Abstract:
A molding method and apparatus capable of reliably removing a molded product without deformation even if the product has a shape difficult to be removed, such as a shape having a plurality of vertical portions. The method of molding a product by using a film sheet, includes the steps of: adapting to operate a pair of film pushing rings disposed facing upper and lower metal molds of a molding apparatus for thermally molding a product by using a film sheet, independently from the upper and lower metal molds; attracting and attaching a molded product to one of the upper and lower metal molds; fixing the ring on the side of the one metal mold; attracting and attaching a pickup jig to the molded product in tight contact therewith, the pickup jig having a surface shape matching the surface shape of the molded product; releasing the attraction and attachment by the one metal mold and moving the pickup jig to displace the molded product from the one metal mold; and moving the fixed ring to an original position.

Description:
This is a divisional application of Ser. No. 08/757,707, filed Nov. 27, 1996 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,724, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/309,328, filed Sep. 20, 1994, now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relater to a molding method and apparatus using a film sheet as a molding material, and more particularly to a molding method and apparatus for molding a deep drawing product with two walls spaced by a small gap. 
     2. Related Background Art 
     The present applicant has proposed a molding method and apparatus for molding an acoustic diaphragm by using a poly-para-phenyleneterephthalamide (hereinafter called PPTA) film suitable for deep drawing and excellent in acoustic physical properties (Japanese Patent Application No.5-107368). 
     This method and apparatus will be explained with reference to FIGS. 9 to  12 . A PPTA gel film is prepared which contains water at least 50% or more, or preferably 80% or more, as a swelling substance and has a thickness of about 140 μm. The swelling water is evaporated in an oven at about 180° C. to obtain an amorphous hard film F which is not drawn and has a density lower than a predetermined value. This film is pulled and placed between upper and lower metal molds as shown in FIG.  9 . The upper metal mold  1   u  is heated to 380° C. and the lower metal mold  1   b  is heated to 250° C. Under this condition, the film is pressed for about 30 seconds and thermally fixed. Thereafter, a changeover valve  3  of the upper metal mold  1   u  is switched to the side of an exhauster  5 . While the exhauster  5  is operated, a cylinder S is raised and the metal molds are released. Thereafter, an exhauster  5  of the lower metal mold  1   b  is stopped and a valve  3  is switched to the exhauster  5  to operate it, and the thermally molded product is removed from the metal molds. 
     This molding method and apparatus are suitable for molding a product having a relatively simple shape, for example, an ordinary dome-shaped or cone-shaped loudspeaker diaphragm, as shown in FIG.  9 . However, with this molding method, it is difficult to remove a molded product smoothly from the metal molds, if the product has a complicated shape such as shown in FIG.  10 . This diaphragm has a cone C, a voice coil bobbin bo, and a chamber Cb integrally molded. A voice coil VC is inserted into the bobbin bo having a slit with a gap I of about 0.3 to 0.2 mm. This product is a deep drawing product having a plurality of vertical portions (bobbin bo) spaced by a very small gap. 
     A film molding apparatus generally uses film pushing rings  6   u  and  6   b  depending on the position relationship between a film and metal molds and the shape, material, and the like of a product to be molded. In the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 11, the rings  6   u  and  6   b  are mounted on the upper and lower metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  by springs Sp, and they move as the metal molds are moved up and down. 
     This motion will be detailed with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. While the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  are being released, the lower ring  6   b  supports the film F pulled to an intermediate position between the upper and lower molds  1   u  and  1   b  which is a predetermined position not allowing the film F to contact the lower metal mold  1   b.  As the upper metal mold  1   u  lowers, the upper ring  6   u  lowers. As shown, the upper and lower rings  6   u  and  6   b  are disposed projecting from the upper and lower metal molds  1   u  and  1   b.  Therefore, as the upper metal mold  1   u  lowers, the upper ring  6   u  and lower ring  6   b  abut together to clamp the film F before the upper metal mold  1   u  abuts the lower metal mold  1   b.    
     As the upper metal mold  1   u  further lowers, the springs Sp mounted on the rings  6   u  and  6   b  are compressed and the rings  6   u  and  6   b  clamping the film F lower. Thereafter, the clamped film F is pressed by the upper and lower metal molds  1   u  and  1   b.  As shown in FIG. 11, during this pressing, the rings  6   u  and  6   b  are near at the intermediate position of the outer walls of the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  pressing the film F. Since the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  are being heated to predetermined temperatures by heater blocks  2 , the film F is thermally molded. After the film F is pressed for a predetermined time, the upper mold rises and released from the lower mold. As the compression forces of the springs Sp become weak, the rings  6   u  and  6   b  start rising to retain the initial position. As the upper ring  6   u  further rises toward the upper metal mold  1   u , the upper metal mold  1   u  detaches from the unmolded outer circumference of the molded product, i.e., the film F. 
