Patent Application
20160107346
This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0139302 filed on Oct. 15, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
1. Field
Exemplary embodiments relate to a stiffener for insert-molding that can improve durability by insert-molding a stiffener and facilitate a molding operation by restricting a position of the stiffener at the time of insert-molding the stiffener, and a manufacturing method of a crash pad using the same.
2. Discussion of the Background
In general, a crash pad is deployed at front portions of a driver's seat and a passenger's seat. Foam (i.e., urethane foam) is filled in the crash pad to protect passenger by absorbing impact when the vehicle collides with an object in an accident. The crash pad includes a core and skin with the foam between the core and the skin. When manufacturing the crash pad, the skin is set on a lower foam mold, the core is set on an upper mold, and a foam liquid (i.e., urethane) is injected between the core and the skin while the upper mold is opened or the upper mold and the lower mold are closed to foam-mold the foam.
Typical manufacturing methods of the crash pad include a foam layer that is thicker according to a mold angle of a core injection product. As a result, the crash pad lacks stiffness especially when a consumer presses the vicinities of the skin and a center fascia. More importantly, when an external force is applied (i.e., an upswing or a down swing), the skin and the foam are easily separate (i.e., a layer separation phenomenon occurs).
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the inventive concept, and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Exemplary embodiments provide a stiffener for insert-molding that can improve the durability of crash pad by insert-molding a stiffener and facilitate a molding operation by restricting a position of the stiffener at the time of insert-molding the stiffener, and a manufacturing method of a crash pad using the same.
Additional aspects will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and, in part, will be apparent from the disclosure, or may be learned by practice of the inventive concept.
An exemplary embodiment discloses a stiffener for insert-molding including a stiffening bar for insert-molding and insert setting members provided on an outer periphery of the stiffening bar at a predetermined interval.
An exemplary embodiment also discloses a method of manufacturing a crash pad, including setting a skin on a lower mold, setting a stiffener that matches a skin corner at the skin corner while the skin is set on the lower mold, and injecting a foam liquid between the skin set on the lower mold and a core set on an upper mold while the stiffener is set at the skin corner.
The foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the claimed subject matter.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the inventive concept, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept, and, together with the description, serve to explain principles of the inventive concept.
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various exemplary embodiments. It is apparent, however, that various exemplary embodiments may be practiced without these specific details or with one or more equivalent arrangements. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring various exemplary embodiments.
In the accompanying figures, the spacing, size, and relative sizes of elements, regions, etc., may be exaggerated for clarity and descriptive purposes. Also, like reference numerals denote like elements.
For the purposes of this disclosure, “at least one of X, Y, and Z” and “at least one selected from the group consisting of X, Y, and Z” may be construed as X only, Y only, Z only, or any combination of two or more of X, Y, and Z, such as, for instance, XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element, component, region, and/or section from another element, component, region, and/or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, and/or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, and/or section without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure.
Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for descriptive purposes, and, thereby, to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the drawings. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of an apparatus in use, operation, and/or manufacture in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if the apparatus in the drawings is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Furthermore, the apparatus may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and, as such, the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms, “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Moreover, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is a part. Terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.
In detail, the stiffening bar 110 may be formed in a bent shape that is deployed at a skin corner 231 of a crash pad in the insert-molding (shown in
The insert setting members 120 may be provided on the outer periphery of the stiffening bar 110 at predetermined intervals. The insert setting members 120 may fit in the outer periphery of the stiffening bar 110. The insert setting members 120 may be molded integrally with the outer periphery of the stiffening bar 110.
The insert setting members 120 may have a shape that matches the skin corner 231 so as to be strongly and closely coupled to the skin corner 231 (shown in
The foam 250 may include polyurethane (PU).
The insert setting members 120 may include at least one of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), an ABS based material, and a polyurethane (PU). Using the PC based material and the ABS based material as the materials of the insert setting members 120 may facilitate adhesion in urethane foaming. Insert setting members 120 are not limited to specific materials and may adopt any injection molding material.
Next, a manufacturing method of the crash pad using the stiffener for insert-molding will be described.
More specifically, at the time of setting the skin 230 and the core 240 on the mold, the skin 230 is first set on the lower mold 210 (not shown). Next, the core 240 may be set on an upper mold (not shown) facing the lower mold 210 (not shown). Alternatively, the core 240 is first set on the upper mold followed by the skin set on the opposite lower mold 210.
While the skin 230 and the core 240 are set, the stiffener 100 of
Since the stiffener 100 set at the skin corner 231 is the same as that of
Both close foaming and open foaming are available at the time of injecting the foam liquid between the skin 230 and the core 240 set on the mold for the foam molding of the foam 250. In the close foaming, the foam liquid is injected while the upper mold and the lower mold are closed. In the open foaming, the foam liquid is injected while the upper mold is opened.
A magnet 260 is insert-molded at a peripheral portion of the skin corner 231 of the lower mold 210. When the magnet is insert-molded in the lower mold 210, a position of the stiffener 100 set at the skin corner 231 may be restricted by the magnetic force of the magnet 260. As a result, a molding operation is simpler. One or a more magnets 260 may be insert-molded in the lower mold 210 at the time of manufacturing the lower mold 210.
According to exemplary embodiments, durability of a crash pad can be significantly improved by insert-molding a stiffener during the manufacturing process of a crash pad.
A molding operation can be facilitated by restricting a position of the stiffener at the time of insert-molding the stiffener.
Although certain exemplary embodiments and implementations have been described herein, other embodiments and modifications will be apparent from this description. Accordingly, the inventive concept is not limited to such embodiments, but rather to the broader scope of the presented claims and various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2014-0139302 | Oct 2014 | KR | national |
