JPH0349936A - Widening device of foamed form - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the cooling strain in widening treatment to be suppressed by setting the aperture connected to a vacuum chamber at a prescribed width correspondingly to the thickness of a foamed form. CONSTITUTION:When a foamed form is transferred to the side of a widening device 3, the attraction force from slits 52, 53 acts on both ends of the foamed form 11 through a mesh belt 40. Then, both end surfaces of the foamed form 11 are attracted to the mesh belt 40 of each widening device. The width of the foamed form 11 is widened by the process wherein both end surfaces are attracted, and the wrinkle at heating and foaming is removed. After the widening treatment of the foamed form, it is wound on a cooling roll 5. The width of the slits 52, 53 is set in the same degree as the thickness of the foamed form, and the air pathes having almost the same width as the thickness of the foamed form are formed on the mesh belt. Accordingly, the air flow occur ring around the foamed form in the process of attraction and transfer, may be reduced, whereby the cooling strain generated in the foamed form may be suppressed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a foamed foam widening device, particularly a foamed foam widening device for widening in the width direction a foamed foam produced by heating and foaming in a foaming furnace. Regarding.

[Conventional technology]

Foamed foam has been used as a heat insulating agent, cushioning material, and the like. This foam foam is usually produced by heating and foaming a sheet containing a pyrolyzable foaming agent (hereinafter referred to as a foamable sheet) in a foaming furnace. During this foaming process, the foamable sheet expands three-dimensionally and rapidly expands in volume, so that the surface area increases, and as a result, wavy or pleated wrinkles are produced in the width direction of the foamed foam. In order to remove these wrinkles, a width widening device is provided below the foaming furnace to perform the width widening process.

An example of a conventional widening device (Japanese Patent Publication No. 4E19955) is shown in FIG. This conventional device is composed of a pair of vacuum chambers 81 that are provided opposite to each other in the width direction of a foam foam 80 produced in a foaming furnace 70, and a mesh belt 82 that is provided around the vacuum chambers 81 so as to be able to circulate therearound. There is. As shown in FIG. 5, the vacuum chamber 81 has an opening 81a on the end surface side of the foam foam 80.

A punching plate 90 having a plurality of holes is fixed onto this opening 81a. A mesh belt 82 runs on this punching plate 90 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. A pair of mutually opposing guide plates 91 are fixedly provided above the opening 81a. This guide plate 91 forms an air flow (arrow) in the direction of the punching plate and facilitates adsorption of the end face of the foam foam to the mesh held 82. Then, using the suction force from the holes formed in the punching plate, the mesh belt 8 is
2 adsorbs and conveys the end face of the foam foam 80, thereby applying a width-widening force to the foam foam 80 in the width direction to perform the width-widening process. Note that after the width widening process, the foamed foam 80 is wound up on a cooling drum 85 and conveyed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional foam foam widening device, when the end surface of the foam foam is attracted to the mensch belt 82 and conveyed, there is a gap between the foam foam 80 and the guide plate 91, so air flow occurs in this gap portion. . This air flow cools the front and back surfaces of the foam, which may result in distortion of the foam.

An object of the present invention is to provide a foam foam widening device that can suppress cooling distortion during the foam foam widening process.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A foamed foam widening device according to a first aspect of the invention is a device for widening a foamed foam produced by heating and foaming in a foaming furnace in the width direction. This device includes a pair of widening device bodies and a conveying means.

The widening device main body is provided opposite to each other in the width direction of the foam foam, and has a vacuum chamber that can reduce pressure, and an opening that is disposed on the end side of the foam foam and communicates with the vacuum chamber. The conveyance means is provided so as to be able to circulate between the opening and the foam, and is a means for conveying the foam while applying a width-spreading force to the foam by adsorbing the end face of the foam using suction force from the opening.

The opening has a predetermined width depending on the thickness of the foam.

The foamed foam widening device according to the second invention is a device similar to the foamed foam widening device according to the first invention, and includes:
It includes a pair of widening device main bodies and a conveyance means.