     The motion of the rings  6   u  and  6   b  described above poses no practical problem so long as the shape of a product is simple. However, in the case of a product having a complicated shape such as a plurality of vertical portions described above, the vertical portions, particularly those of the bobbin bo, rise in tight contact with the upper metal mold  1   u , resulting in a defective product. 
     In order to deal with the above disadvantages, the present applicant has proposed a molding method whereby a product is attracted and attached to the upper metal mold  1   u  or lower metal mold l b  to remove it from the metal molds. If a product is attracted and attached to the lower metal mold  1   b,  it can be removed smoothly without a tight contact of the upper metal mold  1   u  with the vertical portions, when the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  are released (when the upper metal mold  1   u  rises). 
     However, if this approach is used with the conventional apparatus in which the motion of the rings  6   u  and  6   b  follows the motion of the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b , the rings  6   u  and  6   b  start moving when the upper metal mold  1   u  is completely removed from the lower metal mold  1   b.  In this state, the rings  6   u  and  6   b  move while clamping the film F. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, the outer circumference of the product is raised by the rings  6   u  and  6   b,  resulting in a defective product. 
     On the other hand, if a product is attracted and attached to the upper metal mold  1   u , a defective product is formed which is similar to a product formed by using an approach of not attracting and attaching the product to the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b.  In order to deal with this phenomenon, we have tried to remove a product by blowing air from suction holes formed in the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  immediately before the rings  6   u  and  6   b  are moved. This approach is very effective for a product having a simple shape. However, in the case of a product having a plurality of vertical portions described above, a defective product is formed by a local deformation, for example, a deformation of the cone C although the chamber Cb is normal. 
     Specifically, a product with a plurality of vertical portions has a plurality of partial products partitioned by the vertical portions. A local deformation is inevitable unless a uniform pressure is applied at the same time to each partial product constituting the chamber Cb and cone C. Although this phenomenon can be settled to some degree if the position, number, diameter, and the like of air blowing holes are devised, a defective occurrence factor becomes large in the case of mass production of molded products. 
     The reason for this is as follows. A tight contact state of a product to the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  changes with time if there is a fine variation of thicknesses, materials, and the like of the film F. Therefore, air blow matching each tight contact state is required. However, it is difficult to detect a tight contact state and adjust an air pressure so as to follow a change in the tight contact state. This approach is therefore unable to be realized in practice. Furthermore, a constant air blow results in a defective product with a local deformation. 
     The rings  6   u  and  6   b  are very effective for pressing shrinks of the film F formed during the molding. It is necessary, however, to optimize the inner diameter shapes of the rings  6   u  and  6   b,  the clamping positions, and the like, depending on the shape of a product to be molded. However, the conventional apparatus has the rings  6   u  and  6   b  directly mounted on ring supports  8 , and there is a small space near at the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  being unable to use jigs. As a result, in replacing the rings  6   u  and  6   b,  the ring supports  8  are dismounted from the base side and the springs  6   u  and  6   b  are dismounted, complicating the replacement work. Mounting and dismounting the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  and other works are possible only after the rings  6   u  and  6   b  are dismounted, complicating the maintenance work. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described disadvantages of the conventional molding method and apparatus and provide a molding method and apparatus capable of reliably removing a molded product without deformation even if the product has a shape difficult to be removed, such as a shape having a plurality of vertical portions. 
     In order to achieve the above object of the invention, there is provided a method of molding a product using a film sheet including the steps of: adapting to operate a pair of film pushing rings disposed facing upper and lower metal molds of a molding apparatus for thermally molding a product by using a film sheet, independently from the upper and lower metal molds; attracting and attaching a molded product to one of the upper and lower metal molds; fixing said ring on the side of the one metal mold; attracting and attaching a pickup jig to the molded product in tight contact therewith, the pickup jig having a surface shape matching the surface shape of the molded product; releasing the attraction and attachment by the one metal mold and moving the pickup jig to displace the molded product from the one metal mold; and moving the fixed ring to an original position. The pickup jig may be cooled while picking up the molded product by the pickup jig, thereby increasing the strength of the molded product to be removed and providing a more reliable shape of a molded product of a general thermoplastic film sheet. A frame of the film sheet to be next molded can be pulled between the upper and lower metal molds by moving the pickup jig attracting and attaching the molded product. The film sheet for molding an acoustic diaphragm may be a poly-para-phenyleneterephthalamide film sheet formed from a a gel film containing water at least 50% or more, or preferably 80% or more, as a swelling substance by evaporating the water to obtain an amorphous hard film sheet which is not drawn and has a density lower than a predetermined value. A product to be molded may be a deep drawing product having walls facing each other by a small gap therebetween, such as an acoustic diaphragm. 
