Mold equipment for manufacturing foam mats and foam mats manufactured using this mold

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat and a foam mat manufactured using the mold. By forming a groove in the surface material at the edge end of the mat using an auxiliary intermediate mold, the edges of the mat can be manufactured neatly without burrs, and the gaps between adjacent mats can be minimized to achieve a good appearance.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat and a foam mat manufactured using the mold. More specifically, by using a mold device in which an auxiliary intermediate mold is added between a lower mold and an intermediate mold to manufacture a foam mat, it is possible to manufacture a foam mat having a very clean appearance with almost no protruding burrs on the edges of the mat. Background Technology

[0002] FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating the conventional method of manufacturing a foam mat in sequence.

[0003] In a conventional method for manufacturing a foamed mat using a mat manufacturing mold, first, as shown in FIGS. 10(a) to 10(b), a surface material film (1) is placed on a lower mold (110), and then an intermediate mold (130) is laminated onto the lower mold (110). Next, as shown in FIG. 10(b), a polyurethane foaming liquid (3) is sprayed onto the upper side of the surface material film (1) using a spraying device (8) to fill the interior. Afterward, the upper mold (140) is closed over the upper side of the intermediate mold (130) filled with polyurethane, and then a foaming process is performed through a chemical reaction of the foaming liquid. As shown in FIG. 10(c), the polyurethane foaming liquid (3) is foamed and bonded to the surface material film (1), so that the surface material film (1) is integrally molded into the polyurethane cushion layer (2).

[0004] When a mat manufactured using a conventional mat manufacturing mold is cut along the cutting line (5) of the edge of the skin film (1), as shown in FIG. 10(d), the side portion of the foamed polyurethane cushion layer (2) and the side portion of the skin film (1) exist on the same plane, so it is difficult to bring the cutter close to cut the edge of the skin film.

[0005] In other words, the tip of the cutter (scissors, etc.) is blocked by the side of the polyurethane cushion layer (2), so the skin film (1) cannot be cut in close contact with the cushion layer (3), and the skin film (1) is inevitably cut so that it protrudes outward from the polyurethane cushion layer (2), making it difficult to completely remove burrs from the edge of the mat, so the edge of the mat does not have a neat appearance.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need for a mat manufacturing method that can cleanly remove burrs from the edges.

[0007] Prior art regarding a method for manufacturing a mat includes Korean Registered Patent No. 10-2067902 (Title: Eco-friendly Mat and Method for Manufacturing Eco-friendly Mat). The problem to be solved

[0008] The present invention was devised to solve the problems of the aforementioned prior art, and aims to provide a mold for manufacturing a foam mat capable of producing the edges of the mat cleanly without burrs, and a foam mat using the mold. means of solving the problem

[0009] The objective of the present invention is achieved by a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat comprising: a lower mold having a molding groove formed on its inner side; an auxiliary intermediate mold stacked on the upper side of the lower mold and formed along the perimeter of the space to provide a space corresponding to the molding groove on its inner side, wherein at least a portion of the portion formed along the perimeter has an inner end surface formed on the same plane as the inner edge surface of the molding groove and has an inward protrusion protruding in the direction of the molding groove above the inner end surface; an intermediate mold stacked on the upper side of the auxiliary intermediate mold; and an upper mold stacked on the intermediate mold to close the molding groove.

[0010] In addition, the objective of the present invention is also achieved by a foam mat in which a cushion layer of foam material is integrally formed on one surface of a surface material, wherein the edge of the foam mat is characterized in that the edge end of the surface material and the edge end of the cushion layer are located on a single vertical line, a groove that is inwardly recessed is formed at the edge end of the surface material, and the cut surface of the surface material is located at the bottom of the groove. Effects of the invention

[0011] According to the mold device for manufacturing a foam mat and the foam mat manufactured using the mold according to the present invention, a groove is formed in the portion covered by the surface material at the edge of the foam mat, so cutting can be performed with the end of the cutter inserted into the groove. Therefore, all burrs protruding outward beyond the ends of the surface material and the cushion layer are removed, resulting in a clean appearance. This is particularly useful because, while it is difficult to clean up burrs on a mat when using a surface material with a thickness of 1 mm or more, the present invention allows for the clean removal of burrs on a mat even with a somewhat thick surface material.

