note that the opening / closing device 4 may be configured to move the second mold 3 toward and away from the first mold 2 and switch the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 between a mold closed state and a mold open state.

[0028] In this embodiment, the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 in the mold open state are arranged to face each other horizontally. For example, with the second mold 3 fixed, the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 can be brought into a mold closed state (not shown) by driving the first mold 2 in a direction approaching the second mold 3 using the opening / closing device 4. By bringing the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 into the mold closed state, the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 form a cavity (not shown) into which a resin material is filled.

[0029] The first mold 2, which is in a mold-closed state, can be driven by the opening / closing device 4 in a direction away from the second mold 3, thereby bringing the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 into an open state (as shown in FIG. 1). Arrow A in FIG. 1 indicates the direction of movement of the first mold 2. The first mold 2 and the second mold 3 may be arranged so as to face each other in the vertical direction. In this case, the mold located above can be driven by the opening / closing device 4.

[0030] As shown in Figures 1 and 6 to 10, the second mold 3 has a mold body 30, seven molding blocks 31 to 37, and a drive mechanism 38. In Figures 1, 6, and 8, the molding block 37 is not shown due to the position of the cross section, but in reality, the second mold 3 has seven molding blocks 31 to 37, as shown in Figure 7 etc.

[0031] The mold body 30 is fixed to the factory equipment so as not to move. The mold body 30 is provided with a runner (not shown) and a gate G (shown only in phantom lines in FIG. 7) for supplying the molten resin material into the cavity. The longitudinal direction of the mold body 30 is the direction along the longitudinal direction of the skin material 100 and the longitudinal direction of the rolled-up portion 102. Either side of the first mold 2 or the second mold 3 may be the fixed side; for example, the first mold 2 may be fixed to the factory equipment so as not to move, and the mold body 30 may be the movable side. In other words, the present invention can be implemented regardless of which side of the first mold 2 or the second mold 3 is the fixed side.

[0032] The seven molding blocks 31 to 37 are arranged in a line in the longitudinal direction of the rolled-up portion 102 of the skin material 100. Of the molding blocks 31 to 37, the leftmost molding block is designated by reference numeral 31, and the rightmost molding block is designated by reference numeral 37. The molding block located immediately to the right of molding block 31 is designated by reference numeral 32, the molding block located immediately to the right of molding block 32 is designated by reference numeral 33, the molding block located immediately to the right of molding block 33 is designated by reference numeral 34, the molding block located immediately to the right of molding block 34 is designated by reference numeral 35, and the molding block located immediately to the right of molding block 35 is designated by reference numeral 36. The molding block 37 is located immediately to the right of the molding block 36. In the mold closed state, the molding blocks 31 to 37 are adjacent to one another. In addition, a separation mold 34A is provided above the molding block 34. The operation of the separation mold 34A is different from that of the molding block 34. The number of molding blocks is not limited to seven, but may be six or less, or eight or more.

[0033] The molding blocks 31 to 37 are provided so as to be movable relative to the mold body 30 in the same direction as the movement direction of the first mold 2. Also, Figures 9 to 11 show the molding blocks 31 to 37 advanced from the mold body 30, and as shown in these figures, the movement amounts (advance amounts) of the molding blocks 31 to 37 relative to the mold body 30 are not all set to be the same. Specifically, the movement amounts of the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36 are set to be larger than the movement amounts of the molding blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37. The molding blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 correspond to the first molding blocks of the present invention, and the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36 correspond to the second molding blocks of the present invention. Therefore, in this embodiment, there are multiple first molding blocks 31, 33, 35, 37 and multiple second molding blocks 32, 34, 36, and the first molding blocks 31, 33, 35, 37 and the second molding blocks 32, 34, 36 are arranged alternately in the longitudinal direction of the roll-up portion 102.

[0034] The drive mechanism 38 is a mechanism for moving the seven forming blocks 31-37, and is configured with, for example, a hydraulic cylinder device. When the seven forming blocks 31-37 (six forming blocks 31-36 are shown in FIG. 6) start to move, the positions of the seven forming blocks 31-37 are set so that the forming surfaces 31a-37a of the seven forming blocks 31-37 form a continuous surface in the left-right direction. The forming surfaces 31a-37a of the forming blocks 31-37 are surfaces for forming the back side of the skin main body 101, and are the portions corresponding to the back side of the skin main body 101.