The width expanding device main body is provided to face each other in the width direction of the foam foam, and has a vacuum chamber that can reduce pressure, and an opening that is disposed on the end surface side of the foam foam and communicates with the vacuum chamber. The conveying means is provided so as to be able to circulate between the opening and the foam, and is a means for conveying the foam while applying a widening force to the foam by adsorbing the end face of the foam using suction force from the opening. This conveying means has an air passage having a predetermined width depending on the thickness of the foam.

[Effect]

In the first invention, the foamed foam is conveyed by the conveying means while its end face is attracted. At this time, the foam foam is widened by suctioning the end face, and wrinkles in the foam foam are removed. Here, the opening is set to a predetermined width depending on the thickness of the foam foam. Therefore, for example, if the width of the opening is set to be equal to or less than the thickness of the foam, it is possible to reduce the flow of air around the foam, which causes cooling distortion in the foam. can be suppressed.

In the second invention, the foamed foam is conveyed by the conveying means while its end face is attracted. At this time, the foam foam is widened by suctioning the end face, and wrinkles in the foam foam are removed. Here, the conveying means is formed with an air passage having a predetermined width depending on the thickness of the foam foam. Therefore, for example, if the width of the air passage is made equal to or less than the thickness of the foam, the air flow around the foam can be reduced, thereby preventing cooling distortion in the foam. can be suppressed.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 shows an example of a foam manufacturing apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. Here, explanation will be given by taking as an example a foaming foam manufacturing apparatus using a vertical hot air foaming method.

In the figure, this manufacturing equipment mainly includes a foaming furnace 2 for heating and foaming a sheet (expandable sheet) 1 containing a pyrolytic foaming agent, and a widening process installed below the foaming furnace 2. It is composed of a widening device 3 for performing the widening.

A loading port 23 for loading the foamable sheet 1 into the furnace is formed in the upper part of the foaming furnace 2, and a loading port 23 is formed in the lower part.
A discharge port 24 is formed to discharge the foamed foam 1, 11 after heating and foaming treatment. Inside the foaming furnace 2, a large number of opposing heaters 25 are provided. Further, a suction duct 26 is provided for introducing heated air into the inside of the foaming furnace. An exhaust duct 27 is provided at the upper part of the outer wall. Further, above the exhaust duct 27, a carry-in roller 4 for carrying in the foam sheet 1 is arranged.

A pair of width widening devices 3 are provided facing each other in the width direction of the foamed foam 11. Although not shown, a slide rail (or ball screw) is provided below the foaming furnace 2 in the width direction of the foam foam, and the width expanding device 3
can be moved on top of this. Details of the width expanding device 3 are shown in FIG. 1A (front view) and FIG. 1B (side view). The width expanding device 3 is composed of two chambers: an upper chamber 31 and a lower chamber 32. Connectors 45 and 29 are attached to both chambers 31 and 32, respectively, and communicate with a vacuum pump (not shown). Side plates 36 and 37 are provided at the ends of the upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32 on the expanded foam 11 side, respectively.
is fixed. These side plates 36 and 37 have pins 34.
is inserted. The upper chamber 31 is rotatable around this pin 34, and can be set to any rotational position. Further, a pair of rollers 35 are supported on the side plate 37. As shown in FIG. 1B, there is a gap between the opposing rollers 35 that is large enough to allow the foam 11 to pass through.

Openings 50 and 51 having a predetermined width d0 are formed in the upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32 on opposite sides of the foam foam, respectively. Slit plates 46.47 and 48.49 are mounted above the openings 50 and 51, respectively. The slit plates 46, 47 and 48, 49 form slits 52, 53 of a predetermined width d in the openings 50 and 51, respectively. Also, slit plates 46.47 and 48.4
The holes 50 for attaching 9 to each chamber are elongated holes as shown in FIG. 1B (only a portion is shown). Therefore, the width of the slits 52, 53 can be adjusted by sliding the slit plates 46, 47 and 48, 49 in the left-right direction in FIG. 1B, respectively. Thereby, the width of the slits 52 and 53 can be set to a predetermined width depending on the thickness of the foam foam. Note that the set width is preferably about the same as or less than the thickness of the foam foam.

