Seat pad, its manufacturing method, and mold

The seat pad design with recesses and controlled skin layer formation through mold protrusions addresses the weakness of conventional grooves, ensuring robustness and ease of demolding.

JP7603370B2Active Publication Date: 2024-12-20INOAC CORP
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2019082331
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2019-04-23
Publication Date
2024-12-20
Estimated Expiration
2039-04-23

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Conventional seat pad manufacturing methods result in the formation of a skin layer on the bottom surface of the groove, which weakens the strength of the groove, leading to potential damage during mold opening and demolding.

Method used

A seat pad design with recesses on the bottom surface of the groove and a mold featuring protrusions that control the formation of the skin layer, ensuring the groove maintains strength by preventing excessive merging of foam materials.

Benefits of technology

The seat pad exhibits improved groove strength, facilitating easy mold opening and demolding while maintaining durability and preventing tearing, thus enhancing the overall structural integrity.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To improve strength of a groove part.SOLUTION: A sheet pad 20 is composed of a molded expanded material. The sheet pad 20 includes: a groove part 22 formed so as to be recessed from one surface of the sheet pad 20; and a plurality of recessed parts 24 which are formed smaller than a width of the groove part 22 by being recessed from a bottom surface of the groove part 22. The plurality of recessed parts 24 are provided so as to be spaced apart in an extending direction of the groove part 22. While a skin layer 24a is formed on a surface of the recessed part 24, the skin layer is prevented from being formed on a bottom surface of the groove part 22.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seat pad for use in a seat of a vehicle or the like, a method for manufacturing the seat pad, and a molding die. [Background technology]

[0002] A vehicle seat is attached in a taut state by holding a seat cover with a wire provided at the bottom of a groove formed on one side of the seat pad, and pulling a part of the seat cover into the groove (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such a seat pad is obtained by insert molding in which a wire is attached to the top of a convex part formed in the lower part of a molding die, and a foam raw material is foamed and cured in a state in which the wire is disposed at a position corresponding to the bottom of the groove of the seat pad. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-45424 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a seat pad is molded in a mold, the foam raw material is supplied to each of the regions partitioned by the convex parts of the lower mold. When the foam raw material distributed and supplied to each region expands by foaming, the foams join at the top of the convex parts. Due to stress when the foam raw material joins, a skin layer is formed on the bottom of the groove in the obtained seat pad, and the presence of the skin layer weakens the strength of the bottom of the groove.

[0005] The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems associated with the conventional technology, and aims to provide a seat pad having excellent groove strength, a manufacturing method for said seat pad, and a molding die for obtaining said seat pad. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to overcome the above problems and achieve the intended object, the seat pad according to the present invention comprises: A seat pad constructed from molded foam, A groove portion formed so as to be recessed from one surface of the seat pad; a plurality of recesses formed in a bottom surface of the groove and smaller than a width of the groove, the recesses being spaced apart in an extension direction of the groove; The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: forming a skin layer on a surface of the recess;

[0007] In order to overcome the above problems and achieve the intended object, the manufacturing method of the seat pad according to the present invention comprises the steps of: A method for manufacturing a seat pad, comprising forming a groove portion recessed from one surface of the seat pad when the seat pad is formed from a foam raw material in a mold, the method comprising the steps of: supplying the foam raw material to both sides of a convex portion that forms the groove portion in a lower portion of the molding die; The gist of the invention is that the seat pad is molded while forming a recess recessed from the bottom surface of the groove portion by a plurality of protrusions that rise from the top of the convex portion and are spaced apart from one another.

[0008] In order to overcome the above problems and achieve the intended object, the molding die according to the present invention comprises: A mold for molding a seat pad made of a foam in a cavity defined by a lower mold and an upper mold, The lower mold is A convex portion that forms a groove portion that is recessed from one surface of the seat pad; The present invention is characterized in that it comprises a plurality of protrusions that are provided rising from the top of the convex portion and are spaced apart from each other in the extending direction of the convex portion. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the seat pad of the present invention, the strength of the groove portion can be improved. According to the method for manufacturing a seat pad of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a seat pad having improved strength in the groove portion. According to the molding die of the present invention, a seat pad having grooves with improved strength can be obtained. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a seat using a seat pad according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a front view showing a seat pad according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing one surface side of the seat pad. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. [Diagram 5] 1A to 1C are explanatory diagrams showing a manufacturing process of the seat pad of the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a lower die of a molding die according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a convex portion of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Next, a seat pad, a manufacturing method for a seat pad, and a molding die according to the present invention will be described below by way of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. EXAMPLES