[0035] The left-right dimensions of the forming blocks 32, 34, and 36 (longitudinal direction of the roll-up portion 102) are set longer than the left-right dimensions of the forming blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37. The left-right dimension of the forming block 34 located in the center in the left-right direction is set longer than the left-right dimensions of the forming blocks 32 and 36, making it the longest of the seven forming blocks.

[0036] The molding surface 31a is a surface that molds the region to the left of the first virtual line L1 shown in FIG. 5. The molding surface 32a is a surface that molds the region between the first virtual line L1 and the second virtual line L2 shown in FIG. 5. The molding surface 33a is a surface that molds the region between the second virtual line L2 and the third virtual line L3 shown in FIG. 5. The molding surface 34a is a surface that molds the region between the third virtual line L3 and the fourth virtual line L4 shown in FIG. 5. The molding surface 35a is a surface that molds the region between the fourth virtual line L4 and the fifth virtual line L5 shown in FIG. 5. The molding surface 36a is a surface that molds the region between the fifth virtual line L5 and the sixth virtual line L6 shown in FIG. 5. The molding surface 37a is a surface that molds the region to the right of the sixth virtual line L6 shown in FIG. 5.

[0037] The notches 102a of the rolled-up portion 102 are formed by the seven molding blocks 31 to 37 and the second mold 3. Specifically, a protrusion (not shown) for forming the notches 102a is provided on each of the molding surfaces 31a to 37a of the seven molding blocks 31 to 37, and the notches 102a are formed in part of the longitudinal direction of the rolled-up portion 102 by this protrusion. The protrusions may be provided only on the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36, or only on the molding blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37. Alternatively, the protrusions may be provided only on one of the seven molding blocks 31 to 37. Alternatively, the protrusions for forming the notches may be provided on the molding surface of the second mold 3.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 7, of the seven molding blocks 31 to 37, molding block 34 is provided to correspond to gate G, which discharges resin material. Gate G is, for example, a film gate. The position of the opening of gate G and the position of molding surface 34a of molding block 34 are set so that the opening of gate G faces molding surface 34a of molding block 34. Gate G may be provided to correspond to another molding block, or may be provided to correspond to first mold 2.

[0039] After the skin material 100 has been molded, the drive mechanism 38 advances the seven molding blocks 31 to 37 when the skin material 100 is removed from the second mold 3. When advancing the seven molding blocks 31 to 37, the drive mechanism 38 can use the rods 31c to 37c connected to the molding blocks 31 to 37, and is configured to be able to move the molding blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 relative to the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36 in the protruding direction of the roll-up portion 102. Specifically, the drive mechanism 38 moves the molding blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 relative to the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36 so that the molding blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 move away from the back side of the skin main body 101 of the skin material 100 before the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36. At this time, the movement start timing, movement completion timing, and movement speed are the same for the multiple forming blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37, and the movement start timing, movement completion timing, and movement speed are the same for the multiple forming blocks 32, 34, and 36. In other words, the multiple forming blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 can be moved relative to the multiple forming blocks 32, 34, and 36 at the same timing.

[0040] The configuration of the drive mechanism 38 that moves the seven forming blocks 31 to 37 as described above is not particularly limited, but one example is a structure in which a first hydraulic cylinder for moving the forming blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 and a second hydraulic cylinder (neither shown) for moving the forming blocks 32, 34, and 36 are provided, and the first hydraulic cylinder and the second hydraulic cylinder are individually controlled by the control unit 5.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 10 and other figures, the second mold 3 is provided with a slide mold 39. The slide mold 39 is provided above the molding block 34. The second mold 3 has a slide mold drive unit (not shown) that drives the slide mold 39. When the mold is closed, the slide mold 39 moves downward. On the other hand, when the mold is open, the slide mold 39 moves upward. By moving the slide mold 39 upward, the slide mold 39 can be separated from the skin material 100. This makes it difficult for the skin material 100 to come into contact with the slide mold 39, preventing damage to the skin material 100 and facilitating the removal operation. The slide mold 39 may be provided as needed.