A mesh belt 40 is provided around the upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32. This mesh belt 40 can circulate around the upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32 via a drive roller 41 and rotating rollers 42, 43, 44. The mesh belt 40 is sealed with, for example, silicon (the sealed portion is indicated by diagonal lines in FIG. 1B). This sealing process forms a mesh portion (air passage) 60 having a predetermined width depending on the thickness of the foam foam. The width of the mesh portion is preferably equal to or less than the thickness of the foam foam.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a plurality of cooling rollers 5 are provided below the width expanding device 3, and the foamed foam 11 is cooled by these cooling rollers. .

Next, the effects will be explained.

The foaming foam carried into the foaming furnace 2 from the carrying roller 4, -
The foam 1 is heated by the heated air introduced from the suction duct 26 and the radiant heat of the heater 25 while hanging down inside the foaming furnace 2 . By this heating, the foamable sheet 1 is foamed and becomes a foamed foam 11 on the downstream side of the furnace.

On the other hand, the width expanding device 3 is set in advance at a predetermined position on a slide rail (not shown) according to the width of the foamed foam 11 produced. Further, the upper chamber 31 of the width widening device 3 is set by being rotated in advance around the bin 34 by a predetermined angle α (FIG. 3). The upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32 are each in a reduced pressure state due to the drive of the vacuum pump.

Further, each of the slit plates 46, 47 and 48, 49 is preset at a predetermined position so that the width of the slit 52, 53 formed by these plates is approximately the same as the thickness of the foamed foam 11. The mesh belt 40 is connected to the drive roller 4
1, it circulates around the chamber consisting of the upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1A.

Note that the mesh belt 40 has been sealed in advance with silicone, leaving a mesh portion with a width comparable to the thickness of the foamed foam 11 in the center thereof.

When the foamed foam 11 is carried into the width expanding device 3 side, suction force from the slits 52 and 53 acts on both ends of the foamed foam 11 via the mesh belt 40. Then,
Both end surfaces of the foamed foam 11 are attracted to the mesh belt 40 of each width expanding device. In this state, expand foam 1
1 is conveyed by the movement of the mesh belt 40. Therefore, by adsorbing both end faces, the foamed foam 1
1 is widened and wrinkles caused by heating and foaming are removed. After the width widening process, the foamed foam 11 is wound around the cooling roller 5. When adsorbing and transporting the foam foam 11, the slit 52.5
The width of No. 3 is set to be approximately the same as the thickness of the foam foam, and an air passageway having a width approximately the same as the thickness of the foam foam is formed in the mesh belt. Therefore, during adsorption and conveyance, the flow of air generated around the foamed foam can be reduced, thereby suppressing cooling distortion that occurs in the foamed foam.

Also, during the conveyance to the cooling roller 5, the foamed foam 11 may change on the upper chamber 31 side due to changes in the foaming ratio or foaming form, for example.
If they separate, the suction pressure in the upper chamber 31 will fluctuate. However, since the lower chamber 32 is provided separately from the upper chamber 31 at this time, fluctuations in the suction pressure within the upper chamber 31 hardly affect the lower chamber 32. Therefore, even if the suction pressure in the upper chamber 31 fluctuates, the suction pressure in the lower chamber 32 will not fluctuate rapidly.

In particular, if the upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32 are suctioned by separate vacuum pumps, the influence of fluctuations in suction pressure in one chamber will hardly appear on the other chamber. Thereby, the foamed foam 11 can be stably attracted and conveyed, and the width can be uniformly widened.

Further, the upper chamber 31 is rotatable around a pin 34 and can be set at a predetermined position.