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, a vehicle seat 10 is basically composed of a seat portion 12 that supports the lower body of an occupant, a backrest portion 14 that is tiltably installed at the rear of the seat portion 12 and supports the upper body of the occupant, and a headrest 16 that is installed on the upper part of the backrest portion 14 and supports the head of the occupant. The seat portion 12 and the backrest portion 14 are composed of a seat pad 20 that is mainly made of soft polyurethane foam (foam material) and has cushioning properties as a whole, and a seat cover 18 made of fabric, synthetic leather, genuine leather, or the like that is pasted so as to cover the entire seat pad 20. The seat portion 12 and the backrest portion 14 have similar basic structures and are also manufactured in the same manner, so the seat pad 20 that forms the backrest portion 14 and the headrest 16 will be described below. In addition, in the explanation of the seat pad 20, up, down, front, back, left and right are designated based on the installation state in the vehicle, and in the seat pad 20 constituting the backrest portion 14, the side of the support surface for the occupant seated on the seat 10 is the front, and the opposite side is the rear. Also, the head side of the occupant seated on the seat 10 is the top, the buttocks side of the occupant is the bottom, the right arm side is the right, and the left arm side is the left.

[0013] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the seat pad 20 is provided with a groove 22 opening on the front surface (one surface) on the occupant side. In the seat pad 20 of the embodiment, one groove 22 extending in the left-right direction is formed (see Fig. 2). As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the seat pad 20 has a recess 24 formed so as to be recessed from the bottom surface of the groove 22 in the depth direction of the groove 22 (to the rear surface in the embodiment). In the groove 22, a plurality of recesses 24 are arranged apart from each other in the extending direction of the groove 22 (left-right direction in the embodiment). Each recess 24 is formed smaller than the width of the groove 22. The recess 24 is arranged apart from the groove wall that divides the groove 22, so that the groove wall and the side surface of the recess 24 are not linearly connected. In addition, the recess 24 is formed smaller than the dimension in the extending direction of the groove 22. The recess 24 may have an opening shape that is circular (embodiment) or polygonal, such as a square or a triangle. Furthermore, the recess 24 may be formed with the same opening dimensions from the opening facing the bottom surface of the groove portion 22 to the bottom (embodiment), or may have a tapered shape in which the opening area becomes smaller as it goes from the opening to the bottom, or may have some other shape.

[0014] In the following description, the direction corresponding to the opposing groove walls of the groove portion 22 is referred to as the width direction, and the direction corresponding to the extension direction of the groove portion 22 is referred to as the lateral direction. Moreover, the direction corresponding to the depth direction of the groove portion 22 in the seat pad 20 is the front-rear direction.

[0015] The width dimension of the recess 24 may be set in the range of, for example, 3 mm to 6 mm, provided that it is smaller than the width dimension of the groove 22. The width dimension and the lateral dimension of the recess 24 may be the same, or the lateral dimension may be larger or smaller than the width dimension. However, it is preferable not to increase the lateral dimension, since it does not impair the strength of the bottom surface of the groove 22. The depth of the recess 24 may be set in the range of, for example, 5 mm to 20 mm. The interval between the multiple recesses 24 in the groove 22 may be set in the range of, for example, 5 mm to 40 mm. The multiple recesses 24 may have different shapes and dimensions, but in the embodiment, all the multiple recesses 24 are formed in the same shape and the same size. The recess 24 has a skin layer 24a on the surface. In the seat pad 20, the surface (wall surface, bottom surface, etc.) of the recess 24 has more skin layer 24a per unit area than the bottom surface of the groove 22.

[0016] In the seat pad 20, retainers such as wires or clips (not shown) are embedded in the foam in correspondence with the bottoms of the grooves 22. The seat pad 20 is configured so that the seat cover 18 can be attached with any wrinkles smoothed out (under tension) by assembling a mounting fixture attached to the seat cover 18 to the retainer and pulling the seat cover 18 into the inside of the grooves 22.