[0042] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the cooling section 6 for cooling the molding blocks 31 to 37 of the second mold 3. The cooling section 6 has a cooling water supply section 60 and cooling piping 61. The cooling water supply section 60 is a section that supplies cooling water as a cooling fluid and includes, for example, a pump, a valve, etc. The cooling piping 61 is composed of a pipe through which the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply section 60 flows and has thermal conductivity. The middle section of the cooling piping 61 passes through the interior of the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36, which are the second molding blocks. FIG. 14 shows a cross section of the molding block 34, and as shown in this figure, the cooling piping 61 can be provided at multiple locations inside the molding block 34.

[0043] By providing the cooling pipes 61 inside the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36, the cooling water flowing through the cooling pipes 61 exchanges heat with the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36 through the pipe walls of the cooling pipes 61, thereby cooling the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36 with the cooling water. The intermediate portions of the cooling pipes 61 can be disposed, for example, inside the rods 32c, 34c, and 36c (shown in FIG. 1, etc.) connected to the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36. The cooling pipes 61 may also be provided in other molding blocks 31, 33, and 35.

[0044] As shown in Fig. 7, air supply ports 72a, 73a, 74a, and 75a are formed on the molding surface 31a of molding block 31, the molding surface 33a of molding block 33, the molding surface 35a of molding block 35, and the molding surface 36a of molding block 36, respectively. The air supply port 72a opens to the molding surface 31a of molding block 31 and is used to supply air as a peeling fluid to the back side of the skin main body 101 that is in close contact with the molding surface 31a after molding. Similarly, the air supply ports 73a, 74a, and 75a open to the molding surfaces 33a, 35a, and 36a, respectively, and are used to supply air to the back side of the skin main body 101. The peeling fluid may be a gas other than air.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 1, molding apparatus 1 is equipped with a feeder 7 that feeds air to air supply ports 72a, 73a, 74a, and 75a. Feeder 7 has an air supply unit 70 and external piping 71. Air supply unit 70 includes a pressure adjustment valve for adjusting factory air or the like to a predetermined pressure, an on-off valve, etc., and is a part that supplies air adjusted to a predetermined pressure to external piping 71 at a predetermined timing for a predetermined period of time. External piping 71 is a piping provided outside second mold 3.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 8, the air feeder 7 further includes internal pipes 72, 73, 74, and 75. The internal pipe 72 extends through the mold body 30 and the molding block 31 to a supply port 72a. The internal pipe 73 extends through the mold body 30 and the molding block 33 to a supply port 73a. The internal pipe 74 extends through the mold body 30 and the molding block 35 to a supply port 74a. The internal pipe 75 extends through the mold body 30 and the molding block 36 to a supply port 75a. Therefore, air supplied from the air supply unit 70 flows through the external pipe 71 and the internal pipes 72, 73, 74, and 75 in order, and then flows out from the air supply ports 72a, 73a, 74a, and 75a. The lengths of the internal pipes 72, 73, 74, and 75 are set so that the amount of air blown out from the air supply ports 72a, 73a, 74a, and 75a is uniform. The internal pipes 72, 73, 74, and 75 are configured as flexible or expandable pipes to allow the molding blocks 31, 33, 35, and 36 to move.

[0047] 1 is configured with, for example, a microcomputer including a central processing unit, ROM, and RAM, and operates according to a pre-stored program. A control panel 54 is connected to the control unit 5 to allow the user to perform various operations. The control unit 5 is capable of detecting the operating state of the control panel 54. The control unit 5 and the control panel 54 may constitute part of the molding apparatus 1, or may not be included in the molding apparatus 1.

[0048] The control unit 5 has an opening / closing control unit 50, a cooling control unit 51, an air control unit 52, and a block control unit 53. The opening / closing control unit 50, the cooling control unit 51, the air control unit 52, and the block control unit 53 can be configured by a microcomputer operating according to a program (software), or can be configured by a combination of software and hardware. That is, the opening / closing control unit 50, the cooling control unit 51, the air control unit 52, and the block control unit 53 that can perform the operations described below can be constructed by the control unit 5 using software alone or a combination of software and hardware. The control unit 5 is capable of constantly acquiring information such as whether the molds are in an open state or a closed state, and the distance between the first mold 2 and the second mold 3.