     If the film sheet is a thermoplastic film sheet, the molded product can be removed from the one metal mold without cooling the one metal mold and maintaining the molding temperature. 
     In addition to the PPTA film, other films such as a thermoplastic resin film sheet, a thermosetting resin film, a woven cloth sheet, and an unwoven cloth sheet may also be used. 
     A product to be molded may be a deep drawing product having walls facing each other by a small gap therebetween, such as a acoustic diaphragm. 
     The molding apparatus for molding a product by using a film sheet includes: a suction/exhaustion mechanism for sucking and exhausting air from a hole or slit opening in a molding surface of one of upper and lower metal molds; a pair of film pushing rings disposed facing the upper and lower metal molds and adapted to operate independently from the upper and lower metal molds; and a pickup jig movable disposed and having a surface shape matching the surface shape of the molded product. 
     The film pushing rings are adapted to be removable in the direction other than the direction of clamping the film pushing rings. 
     In releasing the metal molds after the molding, the molded product is attracted and attached to one of the upper and lower metal molds, and the ring on the side of the one metal mold is fixed and is unable to move. With this arrangement, a deformation to be caused by a motion of the ring can be avoided. After the complete release of the metal molds, the pickup jig attracts and attaches the finished molded product, moves to the outside of the press machine, and removes it from the metal mold. At this time, the ring moves to the initial position and enters a standby state. 
     For the maintenance, the film pushing rings are adapted to be removable in the direction other than the direction of clamping the film pushing rings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevational cross sectional view of a molding apparatus for molding a product by using a film sheet according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a side cross sectional view of the molding apparatus in which a film sheet is pulled and placed on a metal mold. 
     FIG. 3A is a side view showing the mounting of the upper and lower rings. 
     FIG. 3B is a partial front view of the lower ring and mount bases of FIG.  3 A. 
     FIG. 3C is a partial perspective view showing the mount structure of a material pressing ring. 
     FIG. 4 is a side cross sectional view showing a film thermal press and mold state. 
     FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a release state of the upper metal mold wherein the lower ring is fixed by a lock cylinder and the product is attracted and attached to the lower metal mold. 
     FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a tight contact state of a pickup jig to a product while the product is attracted and attached to the lower metal mold. 
     FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an upward removal of the product attracted and attached to the lower metal mold. 
     FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state wherein the pickup jig is removed, the product is transported outside of the metal molds, and a new film sheet frame is pulled and placed on the metal mold. 
     FIG. 9 is a side cross sectional view of a diaphragm molding apparatus proposed by the present applicant. 
     FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of a diaphragm having a cone, a chamber, a voice coil, and the like integrally formed. 
     FIG. 11 is a front cross sectional view of a conventional film molding apparatus to which the diaphragm molding apparatus proposed by the present applicant is applied. 
     FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view showing the main part of a conventional film molding apparatus and explaining disadvantages associated with a diaphragm having a cone, a chamber, and a bobbin integrally formed. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of a method of molding a product by using a film sheet according to the present invention will be described in connection with a molding apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to  8 . Like elements to those of the conventional elements described with FIGS. 9 to  12  are represented by using identical reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. 
     As shown in the front elevational cross sectional view of FIG.  1  and the side cross sectional view of FIG. 2, a molding machine has an upper metal mold  1   u  and a lower metal mold  1   b  mounted on heater blocks  2  which heat the upper and lower metal molds  1   u  and  1   b.  In this embodiment, the upper metal mold  1   u  is mounted on the front end side of a rod S 1  of a press cylinder S, and the lower metal mold  1   b  is mounted on the base B side of the press machine. 
