Mold, method for manufacturing molded foam body, and molded foam body

• US 10,099,409 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2013
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Archem, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
• Inventors: Kuroki, Hiroyuki, Iwai, Teruo, Yonezawa, Taisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Gupta, Yogendra N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Luk, Emmanuel S
• Application Number:
  US14/378,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20150001754A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,078 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/0038 with sealing means or the like seals on envelopes used in tyre retreading B29D30/542; for injection moulding footwear B29D35/0045
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/12 with incorporated means for positioning inserts, e.g. labels positioning reinforcements B29C70/541
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 39/10 incorporating preformed parts or layers, e.g. casting around inserts or for coating articles coating a surface by casting in general B05D1/30, B29C39/126 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 44/12 Incorporating or moulding on preformed parts, e.g. inserts or reinforcements
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 44/143 Means for positioning the lining in the mould in general B29C33/12
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2101/00 Use of unspecified macromolecular compounds as moulding material use of unspecified rubbers B29K2021/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2301/00 Use of unspecified macromolecular compounds as reinforcement use of unspecified rubbers B29K2221/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/771 Seats
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249953 Composite having voids in a component [e.g., porous, cellular, etc.]

Abstract

A mold that: makes it possible to manufacture a molded foam body wherein a reinforcing member extends to a portion of an outer face of the molded body main body that corresponds to a parting line in the inner face of the cavity of the mold; and prevents molding problems stemming from the reinforcing member getting into the aforementioned parting line. Also: a method for manufacturing a molded foam body using the aforementioned mold; and a molded foam body manufactured thereby. A recessed step portion (6) that faces the cavity (4) of the aforementioned mold (1) is provided in the mating face (3a) of at least one part (3) of said mold (1), at at least a portion of the parting line (P) (formed in the inner face of the cavity (4)) adjacent to which the reinforcing member (22) is disposed. Said recessed step portion (6) is designed such that if the reinforcing member (22) gets in between the mating faces (2a, 3a) at the parting line (P) when the mold is fastened, said reinforcing member (22) can escape into the recessed step portion (6).

Claims

1. A mold for manufacturing a molded foam body including a molded body main body comprising a foamable synthetic resin, and a reinforcement member disposed across at least a portion of an outer face of the molded body main body and integrated with the molded body main body, wherein:

the mold includes at least an upper mold and a lower mold, a cavity surrounded by the upper mold and the lower mold is formed by fastening the upper mold and the lower mold together, and a parting line is formed by joining mating faces of each of the upper mold and the lower mold together at an inner face of the cavity;

when manufacturing the molded foam body, the reinforcement member is configured to be disposed across a cavity inner face of the upper mold prior to fastening the mold, and due to such placement, to be disposed so as to be adjacent to at least a portion of the parting line inside the cavity;

a recessed step portion facing inside the cavity is provided only at the mating face of the lower mold, is formed substantially parallel to and along the parting line, is distinguished from the cavity, at least a portion of the parting line that is disposed adjacent to the reinforcement member, and, in a fastened state of the mold, the recessed step portion forms a space between a bottom face of the recessed step portion and the mating face of the upper mold that forms the parting line, the mating face being a lowermost face of the upper mold; and

the recessed step portion is configured such that the reinforcement member is configured to escape inside the recessed step portion in a case in which the reinforcement member enters between the mating faces of the parting line during mold the fastening.

2. The mold of claim 1, wherein a width of the recessed step portion in an extension direction of the mating face, and in a direction towards and away from the cavity, is from 1 mm to 10 mm.

3. The mold of claim 1, wherein:

the reinforcement member comprises a non-woven fabric with a basis weight of from 0.05 kg/m² to 0.2 kg/m²; and

a depth of the recessed step portion from the mating face is from 0.2 mm to 3 mm.

4. The mold claim 1, wherein a seal member is provided more to an opposite side from the cavity side than the recessed step portion in order to seal between the mating faces.

5. The mold for manufacturing a molded foam body of claim 1, wherein the lowermost face of the upper mold, which forms the parting line, is in the same plane as the cavity inner face of the upper mold, which is located above the recessed step portion.

6. The mold for manufacturing a molded foam body of claim 1, wherein the mold consists of one upper mold and one lower mold.

7. A manufacturing method for manufacturing a molded foam body including a molded body main body formed from a foamable synthetic resin, and a reinforcement member disposed across at least a portion of an outer face of the molded body main body and integrated with the molded body main body, using the mold of claim 1, the manufacturing method comprising:

a reinforcement member placement process, in which the reinforcement member is disposed across a cavity inner face of at least one molding mold prior to fastening the mold, and when this placement is performed, disposing the reinforcement member so as to be adjacent to at least a portion of the parting line inside the cavity; and

a foam molding process, in which the mold is fastened after the reinforcement member placement process, and the foamable synthetic resin raw material is foamed inside the cavity.

8. The manufacturing method for a molded foam body of claim 7, wherein:

in the reinforcement member placement process, the reinforcement member is disposed such that an outer peripheral edge of the reinforcement member contacts the parting line, or such that a spacing between the outer peripheral edge of the reinforcement member and the parting line is 5 mm or less.