[0049] The opening / closing control unit 50 is a part that controls the opening / closing device 4. When starting molding, the opening / closing control unit 50 controls the opening / closing device 4 to drive the first mold 2 in a direction approaching the second mold 3, thereby bringing the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 into a mold closed state. When the resin material filled in the cavity has solidified, the opening / closing control unit 50 controls the opening / closing device 4 to drive the first mold 2 in a direction away from the second mold 3, thereby bringing the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 into a mold open state.

[0050] The cooling control unit 51 is a part that controls the cooling water supply unit 60. The cooling control unit 51 controls the cooling water supply unit 60 so that the temperature of the mold body 30 falls within a temperature range (predetermined temperature) suitable for molding, and sets the amount of cooling water supplied to the cooling pipe 61, the timing to start and stop the supply, etc. The cooling control unit 51 controls the cooling water supply unit 60 based on the detection result of a temperature sensor (not shown) that detects the temperature of the mold body 30. For example, if the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the mold body 30 is about to exceed the predetermined temperature, the cooling control unit 51 executes control to lower the temperature of the cooling water. On the other hand, if the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the mold body 30 is low, the cooling control unit 51 can also execute control to raise the temperature of the cooling water.

[0051] The air control unit 52 is a part that controls the air supply unit 70. After the skin material 100 has been molded and the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 have started opening, the air control unit 52 causes the air supply unit 70 to supply air.

[0052] The block control unit 53 is a part that controls the drive mechanism 38 for driving the forming blocks 31 to 37. As shown in Fig. 6, the block control unit 53 controls the drive mechanism 38 to advance the forming blocks 31 to 37 after the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 start opening after the skin material 100 has been formed. At this time, the block control unit 53 controls the drive mechanism 38 so that the movement amount of the forming blocks 32, 34, and 36 is greater than the movement amount of the forming blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37.

[0053] Specific control of each part by the control unit 5 will be described based on the time chart shown in FIG. 15. The times shown in this time chart are an example and will vary depending on the shape and size of the product, the type of material, etc. The time chart starts from the point when solidification of the resin material in the cavity is complete. Whether the resin material has solidified can be estimated based on the elapsed time from the mold closed state, etc. First, the control unit 5 controls the opening / closing device 4 to drive the first mold 2 in a direction away from the second mold 3. The drive time of the first mold 2 is not particularly limited, but is, for example, about 1.5 seconds, and the first mold 2 and second mold 3 enter the mold open state about 1.5 seconds after the first mold 2 is driven.

[0054] After the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 are in the mold open state, the control unit 5 controls the drive mechanism 38 to advance all of the molding blocks 31 to 37 simultaneously. The time required for all of the molding blocks 31 to 37 to advance simultaneously is, for example, about 0.2 seconds. The control unit 5 also controls the air supplier 70 to supply air at the timing when all of the molding blocks 31 to 37 start to advance. The time required for supplying air is, for example, about 0.2 seconds, which can be approximately the same as the time required for all of the molding blocks 31 to 37 to advance simultaneously. The supply of air may start after all of the molding blocks 31 to 37 have advanced simultaneously, or may start before all of the molding blocks 31 to 37 advance simultaneously. The time required for all of the molding blocks 31 to 37 to advance simultaneously and the time required for supplying air may be the same, or one may be longer than the other.

[0055] Air supplied from air supply unit 70 flows out from air supply ports 72a, 73a, 74a, and 75a (shown in FIG. 8) via external piping 71 and internal piping 72, 73, 74, and 75. The air flowing out from air supply ports 72a, 73a, 74a, and 75a is supplied between molding surfaces 31a, 33a, 35a, and 36a and the back side of skin main body 101, and the pressure of the air causes skin main body 101 to peel off from molding surfaces 31a, 33a, 35a, and 36a.

