Manufacturing method for interior components in which a surface material is coated on the surface of a core material.

Abstract

To provide a method for manufacturing interior components in which the surface of a core material is covered with a surface material, by automating the process of folding back the peripheral edges of the surface material and eliminating the need for staples or adhesives. [Solution] The surface material 11 is set on the surface of a base 20 which has a recess 21 corresponding to the shape of the core material 10. The core material 10 is lowered from above into the recess 21 with its surface facing downwards, causing the peripheral edge of the surface material 11 to rise above the peripheral edge of the core material 10. Next, a bending tool 24 positioned around the recess of the base 20 is advanced to bend the peripheral edge of the surface material 11 inward, temporarily fixing the peripheral edge of the surface material to a projection on the back surface of the core material 10. After that, a plate-shaped jig is placed on the back surface of the core material to press down on the peripheral edge of the surface material, and in that state, it is transferred to a welding machine to weld the peripheral edge of the surface material to the back surface of the core material.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an interior part in which a skin material is coated on the surface of a core material, such as a lid of a console box of an automobile.

Background Art

[0002] Interior parts such as the lid of a console box of an automobile have a structure in which a skin material is covered on the surface of a resin core material. The core material has an outer wall extending to the back side around the top plate, and the skin material generally has a urethane foam layer formed on the back side of the skin. The skin material is covered from the surface side of the core material, that is, the top plate side, and the peripheral edge of the skin material is folded back and fixed to the back surface of the outer wall of the core material over the entire circumference.

[0003] To fix the peripheral edge of the skin material to the back surface of the outer wall of the core material, a method of manually folding the peripheral edge of the skin material and winding it around the back surface of the core material, and driving a metal needle with a tacker to fix it was generally used. However, the manual folding operation requires skill, and there are also significant individual differences in the operation of the tacker. If the operator is not a skilled person, there is a risk that the skin material may not be securely fixed. Also, depending on the length and driving angle of the metal needle, there are problems such as the tip of the metal needle protruding outside or the metal needle coming off. In addition, driving a large number of metal needles will cause a slight increase in the vehicle body weight. Furthermore, there are many problems such as the need for maintenance of the tacker gun.

[0004] Also, fixing using a bond instead of a tacker has been carried out. However, it is necessary to manually fold the peripheral edge of the skin material and attach it to the back surface of the core material. Moreover, a drying furnace with appropriate temperature control is required to dry the bond, the odor deteriorates the working environment, exhaust equipment is required to discharge the solvent vapor contained in the bond, masking and other measures are required to prevent the bond from adhering to unnecessary parts, and it is necessary to remove the bond that has accidentally scattered around with a solvent. There were many problems.

[0005] Therefore, the inventors developed a technique in which a core material made of a resin band is sewn to the periphery of the surface material, the periphery of the surface material is elastically folded back to the back surface of the outer wall of the core material together with the core material, and the tip of the core material is inserted into a groove formed on the inside of the outer wall and fixed in place, and this technique was proposed as Patent Document 1. If this technique is used, staples and adhesives will not be necessary. However, this technique requires the process of sewing a resin band-shaped core material to the periphery of the surface material, and there was a problem that folding back the core material at the corners required skill. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7242013 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] The objective of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, automate the process of folding back the peripheral edge of the surface material, and provide a method for manufacturing interior components in which a surface material is coated on the surface of a core material, without the need for staples or adhesives. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention, made to solve the above problems, is characterized by setting a surface material on the surface of a base having a recess corresponding to the shape of a core material, lowering the core material into the recess from above with its surface facing downward so that the peripheral edge of the surface material rises above the peripheral edge of the core material, advancing a bending tool arranged around the recess of the base to fold the peripheral edge of the surface material inward, temporarily fixing the peripheral edge of the surface material to a projection on the back surface of the core material, placing a plate-shaped jig on the back surface of the core material to press down on the peripheral edge of the surface material, and then transferring it to a welding machine in that state to heat-weld or ultrasonically weld the peripheral edge of the surface material to the back surface of the core material.

[0009] Furthermore, it is preferable to stretch a stretchable net over the surface of the base and place the surface material on top of it. In addition, it is preferable that the jig has numerous notches formed on its periphery and that welding is performed through these notches. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the method of the present invention, the process of folding the peripheral edge of the outer material inward can be performed automatically, and only the process of temporarily fixing the peripheral edge of the outer material to the projection on the back surface of the core material needs to be done manually. As a result, the process of folding back the peripheral edge of the outer material becomes easier, and work efficiency can be improved even by inexperienced workers.

