JPH09314576A - Manufacture of instrument panel with partial pad - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad capable of reducing its cost by improving the manufacturing efficiency and improving the degree of freedoms of designing. SOLUTION: The method for manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad comprises the steps of previously forming a notch A of substantially V shape at a winding part 41 wound to semihard urethane foam 5 side at a skin 4 disposed at the peripheral end 9 of a pad 3 made of the skin 4 and the semihard urethane foam 5 and a product skin 43 folded from the winding at the end of the winding 41 as a thin part 42, placing the skin 4 and a panel base material 2 on foaming molds 11, 12, pouring the foam 5 in the cavity formed between the material 2 and the skin 4 to be foamed to integrate the pad 3 made of the skin 4 and the foam 5 at the material 2, then pulling the product skin 43 of the skin 4, and cutting to remove the product skin 43 at the thin part 42.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an instrument panel (commonly known as a dashboard) which is mounted on the front side of a driver's seat and a passenger seat of an automobile, more specifically, a pad partially on the surface of the panel. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad in which a groove is formed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an instrument panel has a cushioning pad (hereinafter referred to as a pad) for the purpose of aesthetic merchandise on the front side and safety at the time of collision, and a main purpose for storing instruments on the back side. And a rigid panel base material. In this structure, the pad is composed of a cushion layer formed by injecting and foaming polyurethane foam on the surface of a polyvinyl chloride-based or olefin-based sheet vacuum-formed or the surface of a polyvinyl chloride-based resin slush-molded. The material is mainly made of injection molded products such as PP (polypropylene) or ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) thermoplastic resin.

A pad having the entire surface of the panel base material attached thereto is called a "full pad", and a pad having a part of the surface of the panel base material attached thereto is called a "partial pad or half pad". ing. Therefore, whether the instrument panel is the full pad or the partial pad is a trade-off between economy and economy. If the full pad is used, the commodity is improved but the price is increased.

By the way, in recent years, the panel base material itself has been improved in the commercial property of the surface due to the improvement of the injection molding type graining (graining) technology and the coating technology, and the increased need for cost reduction is combined. Therefore, the needs for instrument panels with partial pads are expanding. Conventionally, as a method of manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad,
A method in which an insert metal fitting for the purpose of shape retention and attachment is put into urethane foam in advance to form a foam-molded pad, and this pad is later assembled to the panel base material with screws etc. (hereinafter referred to as the separation pad method) And a method of integrating a panel base material by injection foaming of urethane foam during pad molding (hereinafter referred to as an integral foaming method).

In this integral foaming method, since the cut surface of the skin and a part of the urethane foam is exposed at the peripheral edge of the pad, a cover for covering the exposed portion is provided in view of appearance and heat resistance. , Which requires a separate part of the pad, or as a method of achieving the appearance and performance of the peripheral edge of the pad only with the pad and the panel base material without using a separate part such as a cover. By foaming (for example, JP-A-54-58)
769, JP-A-54-58770),
Alternatively, as a method of integral foaming using a slush-molded skin, a slush-molded skin 4 trimmed in advance is set in a foam mold cavity, and then the panel base material 2 set in the foam core is closed. There is known a method (see FIG. 3) in which urethane foam is injected and foamed into a space formed between the skin 4 and the panel base material 2 to be integrated.

[0006]

However, among the ones described in the prior art, the separation pad system requires an insert fitting for retaining the shape of the pad and attaching it to the panel base material, and at the same time, it needs to be attached to the panel base material. Assembling is also necessary, which is an economically negative factor. Furthermore, there is a decrease in dimensional accuracy due to an error in assembling the pad and the panel base material, and abnormal noise due to vibration between the pad and the panel base material. I had a problem.