[0012] In addition, when manufacturing a mat by the mold device according to the present invention, the first bending of the surface material occurs at the corner of the molding groove of the lower mold, and the second bending of the film occurs in the area below the inward protrusion of the auxiliary intermediate mold. Therefore, since a second bending is added in the same direction after the first bending, the radius of curvature of the bent part of the film becomes smaller when viewed with respect to the corner area of ​​the molding groove. As a result, when two manufactured foam mats are connected adjacently, when looking down from above at the connection point, the corner of the mat appears to be bent relatively more sharply, so the gap between the two mats appears smaller, thus forming a good appearance. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0013] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the molds of a molding device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the closed state of the molds of a molding device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a portion of the molds of a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is separated vertically, and FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the cross-sectional shape of an auxiliary intermediate mold of a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which molding is completed in a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the foaming liquid forms a foam layer. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing the edge portion of the mat in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the cutting line of the surface material at the edge portion of a foam mat made using a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the omission of an additional intermediate mold in a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which molding is completed and a foaming liquid forms a foaming layer in a molding device for manufacturing a foaming mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, with an additional intermediate mold omitted. FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating the conventional method of manufacturing a foam mat in sequence. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0014] Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the configuration of the foam mat manufactured thereby will be described in detail.

[0015] The mold device according to the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1 is described as an example of a mold for manufacturing a "Pantry Center Puzzle Mat," which is installed in the center among the left, right, and center puzzle mats installed in a pantry, in a puzzle mat where a plurality of mat pieces are interconnected to form the entire surface on which the mat is laid. In the case of the pantry mat, the part that adheres to the edge of the living room is simply constructed because it is the part that is covered by the edge of the living room. Therefore, in the mold device illustrated in FIG. 1, the mold structure of one of the four edges is very simple.

[0016] The present invention will be described in detail below.

[0017] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a lower mold (10), an auxiliary intermediate mold (20), an intermediate mold (30), and an upper mold (40), wherein the lower mold (10) is located at the very bottom and the auxiliary intermediate mold (20), the intermediate mold (30), and the upper mold (40) are stacked sequentially above it.

[0018] In the lower mold (10), a molding groove (11) is formed on the inner side, a protruding support surface (13) is formed around the perimeter of the molding groove (11), and an insertion groove (15) is formed on the outer side of the support surface (13) into which an insertion projection (32) of the intermediate mold (30), which will be described later, is inserted. At the four corners of the rectangular molding groove (11) of the lower mold (10), vacuum suction holes (not shown) are provided so that air can be sucked in from the molding groove (11) inside the mold and the surrounding area. By sucking in air, the corner portion of the skin material (1) can be pressed as close as possible to the corner of the molding groove (11), thereby minimizing the size of the corner of the skin material (1).

[0019] A part of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) shown in FIG. 3 is a portion located on the left side of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) shown in FIG. 2.

[0020] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) is formed in a roughly U-shape along the perimeter of the space to form an inner space corresponding to the molding groove (11) of the lower mold (10). The auxiliary intermediate mold (20) is stacked on the support surface (13) of the lower mold (10), and the surface facing the molding groove (11) from the lower part is an inner end surface (21). An inward protrusion (22) protruding toward the molding groove (11) is formed on the upper side of the inner end surface (21), and a support projection (26) with a flat surface formed on the upper side along the outer edge is formed on the upper side of the inward protrusion (22). The stepped rectangular space inside the support projection (26) is referred to as the upper groove (27). The height of the upper groove (27) refers to the height from the bottom surface of the upper groove (27) to the top of the support projection (26), and is formed to be approximately slightly smaller than the thickness of the skin material (1). The inner end surface (21) of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) is located on the same line in the vertical direction as the inner side of the molding groove (11) of the intermediate mold (30). The protruding length of the inward protrusion (22) of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) is formed so as not to exceed the thickness of the skin material (1). If the length of the inward protrusion is too large, the size of the groove formed on the edge side of the mat increases, and if the edge of the mat is repeatedly pressed, the edge of the mat may collapse, which is not good. The auxiliary intermediate mold (20) is placed on top of the lower mold (10) and used in a fixed position, and is not opened by lifting it up separately.