[0056] After the air is supplied, the control unit 5 controls the drive mechanism 38 to advance the forming blocks 32, 34, and 35 further than the forming blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37. In other words, after the skin material 100 is formed, the air supply device 7 supplies air to the internal pipes 72, 73, 74, and 75 before moving the forming blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 relative to the forming blocks 32, 34, and 36.

[0057] 16 shows the state where the advancing operation of the forming blocks 31 to 37 has been completed. As shown in this figure, the skin material 100 is held by the forming surfaces 32a, 34a, and 36a of the forming blocks 32, 34, and 36 that have advanced the most. This is because the skin material 100 has a rolled-up portion 102. On the other hand, the skin material 100 is separated from the forming surfaces 31a, 33a, 35a, and 37a of the forming blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 that have advanced the least.

[0058] In the time chart shown in Fig. 15, after the forming blocks 31 to 37 have completed advancing, a removal step is performed to remove the skin material 100 held by the forming blocks 32, 34, and 36. When removing the skin material 100, the removal robot 80 shown in Fig. 1 is used.

[0059] The removal robot 80 has, for example, a robot arm (not shown) that can be controlled along six axes. The tip of the robot arm has a hand (not shown) for gripping the covering material 100. The removal robot 80 is controlled by a robot control device 81. For example, the operation for removing the covering material 100 held in the forming blocks 32, 34, and 36 is stored in the robot control device 81 by teaching or the like. The control unit 5 transmits a trigger signal to the robot control device 81 when the forming blocks 32, 34, and 36 have completed advancing. Upon receiving the trigger signal, the robot control device 81 controls the removal robot 80 to perform the operation of removing the covering material 100.

[0060] 16, since the forming blocks 33, 35 are spaced apart from the skin material 100, gaps are formed between the back side of the skin material 100 and the forming surface 33a of the forming block 33, and between the back side of the skin material 100 and the forming surface 35a of the forming block 35. By inserting the hands of the removal robot 80 into these two gaps, the removal robot 80 can grasp the skin material 100 at two locations spaced apart in the longitudinal direction. The skin material 100 grasped by the removal robot 80 can be removed by pulling the skin material 100 in a direction away from the forming blocks 32, 34, 36. The number of locations grasped by the removal robot 80 does not have to be two, and may be one location, or three or more locations.

[0061] As shown in the time chart of Figure 15, after the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36 have moved, the removal robot 80 grips the skin material 100 at two locations spaced apart in the longitudinal direction, and the skin material 100 is peeled off and released from the molding surface, making it possible to remove the skin material 100 in a short time of about three seconds. Thereafter, the control unit 5 controls the drive mechanism 38 to move the molding blocks 31 to 37 backward. After the molding blocks 31 to 37 have moved backward, the control unit 5 controls the opening and closing device 4 to drive the first mold 2 in a direction approaching the second mold 3, thereby closing the mold. This allows the next molding to be performed.

[0062] (Effects of the embodiment) As described above, according to this embodiment, the control unit 5 controls the opening and closing device 4 to bring the first mold 2 and the second mold 3 into a mold closed state, and when resin material is supplied between the first mold 2 and the second mold 3, the supplied resin material is molded by the molding surface 2a of the first mold 2 and the molding surfaces 31a to 37a of the blocks 31 to 37 of the second mold 3 to become the skin material 100.

[0063] After molding the cover material 100, the control unit 5 controls the opening and closing device 4 to open the first mold 2 and the second mold 3, and the cover material 100 is held by the blocks 31 to 37 that mold the back side of the cover main body 101 and the inside of the roll-up portion 102. When removing the cover material 100 held by the blocks 31 to 37, the control unit 5 controls the air supply unit 70 to supply peeling air to the back side of the cover main body 101 and then immediately stop the air supply.

[0064] The control unit 5 also controls the drive mechanism 38 to advance the blocks 31 to 37, and to advance the blocks 32, 34, and 36 further than the blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37. This causes the blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 to separate from the skin material 100. In this way, only a portion of the longitudinal direction of the rolled-up portion 102 needs to be forcibly removed from the blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37, and the other portion remains held by the molding blocks 32, 34, and 36. This reduces the burden on the resin product compared to the conventional method in which the entire longitudinal direction of the rolled-up portion is forcibly removed at once.