On the other hand, the method of covering the exposed portion of the peripheral edge portion of the pad in the integral foaming method requires a separate component for the cover, and the peripheral edge portion of the pad in the integral foaming method using the vacuum-molded skin. I was not yet satisfied with the appearance quality of the department. In addition, in the method of integral foaming using the slush-molded skin, since the end of the skin is trimmed, fixing the skin end to the foam mold, aligning the panel base material with the skin end, and covering the skin Manufacturing problems such as extrusion of urethane foam from the terminal part, and furthermore, in order to align and set the panel base material to the skin terminal part of the pad, the drawing angle of the skin terminal shape must be in the same direction, etc. It had a problem with design restrictions.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art. In the method of manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad using a skin by slush molding, a separate component such as a cover is required. In addition, there are few restrictions on the shape of the skin terminal and alignment of the skin set and panel base material, and there is little protrusion of urethane foam. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad that can achieve the above.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention partially integrates a slush-molded skin and a pad made of semi-rigid urethane foam on the surface of a panel base material made of a thermoplastic. In the method of manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad to be formed in, in the portion to be located at the peripheral edge of the pad, the winding portion to the semi-rigid urethane foam side and the tip of the winding portion as a thin portion in advance. The outer skin formed by forming a notch having a substantially V shape with the outer skin portion folded back from the rolled-up portion and the panel base material are placed on a foaming mold, and the space between the panel base material and the outer skin is placed. After injecting urethane foam into the cavity formed in and foaming it to integrate the pad made of skin and semi-rigid urethane foam on the panel base, Is obtained so as to cut and removed the product outer skin portion from the thin portion of the notch portion by pulling said product outer skin portion of the notch portion of the epidermis.

As the panel substrate in the present invention, an injection molded product made of polypropylene or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene thermoplastic resin is used, and a slush molded product made of polyvinyl chloride resin is used for the surface.

Further, according to the present invention, the outer skin portion of the outer skin, which is folded back toward the outer side of the product, is formed at a portion of the outer skin pad located at the peripheral end portion of the outer skin pad. The urethane foam does not flow out from the end of the skin because it can be sealed and set in a foamed mold by using the part, and the outer skin of the product is folded back from the wound part with the tip of the wound part being a thin part. After injecting urethane foam between the panel base material and the outer skin to foam and integrate it, the outer skin of the product that is the outside of the product is pulled so that the outer skin of the rolled-in part that is the product is urethane. It is adhered to the panel base material by foam, and the non-adhesive outer skin of the product outside the product is cut at the thin portion, and the peripheral end of the pad is the final product. Appearance of Te can be finished exhibit a.

If the end portion of the outer skin portion of the product is aligned with the flat portion of the panel base material, the appearance of the joint portion between the panel base material and the peripheral end portion of the pad is improved, and the panel base material is improved. Even if there is a slight misalignment of the material, the quality of the terminal alignment between the pad and the panel base material does not deteriorate, and there is no need to make the edge shapes of the outer skin in the same direction, which increases design flexibility. It can be further improved.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a method for manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an instrument panel with a partial pad showing an embodiment according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view of a main part of FIG.

In FIG. 1 (a), the dotted area is the instrument panel 1 with a partial pad in which the pad 3 is integrated, and the material of the panel base material 2 is
It is manufactured by the injection molding method of polypropylene containing filler, and the front defroster grill parts 6, 6 of the air blow-out windows related to air conditioning, the side defroster grill parts 7, 7, and the side part 8 are formed on the upper surface of the instrument panel 1. , 8 and the like do not have the above pad, and the panel base material 2 is responsible for the appearance quality.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the pad 3 has a skin 4 formed by slush molding a polyvinyl chloride resin.
And cushion material of semi-rigid urethane foam 5,
The panel base material 2 and the pad 3 are integrated by urethane bonding so that the pad 3 is partially placed on the panel base material 2. Since the peripheral edge portion 9 of the pad 3 is exposed, the appearance of this portion is an important portion that affects the commercial characteristics from the appearance.