[0021] The intermediate mold (30) is configured to increase the thickness of the foam layer and is stacked on top of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20), and can be lifted upward and opened relative to the lower mold (10). The intermediate mold (30) is also formed in a roughly U-shape along the perimeter of the space to form an inner space corresponding to the molding groove (11) of the lower mold (10).

[0022] The intermediate mold (30) has flat upper and lower surfaces, so that it is horizontally stacked on top of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) (or lower mold (10)) at the bottom and comes into contact with the upper mold (40) at the top, so that the upper mold (40) is horizontally stacked with respect to the intermediate mold (30). An insertion projection (32) is formed on the outer perimeter of the intermediate mold (30) to be inserted into the insertion groove (15) of the lower mold (10) described above. When the insertion projection (32) of the intermediate mold (30) is inserted into the insertion groove (15) of the lower mold (10), alignment between the intermediate mold (30) and the lower mold (10) is ensured. The thickness of the intermediate mold (30) can be changed in correspondence with the thickness of the cushion layer (2) (foam layer) of the mat to be manufactured.

[0023] The upper mold (40) is stacked on top of the middle mold (30) to close the molding space from above, and can be lifted upward and opened relative to the lower mold (10).

[0024] Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a foam mat using a mold device according to the present invention is described.

[0025] Here, an example is given in which a PVC film (1) is used as the skin material (1).

[0026] The method for manufacturing the mat largely includes a PVC film (1) placement step (S10), a polyurethane filling step (S20), a molding step (S30), a separation step (S40), and a cutting step (S50).

[0027] First, the PVC film (1) placement step (S10) is performed by opening the upper mold (30) and the upper mold (40) located above the lower mold (10) and the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) upwards, and then placing the PVC film (1) on the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) so as to cover the entire molding groove (11) of the lower mold (10) and most of the upper groove (27) of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) while the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) is stacked on top of the lower mold (10). It is preferable that the edge of the PVC film (1) be positioned approximately on the inside of the upper groove (27) above the auxiliary intermediate mold (20). That is, it is preferable that the PVC film (1) be positioned further inside than the support projection (26) of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) without riding over it. When the PVC film (1) is fully seated, the intermediate mold (30) is lowered over the PVC film (1) to be laminated. When the intermediate mold (30) is laminated over the auxiliary intermediate mold (20), the insertion projection (32) of the intermediate mold (30) is inserted into the insertion groove (15) of the lower mold (10), thereby ensuring alignment between the intermediate mold (30) and the lower mold (10).

[0028] Subsequently, in the polyurethane filling step (S20), a foaming liquid spraying device is used to spray polyurethane foaming liquid into the molding space, which consists of the molding groove (11) of the lower mold (10) above the PVC film (1) and the inner space of the intermediate mold (30), thereby filling the entire molding space. Once the polyurethane foaming liquid is completely filled into the molding space, the upper mold (40) is covered. With this, all molds are completely closed, and preparations for foaming the foaming liquid are completed.

[0029] With all molds closed, the height of the upper groove (27) of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) is slightly smaller than the thickness of the PVC film (1). Therefore, when the lower surface of the intermediate mold (30) presses the edge of the PVC film (1) placed in the upper groove (27), the edge of the PVC film (1) is compressed to some extent. By compressing the PVC film (1) to an appropriate level in this way, the polyurethane foaming liquid can be prevented from leaking outside the mold, and bubbles generated during the foaming process of the foaming liquid can be discharged to the outside by penetrating the interface between the intermediate mold (30) and the PVC film (1) that is not excessively close. If bubbles generated inside the mold cannot be discharged to the outside and remain between the surface material (1) and the cushion layer (2), lifting of the PVC film (1) occurs, causing a decrease in quality.