[0011] Furthermore, according to the method of the present invention, a plate-shaped jig is placed on the back surface of the core material to press down on the peripheral edge of the surface material, and in that state the material is transferred to a heat welding machine to heat-weld the peripheral edge of the surface material to the back surface of the core material. Therefore, interior parts with a surface material covering the surface of the core material can be manufactured without using staples or adhesives. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a bottom view of an interior component manufactured by the method of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view showing the device to be used. [Figure 3] This is a plan view of the base. [Figure 4] This is a cross-sectional view showing the surface of the base with the surface material set on it. [Figure 5] This is a cross-sectional view showing the core material in a lowered position. [Figure 6] This is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the peripheral edge of the outer material has been folded inward by advancing the bending tool. [Figure 7] This is a cross-sectional view showing the suction head in the raised position. [Figure 8] This is a cross-sectional view showing the peripheral edge of the outer material temporarily fixed to the protrusions on the back surface of the core material. [Figure 9] This is a cross-sectional view showing the jig in place. [Figure 10]It is a perspective view of a jig. [Figure 11] It is a perspective view of a core material with a jig placed on it.

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. Figure 1 is a bottom view of an interior part manufactured by the method of the present invention. This interior part is the lid of a console box and has a structure in which a skin material 11 is coated on the surface of a resin core material 10. As the skin material 11, as in the conventional case, those in which a skin and a urethane foam layer are laminated and a single skin are used. The core material 10 has an outer wall around it, and a large number of protrusions are formed on the back surface of the core material 10. The central protrusions 12 and 13 are protrusions for fixing an inner lid (not shown in detail) to the back surface of the core material 10, and the peripheral protrusions 14, 15, 16, and 17 are protrusions for hooking and fixing the peripheral part of the skin material 11. Hereinafter, the manufacturing process of this interior member will be described.

[0014] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the apparatus used in the present invention. In the present invention, a base 20 having a recess 21 corresponding to the shape of the core material is used. The depth H of the recess 21 is made substantially equal to or slightly larger than the height h of the core material 10. A net 22 excellent in elasticity is stretched on the surface of the base 20, and its peripheral part is fixed to the outer surface of the base 20 by a fastener 23. In the following figures from Figure 2, only the protrusion 14 on the back surface of the core material 10 is shown, and other protrusions are omitted.

[0015] As shown in Figure 3, a plurality of folding tools 24 are arranged around the recess 21 in the base 20 so as to be able to advance and retreat by a cylinder 25. In this embodiment, the shape of the interior part is approximately hexagonal, and since three of its sides are linear, the folding tools 24 on the upper and lower sides and the left side in Figure 3 are substantially linear. When these folding tools 24 advance, they are arranged so as to coincide with the outer shape of the recess 21 shown by the chain line in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 2, each folding tool 24 has a plate-like portion 26 that extends parallel to the surface at a position close to the surface of the base 20.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 2, an adsorption head 30 for adsorbing the core material 10 is provided above the base 20. This adsorption head 30 can be moved up and down with respect to the base 20 by a lifting cylinder 31. As shown in Fig. 2, the core material 10 is adsorbed to the adsorption head 30 with its surface facing downward.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 4, first, the skin material 11 is set on the surface of the base 20. The skin material 11 is pre-cut corresponding to the shape of the core material 10. In this embodiment, since a net 22 with excellent elasticity is stretched on the surface of the base 20, the skin material 11 can maintain a substantially flat state without falling into the concave portion 21. The peripheral edge of the skin material 11 is gently inserted under the plate-like portion 26 of the bending tool 24 described above and set so that the position does not shift.

[0018] Next, as shown in Fig. 5, the lifting cylinder 31 is used to lower the core material 10 and push it into the concave portion 21 together with the net 22 with excellent elasticity. At this time, the skin material 11 set on the surface of the base 20 is drawn downward into the concave portion 21, and the peripheral edge of the skin material 11 stands up substantially upward in a state sandwiched between the end of the concave portion 21 and the end of the core material 10. Although it is shown as standing up vertically in Fig. 5, the rising angle will vary slightly depending on the part.