Next, the manufacturing of the instrument panel 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described in the order of steps with reference to FIG. (Manufacture of Skin) As shown in FIG. 2A, the slush mold 10 for forming the skin 4 is made of Ni as in the conventional case.
An electroforming mold made by a (nickel) electroforming method is used.
The shape portion for forming the winding portion 41 of the skin 4 in the slush molding die 10 is the same as the final product shape, or is formed in a shape slightly opened (an angle of about 15 °) from the final shape, The width dimension (dimension in the winding direction) of the winding portion 41 is set to a length of several mm (3 to 6 mm), and a shape is formed in which the outer skin portion 43 of the product is folded back by the thin portion 42 that is a cut portion of the skin at the tip thereof. Form.
The portion for forming the rolled-in portion 41, the thin portion 42, and the outer skin portion 43 of the product in the outer skin 4 of the slush molding die 10 is formed in a V-shaped sharp edge shape, and has strength as an electric mold and contact with a human body. Considering safety at the time, the dimension in the thickness direction is 1 mm as shown in Fig. 2 (a).
A mold is made in a V shape with a size of about 60 °. When powdery polyvinyl chloride resin is slush molded by the slush molding die 10, the V-shaped tip of the slush molding die 10 has a small heat capacity of the die, and therefore the tip of the winding portion 41 as the skin 4 is It is thinner (about 0.2 mm) than the general part (about 1 mm),
Further, due to the sharp edge shape of the slush mold, as shown in FIG. 2B, a notch portion A in which the tip of the winding portion 41 in the skin 4 is a thin portion 42 is formed.

(Setting of Skin to Foam Mold Cavity) The skin 4 produced above is set to the foam mold cavity 11 as shown in FIG. 2 (c). This foam mold cavity 11
1m in diameter in the required area which is the corner of the product
m suction holes 11a, 11a are provided,
When the outer skin 4 is set in the foam mold cavity 11, the winding portion 41, the thin portion 42 serving as the cutting portion, and the outer skin portion 4 of the product
3 has a shape close to the V shape of the slush molding die 10. Next, when the outer skin end 44 of the product is sealed with the tape 13 or a clamp and degassed from the vacuum suction holes 11a, 11a, the winding portion 41 and the product The V-shaped portion formed by the outer skin portion 43 is in close contact with the slush molding die 10,
The epidermis 4 is set in the state shown in FIG.

(Integration of Panel Base Material and Outer Skin by Urethane Foam Injection Foaming) Next, the integration of the panel base material 2 and the outer skin 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (d). If the base material 2 is a polypropylene-based material, urethane foam will not adhere, so the pad 3
In the area where the semi-rigid urethane foam 5 is to be attached, that is, a portion to which the semi-rigid urethane foam 5 is to be adhered, a primer is applied or flame treatment is applied in order to impart the adhesiveness of the urethane foam, and the panel substrate 2 is foamed. After the mold core 12 is set and fixed, the semi-rigid urethane foam 5 is injected into the cavity formed between the panel base material 2 and the skin 4. The injected semi-rigid urethane foam 5 is foamed in the space between the surface skin 4 and the panel base material 2, the panel base material 2 and the surface skin 4 are integrated by urethane adhesion, and when curing is completed, the surface of the panel base material 2 is A molded product of an instrument panel with a partial pad in which a pad 3 made of a skin 4 and a semi-rigid urethane foam 5 is formed can be obtained.

(Trimming of Skin) The panel substrate 2 having the pad 3 integrated therein is removed from the foaming mold by the process described with reference to FIG. 2 (d), and then the skin is removed as shown in FIG. 2 (e). Four
When the portion of the outer skin end 44 of the product is pulled, the outer skin 4
Is cut from the thin portion 42 at the tip of the winding portion 41 to remove the outer skin portion 43 of the product, and the peripheral edge portion 9 of the pad 3 shown in FIG. 1B is finished. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2 (d), urethane foam may leak to the outside of the product only slightly, but the leaked urethane foam burr 14 is urethane on the surface of the panel base material 2 in this portion. Since it has not been treated to give adhesiveness to the outer skin part 4
It adheres to the portion 3 and is removed all at once at the same time as the outer skin portion 43 of the product.