[0030] Afterwards, in the molding step (S30), the polyurethane foaming liquid filled inside the mold is foamed while the mold is closed, and the polyurethane foaming layer is formed by being integrally bonded with the PVC film (1).

[0031] During this foaming process, air is sucked in through the vacuum suction hole of the lower mold (10) to create a negative pressure state inside the mold. Accordingly, the PVC film (1) adheres to and is attached to the inner surface of the molding groove (11) with a uniform shrinkage rate. As a result, the corner portion of the PVC film (1) can be attached as closely as possible to the corner of the mold, thereby minimizing the radius of curvature (the rounded shape of the corner; a large radius means a large radius of curvature of the rounded portion). Additionally, the PVC film (1) can be uniformly formed on the outer surface of the foamed polyurethane, thereby increasing the aesthetic effect of the product and the adhesive stability of the product. As previously explained, bubbles generated during the foaming process of the foaming liquid are discharged to the outside through the boundary surface where the lower surface of the intermediate mold (30) meets the surface material (1).

[0032] When the molding is completed, the mat that has undergone the molding step (S30) is separated from the mold in the separation step (S40).

[0033] Afterwards, in the cutting step (S50), the PVC film (1) protruding from the perimeter edge of the mat (60) removed from the mold is cut to provide a neat finish.

[0034] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the foam mat manufactured using the mold device according to the present invention is formed by integrally foam molding and combining a cushion layer (2) (foam layer) under a skin material (1). The edges of the foam mat are aligned with the side of the skin material (1) and the side of the cushion layer (2). On the edge side of the skin material (1), an inwardly recessed groove (6) is formed at a point on the part covered by the skin material (1), and an incision surface is formed at the lower end point of the groove (6) of the skin material (1) as a result of performing a cut along the cutting line (5).

[0035] The role of the inward protrusion of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) in the foam mat manufacturing mold of the present invention is explained below.

[0036] [Mat edges can be trimmed neatly]

[0037] When the foaming process of the foaming liquid is performed with all molds closed, as shown in FIG. 6, the PVC film (1) is bent once counterclockwise (upward direction) at the edge corner area (A) of the molding groove (11) of the lower mold (10), and then bent once counterclockwise (leftward direction) at the lower area (B) of the inward protrusion (22) of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20). Therefore, the cross-section of the PVC film (1) in the mat edge area is bent twice in the same direction as shown in FIG. 6. Also, since the inner surface of the intermediate mold (30) is located on the same vertical plane as the inner surface of the molding groove (11) and the inner end surface (21) of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20), the outer end surface of the foaming layer being molded is also located on the same line in the vertical direction as the outer end surface of the PVC film (1). Therefore, since the edge of the epidermal material and the edge of the cushion layer are located on the same vertical plane, a neat appearance is formed.

[0038] When finishing the edge cross-section of the foam mat, cutting can be performed with a cutter along the cutting line (5) as shown in FIG. 7. Since a groove (6) is formed at the edge of the mat by the PVC film (1) being bent to wrap around the inward protrusion (22) of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20), cutting can be performed with the end of the cutter (not shown) inserted into the groove (6). In this case, referring to FIG. 7, the cut surface of the surface material is positioned at the bottom of the groove of the surface material of the foam mat.

[0039] Therefore, all burrs protruding outward beyond the outer ends of the respective outer ends of the skin material (1) and the cushion layer (2) can be removed, so the foam mat that has been finally cut has a clean appearance.