[0017] Next, the mold 40 for molding the seat pad 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the mold 40 is composed of a lower mold 42 and an upper mold 44 that is disposed above the lower mold 42 when the mold is closed. The mold 40 can be changed between a mold closed state (see FIG. 5(b)) in which a cavity 46 is formed between the lower mold 42 and the upper mold 44 and a mold open state (see FIG. 5(a)) in which the inside of the mold 40 can be accessed by rotating the upper mold 44 about a rotation shaft 48. The mold 40 is configured to mold the front surface (one surface) of the seat pad 20 in the cavity 46 in a position facing downward. The mold 40 mainly molds the front surface and side surfaces of the seat pad 20 with the lower mold 42, and molds the rear surface of the seat pad 20 with the upper mold 44.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the lower mold 42 is formed so as to protrude from a lower mold surface (mold surface) 42a that defines the front surface (one surface) of the seat pad 20, and has a convex mold portion 50 that defines the groove portion 22 of the seat pad 20. The convex mold portion 50 is configured so that a holder can be attached to the top. The lower mold 42 is provided so as to rise from the top of the convex mold portion 50, and has a plurality of protrusions 52 that are arranged apart from each other in the extending direction of the convex mold portion 50. Each protrusion 52 is formed smaller than the width of the convex mold portion 50. In addition, the protrusion 52 is formed smaller than the lateral dimension of the convex mold portion 50. The shape of the protrusion 52 may be a cylinder (embodiment), or a polygonal prism such as a square prism or a triangular prism. In addition, the protrusion 52 may be formed with the same cross-sectional dimensions from the base to the tip (embodiment), may be a cone shape that becomes thinner from the base to the tip, or may have other shapes. When a clip is used as the holder, clip attachment parts may be appropriately provided between the projections 52 that are provided to rise from the convex portion 50, and the clip may be attached to the clip attachment parts.

[0019] The width dimension of the protrusion 52 may be set in the range of, for example, 3 mm to 6 mm, provided that it is smaller than the width dimension of the convex portion 50. The width dimension and the lateral dimension of the protrusion 52 may be the same, or the lateral dimension may be larger or smaller than the width dimension, but it is preferable not to increase the lateral dimension, since this does not impair the strength of the bottom surface of the resulting groove portion 22. The height of the protrusion 52 may be set in the range of, for example, 5 mm to 20 mm. The interval between the multiple protrusions 52 in the convex portion 50 may be set in the range of, for example, 5 mm to 40 mm. The multiple protrusions 52 may have different shapes and dimensions, but in the embodiment, the multiple protrusions 52 are all formed in the same shape and the same size.

[0020] The protrusions 52 are made of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the convex portion 50 (lower mold 42). For example, if the convex portion 50 (lower mold 42) is made of an aluminum material (236 w / m·k) that has a relatively high thermal conductivity, the protrusions 52 may be made of an iron material (83.5 w / m·k) or a stainless steel material (20.9 w / m·k) that has a lower thermal conductivity than aluminum.

[0021] Next, a method for manufacturing the seat pad 20 using the mold 40 provided with the above-mentioned protrusions 52 will be described. The mold 40 is in a state where it has been warmed to a certain extent by heating in the previous molding process of the seat pad 20, or in a state where it has been warmed by separate heating. As described above, the protrusions 52 have a lower thermal conductivity than the convex mold portion 50, so the protrusions 52 retain heat more easily and are less likely to cool down than the convex mold portion 50. Therefore, the temperature of the protrusions 52 is higher than that of the convex mold portion 50 when the foam raw material H that will become the seat pad 20 is supplied to the mold 40. In this way, the temperature of the protrusions 52 is set to be higher than that of the convex mold portion 50.

[0022] First, a holder such as a clip is attached to a location other than the protrusion 52 provided on the top of the convex mold portion 50. The foam raw material H is supplied to the lower mold surface 42a of the lower mold 42, the molding die 40 is closed (see FIG. 5(b)), and heated to a predetermined temperature by a heating means such as a heating furnace, and the foam raw material H is foamed and cured in the cavity 46 to form the seat pad 20. The foam raw material H is supplied to each of the areas of the lower mold surface 42a partitioned by the convex mold portion 50, and in this embodiment, the foam raw material H is supplied to the area on the rotating shaft 48 side (the lower side of the seat pad 20) and the area on the opposite side (the upper side of the seat pad 20) across the convex mold portion 50.

[0023] In the molding die 40, the seat pad 20 is molded while forming recesses 24 recessed from the bottom surface of the groove portion 22 by a plurality of protrusions 52 arranged apart from one another and rising from the top of the convex portion 50. In the embodiment, the protrusions 52 are all formed to have the same shape and size, and the recesses 24 resulting from the protrusions 52 are also all formed to have the same shape and size.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 7, the foam raw material H is distributed and supplied to both sides of the convex portion 50 in the lower mold 42 in the width direction. The foam raw materials H, H supplied sandwiching the convex portion 50 expand by foaming from the lower side (lower mold surface 42a side) to the upper side (upper mold 44 side) and join at the top of the convex portion 50. The foam raw material H generates heat as it foams, so the foaming heat tends to accumulate in the protrusion 52, and the temperature of the protrusion 52 becomes higher than that of the convex portion 50. In addition, when the foam raw materials H, H supplied sandwiching the convex portion 50 join near the top, the foaming pressure becomes higher around the protrusion 52 than that of the convex portion 50, and the cells on the foam surface are easily crushed. As a result, the temperature and foaming pressure around the protrusion 52 are higher than those of the convex portion 50, so that the skin layer 24a is easily formed. Relatively speaking, a skin layer is less likely to form on the bottom surface of the groove portion 22, and the formation of a skin layer on the bottom surface of the groove portion 22 can be suppressed.