[0065] In addition, in this embodiment, the notches 102a are formed in the roll-up portion 102, so that when the blocks 31, 33, 35, and 37 are released, the main skin body 101 is deformed so that the notches 102a open, and tearing of the main skin body 101 is suppressed.

[0066] Furthermore, gaps are formed between the back side of the skin material 100 and the forming blocks 33, 35, allowing the hands of the removal robot 80 to be inserted, so that the removal robot 80 can easily grasp the skin material 100, enabling the removal work of the skin material 100 to be performed quickly and preventing tearing of the skin material 100 when removing it. In addition, because the removal robot 80 is a six-axis controlled robot, it is highly versatile and can easily be taught to handle changes in product shape.

[0067] The above-described embodiments are merely examples in all respects and should not be construed as limiting. Furthermore, all modifications and variations within the scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0068] As described above, the molding device for resin products according to the present invention can be used to mold, for example, vehicle parts and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1. Resin product molding equipment 2. First mold 3. Second mold 7 Feeding device 31, 33, 35, 37 First molding block 32, 34, 36 Second molding block 38 Drive mechanism 61 Cooling piping 72a Air supply port 100 Skin material (resin products) 101 Epidermis body 102 Rolling section

Claims

1. A molding device for a resin product that molds a resin product having a skin body and a roll-up portion that is integrally molded with the skin body so as to protrude from a peripheral edge portion of the skin body to a back side and extend along the peripheral edge portion, a first mold for molding the front side of the skin main body and the outside of the rolled-up portion; a second mold for molding the back side of the skin body and the inside of the rolled-up portion; an opening / closing device that moves one of the first mold and the second mold toward and away from the other and switches the first mold and the second mold between a mold closed state and a mold open state, The second mold has a first molding block and a second molding block arranged in line in the longitudinal direction of the roll-up portion, and a drive mechanism that moves the first molding block relative to the second molding block in the protruding direction of the roll-up portion, in a molding device for resin products.

2. The resin product molding apparatus according to claim 1, a plurality of the first shaping blocks and a plurality of the second shaping blocks, the first shaping blocks and the second shaping blocks being arranged alternately in the longitudinal direction of the roll-up portion; The drive mechanism moves the first molding blocks relative to the second molding blocks in the direction in which the roll-up portion protrudes at the same timing.

3. The resin product molding apparatus according to claim 1, a longitudinal dimension of the roll-in portion of the second forming block is set to be longer than a longitudinal dimension of the roll-in portion of the first forming block; The drive mechanism moves the first molding block relative to the second molding block so that the first molding block moves away from the resin product before the second molding block.

4. The resin product molding apparatus according to claim 3, The molding device for a resin product, wherein a supply port for supplying a peeling fluid to the back side of the skin main body is formed in a portion of the first molding block corresponding to the back side of the skin main body.

5. The resin product molding apparatus according to claim 4, a supply device that supplies a release fluid to the supply port; The feeding device has an internal pipe extending through the first molding block to the supply port, and feeds the release fluid to the internal pipe after molding the resin product and before moving the first molding block relative to the second molding block.

6. The resin product molding apparatus according to claim 1, the drive mechanism moves the first molding block relative to the second molding block so that the first molding block moves away from the resin product earlier than the second molding block; The second molding block is provided with a cooling pipe through which a cooling fluid flows.

7. 7. The resin product molding apparatus according to claim 6, The second molding block is provided to correspond to a gate for discharging a resin material.

8. The resin product molding apparatus according to claim 1, The second mold is configured to form a notch in a portion of the longitudinal direction of the roll-up portion.

9. The resin product molding apparatus according to claim 8, the drive mechanism moves the first molding block relative to the second molding block so that the first molding block moves away from the resin product earlier than the second molding block; The resin product molding device, wherein the first molding block or the second molding block is a block that molds the notch.

10. The resin product molding apparatus according to claim 1, The resin product molding device further comprises a removal robot that grips the resin product held by the second molding block.

Images