Powder slush molding system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11396116-B2
Application number	US-201916284236-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 25, 2019
Priority date	Feb 27, 2018
Publication date	Jul 26, 2022
Grant date	Jul 26, 2022

Abstract

Disclosed is a powder slush molding system that molds a slush skin by melting and adhering a powder resin material to an inner surface of a mold that is heated. The powder slush molding system includes a heating device, a rocking device, a cooling device, a demolding device, and a transfer device configured to transfer the mold between these devices. The cooling device includes a cooling bath and a table configured to turn upside down vertically above the cooling bath. The mold fixedly placed on an upper surface of the table faces the cooling bath side when the table is turned upside down. The table is configured to allow the mold to be placed also on a back surface of the table. The back surface faces upward when the table is turned upside down.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A powder slush molding system that molds a slush skin by melting and adhering a powder resin material to an inner surface of a mold that is heated, the powder slush molding system comprising:
a heating device configured to heat the mold using a heating furnace;
a rocking device configured to rock the mold, the rocking device configured to rock the mold in a state where the powder resin material is supplied to the mold that is heated;
a cooling device configured to cool the mold to which the powder resin material is melted and adhered;
a demolding device configured to remove the slush skin from the mold that is cooled; and
a transfer device configured to transfer the mold between the heating device, the rocking device, the cooling device, and the demolding device, wherein:
the cooling device includes a cooling bath and a table configured to turn upside down vertically above the cooling bath;
the mold fixedly placed on an upper surface of the table faces a cooling bath side when the table is turned upside down; and
the table is configured to allow the mold to be placed on a back surface of the table, the back surface facing upward when the table being turned upside down, wherein:
the cooling device is coupled to the demolding device; and
the demolding device includes a frame having an upper surface that is flush with the upper surface of the table and with the back surface of the table turned upside down, the frame configured to allow the mold to be placed on the upper surface of the frame, the powder slush molding system further comprising a transport device configured to move the mold between the table and the frame.

2. The powder slush molding system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the table has a shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and is configured to be rotatable about an axis passing through centers of a pair of side surfaces, facing each other, of the rectangular parallelepiped;
a first guide for positioning the mold is provided on an upper surface side of the table; and
a second guide for positioning the mold is provided on a back surface side of the table at a position that is the same as a positioning position of the mold on the upper surface of the table.

3. The powder slush molding system according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling device is located between the transfer device and the demolding device.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Iida Tomoya

Classifications

• B29C41/003 Primary

  characterised by the choice of material · CPC title

• B29C41/18 Primary

  Slush casting, i.e. pouring moulding material into a hollow mould with excess material being poured off · CPC title

• B29C41/34

  Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations · CPC title

• B29C41/42

  Removing articles from moulds, cores or other substrates {(B29C33/444 and B29C37/0017 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B29K2105/251

  Particles, powder or granules (expandable particles B29K2105/046) · CPC title