Therefore, even if the foamed foam 11 on the inlet side of the width-expanding device changes its shape due to a change in the expansion ratio, etc., it can easily follow the changed shape. Thereby, the foamed foam 11 can be stably attracted and transported. In addition, when adsorbing and transporting, the foamed foam 1
The outlet side of the width expanding device 1 is cooled by the cooling drum 5 and is contracted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the slit-shaped bottom surface of the lower chamber 32 is aligned with the end surface of the foamed foam at the time of contraction, and in this state, the upper chamber 31 is bent at a predetermined angle α.
If the foam foam 11 is rotated by a certain amount, the foam foam 11 can be stably attracted and transported even when the foam foam 11 is contracted.

In this embodiment, since the width expanding device 3 is composed of two vacuum chambers 31 and 32, even if pressure fluctuation occurs in one chamber, the influence of this fluctuation on the other chamber can be reduced. I can do it. Thereby, the foamed foam can be stably attracted and transported, and the width widening process can be performed uniformly. In addition, since the three chambers can be set to any rotational position, even if the shape of the foam foam changes, it can easily follow the changed shape, thereby stabilizing the foam foam. can be adsorbed and transported.

Furthermore, the width of the slits 52 and 53 can be adjusted according to the thickness of the foam foam 11, and the mesh belt 40 is sealed to form an air passage 60 with a width comparable to the thickness of the foam foam 11. It is formed. Therefore, the flow of air generated around the foamed foam 11 during adsorption and transportation can be reduced. As a result, the foamed foam 11
It is possible to prevent cooling distortion from occurring.

[Other Examples]

(a) The widening device 3 may be composed of one vacuum chamber or three or more vacuum chambers.

(g)) The second invention can also be applied to a conventional device (FIG. 5) with a punching plate specification. in this case,
The opening of the vacuum chamber is wide as before, but
Air passages with a width comparable to the thickness of the foam are formed in the mesh belt. Thereby, the flow of air generated around the foamed foam can be reduced, and the cooling distortion that occurs in the foamed foam can be suppressed.

(C) By defining the air passage only by the slit plate without sealing the mesh belt 40, the first
The invention may be implemented. Also, the slit plate is omitted,
The second invention may be implemented by defining the air passage only by sealing the mesh belt 40.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the first invention, the opening on the device main body side is set to a predetermined width according to the thickness of the foam foam, and in the second invention, the conveying means has an air passage having a predetermined width according to the thickness of the foam foam. Therefore, in any of the inventions, it is possible to reduce the flow of air around the foamed foam, thereby suppressing cooling distortion in the foamed foam.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a front view of a foamed foam widening device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a side view thereof, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a foamed foam manufacturing device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a partial front view for explaining the operation of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 of the conventional example, and FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the conventional width expanding device. be. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Foaming sheet, 2... Foaming furnace, 3... Widening device, 11... Foaming foam, 31... Upper chamber, 32
...Lower chamber, 40...Metschbelt, 46,47,
48, 49°...Slit plate, 50.51...Opening, 52.53...Slit, 60...Air passage.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A foamed foam widening device for widthwise widening foamed foam produced by heating and foaming in a foaming furnace, which is provided opposite to each other in the widthwise direction of the foamed foam and is capable of reducing pressure. a pair of width expanding device bodies having a vacuum chamber and an opening disposed on the end face side of the foamed foam and communicating with the vacuum chamber; and a conveying means for adsorbing the end face of the expanded foam with a suction force from the foam and conveying the expanded foam while applying a width-spreading force to the expanded foam, and the opening portion is set to a predetermined width according to the thickness of the expanded foam. There is a foam expanding device. (2) A foamed foam widening device for widthwise widening foamed foam produced by heating and foaming in a foaming furnace, which is provided facing each other in the widthwise direction of the foamed foam and is capable of reducing pressure. a pair of width expanding device bodies having a vacuum chamber and an opening disposed on the end face side of the foamed foam and communicating with the vacuum chamber; and a conveying means for conveying the foam while applying a widening force to the foam by adsorbing the end face of the foam using a suction force from the foam, and the conveying means has an air passage having a predetermined width corresponding to the thickness of the foam. It has a foam widening device.