[0025] As described above, by controlling the position of the skin layer 24a by the protrusion 52, it is possible to suppress the formation of a skin layer on the bottom surface of the groove portion 22 of the obtained seat pad 20. Since the formation of a skin layer on the bottom surface of the groove portion 22 is suppressed in the seat pad 20 obtained in the embodiment, it is possible to avoid the strength of the bottom of the groove portion 22 being reduced due to this skin layer. Therefore, even if the convex mold portion 50 interferes with the groove portion 22 when the mold 40 is opened or the seat pad 20 is demolded, the groove portion 22 is less likely to be damaged. In other words, since the groove portion 22 of the obtained seat pad 20 has excellent strength, it is possible to apply force to the groove portion 22, and it is easy to open the mold 40 and demold the seat pad 20, and the seat pad 20 can be efficiently manufactured. And, when the seat cover 18 is attached to the holder via the mounting tool, the obtained seat pad 20 can appropriately hold the seat cover 18 by the holder embedded in the bottom of the groove portion 22, which has excellent strength.

[0026] The seat pad 20 has a discontinuous configuration in which a plurality of recesses 24 are disposed apart from one another at the bottom of the groove 22, and therefore it is possible to prevent the groove 22 from tearing starting from the recesses 24. For example, if the recesses are continuously formed across the lateral direction of the groove 22, the groove 22 becomes susceptible to tearing starting from the continuous recesses, which is not preferable.

[0027] (Example of change) The configuration is not limited to the above, and may be modified as follows, for example.

[0028] (1) The size and shape of the protrusions are not limited to those in the examples. Similarly, the size and shape of the recesses are not limited to those in the examples. In the examples, the protrusions and the recesses derived from the protrusions all have the same shape, but some or all of them may be formed to have different sizes and shapes. (2) In the embodiment, the groove in which the retainer is embedded and the convex portion which forms the groove are described, but the groove in which the retainer is not embedded and the convex portion which forms the groove may be used. Since the formation of the skin layer in the groove is suppressed, the seat cover can be appropriately bonded to the bottom of the groove with an adhesive. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 20 seat pad, 22 groove portion, 24 recess portion, 24a skin layer, 40 molding die, 42 lower mold, 44 upper mold, 46 cavity, 50 convex portion, 52 protrusion, H foam raw material

Claims

1. A seat pad made of a foam molded product, A groove portion formed so as to be recessed from one surface of the seat pad; a plurality of recesses each formed in a bottom surface of the groove and smaller than a width of the groove, the recesses being spaced apart in an extending direction of the groove; a retainer embedded in the foam body in correspondence with the bottom of the groove; A skin layer is formed on the surface of the recess. A seat pad characterized by:

2. A method for manufacturing a seat pad, comprising forming a groove portion recessed from one surface of the seat pad when the seat pad is formed from a foam raw material in a mold, the method comprising the steps of: supplying the foam raw material to both sides of a convex portion that forms the groove portion in a lower portion of the molding die; The seat pad is molded while forming a recess recessed from the bottom surface of the groove portion by a plurality of protrusions that rise from the top of the convex portion, are arranged apart from each other, and have a lower thermal conductivity than the convex portion. A method for manufacturing a seat pad comprising the steps of:

3. A method for manufacturing a seat pad, in which a groove is formed so as to be recessed from one surface of the seat pad when the seat pad is molded from a foam raw material in a mold, comprising: supplying the foam raw material to both sides of a convex portion that forms the groove portion in a lower portion of the molding die; The seat pad is molded while forming a recess recessed from the bottom surface of the groove portion by a plurality of protrusions that are arranged apart from each other and rise from the top of the convex mold portion and have a higher temperature than the convex mold portion when the foam raw material is supplied. A method for manufacturing a seat pad comprising the steps of:

4. A mold for molding a seat pad made of a foam in a cavity defined by a lower mold and an upper mold, comprising: The lower mold is A convex portion that forms a groove portion that is recessed from one surface of the seat pad; a plurality of protrusions provided so as to rise from a top of the convex portion and spaced apart from one another in an extending direction of the convex portion; The protrusion is made of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the convex portion. A molding die characterized by:

Citation Information

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