[0040] [The gap becomes smaller when connecting two mats]

[0041] Referring to FIG. 6, in the foam mat according to the present invention, the first bend of the PVC film (1) occurs at the corner portion of the molding groove (11) of the lower mold (10), and the second bend of the PVC film (1) occurs in the lower region of the inward protrusion (22) of the auxiliary intermediate mold (20). Therefore, since a second bend is added in the same direction after the first bend, the radius of curvature of the bent portion of the PVC film (1) becomes even smaller when viewed with respect to the corner area of ​​the molding groove (11). In other words, the radius of curvature becomes smaller when there are two bends in the same direction compared to one bend. Therefore, since the corner portion of the PVC film (1) of the foam mat (the portion of the PVC film (1) located in the corner area of ​​the molding groove (11)) has a smaller radius of curvature, this means that the corner portion is bent more sharply. Therefore, when foam mats manufactured according to the present invention are connected adjacently to each other, when looking down from above at the connection point, the corners of the foam mats are bent relatively more sharply, so the gap between the two foam mats appears smaller and thus forms a good appearance. If the gap at the connection point of adjacent foam mats is large, the appearance is not good.

[0042] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the omission of an additional intermediate mold in a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the state in which molding is completed and the foaming liquid forms a foam layer in a state in which the additional intermediate mold is omitted in a mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] In the mold device according to the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 7 described above, when a relatively thick PVC film is used as the surface material of the foam mat, it was necessary to use an auxiliary intermediate mold (20). However, when manufacturing a foam mat using a relatively thin TPU as the surface material of the foam mat, the auxiliary intermediate mold can be omitted in the mold device of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0044] When a TPU film is used as the skin material (1), the thickness of the TPU film is very thin, so the thickness of the cushion layer (foam layer) protruding from the outer side of the TPU film is very minimal. Therefore, when the excess portion (burr portion) of the skin material (1) at the edge of the foam mat is cut, the portion of the cushion layer exposed is very thin. Therefore, when looking down at the foam mat, the cushion layer at the cut surface of the skin material (1) is almost invisible, so the foam mat can be manufactured using only the lower mold (10), intermediate mold (30), and upper mold (40) without the auxiliary intermediate mold in the mold device as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0045] The mold device illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6 is structured such that an auxiliary intermediate mold (20) and an intermediate mold (30) form three edges of the mat. In particular, although the auxiliary intermediate mold (20) is described as having inward protrusions (22) formed only on two edges, the left edge and the right edge, this is merely one embodiment, and the mold device of the present invention can change the number of edges to which characteristic configurations are applied according to various shapes and functions of the foam mat. Explanation of the symbols

[0046] 1. Skin material (PVC film) 2 cushion layers 5 cutting lines 10 lower mold 11 Plastic Surgery Home 13 Support surface 15 Insertion groove 20 Auxiliary Intermediate Mold 21 Inner end surface 22 Inward protrusion 26 supporting projections 27 Upper groove 30 intermediate molds 32 insertion protrusion 40 upper mold

Claims

Claim 1 A mold device for manufacturing a foam mat comprising: a lower mold having a molding groove formed on its inner side; an auxiliary intermediate mold stacked on the upper side of the lower mold and formed along the perimeter of the space to have a space corresponding to the molding groove on its inner side, wherein at least a portion of the portion formed along the perimeter has an inner end surface formed on the same plane as the inner edge surface of the molding groove and has an inward protrusion protruding in the direction of the molding groove above the inner end surface; an intermediate mold stacked on the upper side of the auxiliary intermediate mold; and an upper mold stacked on the intermediate mold to close the molding groove. Claim 2 A mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to claim 1, characterized in that the inner surface of the molding groove of the lower mold and the inner end surface of the auxiliary intermediate mold are located on the same vertical plane. Claim 3 A mold device for manufacturing a foam mat according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary intermediate mold has a support projection protruding upwardly formed on the upper outer part, and an upper groove formed by a stepped structure on one side of the support projection. Claim 4 A foam mat having a cushion layer of foam material integrally formed on one surface of a surface material, wherein the edge of the foam mat is characterized in that the edge end of the surface material and the edge end of the cushion layer are located on a single vertical line, and an inwardly recessed groove is formed at the edge end of the surface material. Claim 5 A foam mat according to claim 4, characterized in that the cut surface of the skin material is located at the bottom of the groove.

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