The peripheral end portion 9 of the pad 3 after trimming and removing the outer skin portion 43 of the product has a slight gap with respect to the surface of the panel substrate 2 as shown in FIG. 1 (b). Is a substantially uniform gap having a thickness of about 1 mm of the outer skin 4 formed by slush molding, and the direction of the gap is positioned at an angle that is difficult to see when mounted on an automobile, so that it does not impair the commercial appearance.

In the examples of the above-mentioned embodiments, the polypropylene-based panel base material has been described. However, depending on the use of the primer and the release material on the surface of the panel base material, AB
It is also possible to use an S-based panel base material, and the size and angle of the notch portion A having a substantially V shape are also not limited because they are influenced by the physical properties of the skin material by slush molding and the molding conditions of slush molding. .

[0022]

In the manufacturing method according to the present invention, the outer skin portion of the outer skin, which is folded back in the outward direction of the product, is formed in the portion of the outer pad located at the peripheral edge of the pad. Even if the position of the panel base material shifts a little, there is almost no effect on the appearance of the peripheral edge of the pad, and even if the panel base material is injected with urethane foam and the mold is roughly closed, the skin may slip in. It is possible to manufacture products with stable quality that are unlikely to occur.Furthermore, foaming work such as setting the skin on the foaming mold, setting the panel base material, and injecting urethane foam can be performed as easily as the conventional full pad integrated foaming work. . In addition, the outer surface of the product is folded back from the wound part with the tip of the wound part being a thin part, and after the urethane foam is injected and foamed and integrated, the part of the outer skin part outside the product is pulled. As a result, the outer skin of the product is cut and removed from the thin portion, so there is no need for a trimming jig in the trimming of the skin in the finishing process, and there is no need for deburring urethane foam. It is possible to easily and inexpensively manufacture an instrument panel with a partial pad.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an instrument panel with a partial pad showing an embodiment of a manufacturing method of the present invention,
(B) is a sectional view of a main part of (a).

FIG. 2 (a) is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an example of a process for manufacturing a skin by slush molding in the method for manufacturing an instrument panel of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (b) is a main part of a skin molded by the process of (a). Sectional view, (c) is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a state of setting a skin in a foaming step in the method for manufacturing an instrument panel of the present invention, (d) is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a step of injecting urethane foam in the foaming step, ( FIG. 3E is a sectional view of an essential part showing a trimming step of the skin.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing an example of a conventional instrument panel (with a partial pad).

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Instrument panel 2 ... Panel base material 2a ... Step part 3 ... Pad 4 ... Skin 41 ... Rolling-up part 42 ... Thin part 43 ... Outer skin part A ... Notch part 44 ... Outer skin end 5 ... Semi-hard urethane foam 6 ... Front defroster grill part 7 ... Side defroster grill part 8 ... Side part 9 ... Perimeter terminal part 10 ... Slush mold 11 ... Foam cavity 11a ... Vacuum suction hole 12 ... Foam core 13 ... Tape 14 ... Urethane foam flash

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location B29K 105: 04 B29L 9:00 31:30

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad, wherein a slush-molded skin and a pad made of semi-rigid urethane foam are partially formed integrally on the surface of a panel base material made of a thermoplastic resin. In a portion to be located at the peripheral end portion of the, a substantially V-shaped portion having a winding portion to the semi-rigid urethane foam side and a product outer skin portion in which the leading end of the winding portion is thinned and folded back from the winding portion in advance. A panel base material is formed by placing the skin having the notch portion formed thereon and the panel base material on a foaming mold, and injecting and foaming urethane foam into a cavity formed between the panel base material and the skin material. After integrating the outer skin and the pad made of semi-rigid urethane foam, pull the outer skin portion of the product in the notch portion of the outer skin A method for manufacturing an instrument panel with a partial pad, wherein the outer skin portion of the product is cut and removed from the thin portion of the notch by.