[0019] Next, as shown in Fig. 6, each bending tool 24 arranged around the concave portion 21 of the base 20 is advanced to fold the peripheral edge of the skin material 11 standing up from the end of the concave portion 21 inward. Each bending tool 24 advances its plate-like portion 26 to a position slightly exceeding the end of the concave portion 21. As a result, the peripheral edge of the skin material 11 is folded inward over the entire circumference. Then, as shown in Fig. 7, the adsorption of the adsorption head 30 is released, and only the adsorption head 30 is lifted while leaving the core material 10 in the concave portion 21.

[0020] Next, as shown in Figure 8, the peripheral edge of the outer material 11 is further bent and temporarily fixed to the projection on the back surface of the core material 10. Although only the projection 14 is shown in Figure 8, temporary fixing is performed around the entire circumference. In this embodiment, temporary fixing is performed manually. Note that the outer material 11 has holes formed in it for engaging with the projection on the back surface of the core material 10.

[0021] Next, as shown in Figure 9, a plate-shaped jig 40 is placed on the back surface of the core material 10 to hold down the peripheral edge 11 of the surface material so that it does not lift up. As shown in Figure 10, this plate-shaped jig 40 has through holes 41 formed so as not to interfere with the protrusions 12 and 13 on the back surface of the core material 10, and numerous notches 42 are formed on the peripheral edge to avoid interference with the protrusions 14 to 17. This jig 40 is made of a metal plate several millimeters thick and is therefore heavy, and pins 43 protruding from its lower surface hold down the peripheral edge of the surface material 11, making it tightly attached to the back surface of the core material 10. To further ensure that the peripheral edge of the surface material 11 does not lift up, a part of the jig 40 can also be fitted under the hook portion 18 of the protrusion, as shown in Figure 11.

[0022] In the state shown in Figure 11, the core material 10 is lifted from the base 20 together with the jig 40 and transferred to an adjacent welding machine. The welding machine is either a heat welding machine or an ultrasonic welding machine. In this embodiment, the welding machine is an ultrasonic welding machine, and an elongated welding head is inserted through the notch 42 of the jig 40, and the peripheral edge of the outer material 11 is pressed against the back surface of the core material 10 and welded. This welding head is attached to the tip of a robot hand and welding is performed automatically according to a programmed procedure. Figure 1 shows the position of the welded portion 50 on the back surface of the core material 10. By welding the peripheral edge of the outer material 11 to the back surface of the core material 10 in this way, the interior component shown in Figure 1 can be obtained.

[0023] As described above, the method of the present invention allows the folding of the peripheral edge of the surface material 11, which was conventionally performed solely by hand, to be carried out by a semi-automatic machine. Furthermore, the peripheral edge of the surface material 11 can be fixed to the surface of the core material 10 without using staples or adhesives. This has the advantage of enabling the efficient manufacture of interior parts of stable quality even by inexperienced workers. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 10 Core material 11 Skin material 12 protrusions 13 protrusions 14 protrusions 15 Protrusions 16 protrusions 17 Protrusion 18 Hook part 20 bases 21 Recess 22 Net 23 Fasteners 24 Bending tool 25 cylinders 26 Plate-like part 30 suction heads 31 Lifting cylinder 40 Plate-shaped jigs 41 Through hole 42 Notch 50 Welded area

Claims

1. A surface material is set on the surface of a base that has recesses corresponding to the shape of the core material. The core material is lowered into the recess from above with its surface facing downward, causing the peripheral edge of the surface material to rise upward from the peripheral edge of the core material. The bending tool positioned around the recess of the base is advanced to fold the peripheral edge of the surface material inward. The peripheral edge of the outer material is temporarily fixed to the protrusion on the back of the core material. A plate-shaped jig is placed on the back of the core material to press down on the periphery of the outer material. A method for manufacturing interior components in which a surface material is coated on the surface of a core material, characterized by transferring the core material to a welding machine in that state and heat-welding or ultrasonically welding the peripheral edge of the surface material to the back surface of the core material.

2. A method for manufacturing interior components, characterized in that an elastic net is stretched over the surface of a base and the surface material is placed on top of it, wherein the surface material is covered with a surface material on the surface of a core material according to claim 1.

3. The method for manufacturing an interior component in which a surface material is coated on the surface of a core material, characterized in that the jig has a number of notches formed on its peripheral edge, and welding is performed through these notches.

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