     The upper and lower metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  are formed with fine holes or slits  1   h  as shown in FIG.  1 . In this embodiment, holes  1   h  in the lower metal mold  1   b  are communicating with the outside of the lower metal mold  1   b  as shown in FIG. 2, and are coupled via a changeover valve  3  to a suction device  4  and an exhauster  5 . Holes  1   h  and the like of the upper metal mold  1   u  are used for exhausting air between a film F and the upper metal mold  1   u  during the molding, so as not to form a defective product. 
     The shape of a product to be molded is similar to that shown in FIG. 10. A diaphragm has a cone shape whose diameter is 25.4 Mm. A dome-shaped chamber Cb has a diameter of 11.65 mm is formed at the center of the diaphragm. A falling portion, i.e., a diaphragm guide portion C 1  having a depth of 2 mm, is formed at the cone outer circumference. An overlap portion C 2  having a width of 2 mm is formed extending horizontally from the lower end of the guide portion C 1  to the outer circumference of the diaphragm. A voice coil portion bo is formed which is defined by a gap I having a width of 0.22 mm between the inner circumference of the cone C and the outer circumference (generally called a neck) of the chamber Cb, by a falling portion having a depth of 2 mm and formed at the gap I, and by the bottom portion having a radius of 0.11 mm. The above elements form an integral diaphragm. The falling portion of the voice coil is similar to the vertical portion described with the conventional apparatus. 
     A film pushing ring of this embodiment includes an upper ring  6   u  and a lower ring  6   b  mounted on a pair of ring mount bases  9   u  and  9   b  as shown in FIG.  1 . As shown in FIG. 3C, for the maintenance, grooves  91  are formed in the mount bases  9   u  and  9   b  at the inner edges thereof, and the rings  6   u  and  6   b  are formed with projections  61  at the edges thereof corresponding to the grooves  91 . The rings  6   u  and  6   b  are mounted on the mount bases  9   u  and  9   b  by sliding them in the arrow direction shown in FIG. 3, and fixed thereto by screws T. In this embodiment, four support rods  8  are mounted on the mount base  9   u  of the upper ring  6   u  at one ends thereof, and mounted on a support rod mount plate  11  mounted via ball bushes  12  on guide posts  10 . Coil springs Sp are fitted on the support rods  8 . The mount bases  9   b  mounting the lower ring  6   b  are extended outwardly as shown in FIG. 1 to mount them on the guide posts  10  by using ball bushes  12 . Springs are fitted on the guide posts  10  under the ball bushes. Air cylinders (hereinafter called lock cylinders Rs) are disposed above the lower ring mount bases  9   b  at opposite ends thereof. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, reference numeral  7  represents a pickup jig. As shown in FIG. 2, it has a surface shape matching a product to be molded. In this embodiment, the pickup jig has an attraction/attachment surface matching the cone C and chamber Cb at the bottom thereof. Holes  7   h  (having a diameter of 1 mm in this embodiment) are formed in the pickup jig as shown in FIG.  2 . The holes  7   h  include eight holes formed in the overlap portion near at its central area at an angular interval of 45 degrees, and one hole formed at the apex of the chamber Cb. The holes  7   h  communicate with a suction device (not shown) mounted at the outside of the jig  7 . An available film transport device is worked to mount an arm A shown in FIG. 2, and the pickup jig  7  is mounted at the bottom of the arm A. Cooled air or fluid may be circulated in the pickup jig  7  or air may be blown to the surface of the pickup jig  7 , to thereby cool the pickup jig  7 . By cooling the pickup jig  7 , it becomes possible to cool a molded product attracted and attached to the jig and improve the strength of the molded product to be removed. This cooling effect is great particularly for a general thermoplastic film sheet, providing more stable molded products. The press machine and the above-described various devices are sequentially controlled by programs. 
     The film F used by this embodiment is a PPTA film having a merchandise name “ARAMICA #1000”. This film is similar to the above-described conventional film. The film F is formed by the following manner. First a PPTA gel film is formed which contains water at least 50% or more, or preferably 80% or more, as a swelling substance and has a thickness of about 140 μm. The swelling water is evaporated in an oven at about 180° C. to obtain an amorphous hard film F which is not drawn and has a density lower than a predetermined value, to obtain a hard film having a ductility of about 70% and a finished thickness of about 25 μm. 
     This film F is cut to obtain a film roll Fr having a width of 60 mm which is pulled and placed between the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  as shown in FIG.  2  and pressed as shown in FIG. 4. A press time is about 15 seconds, and the upper and lower metal molds are heated in advance to 380° C. After the molding, the film is thermally fixed and crystallized to obtain predetermined properties of the film F. It is obvious that the rings  6   u  and  6   b  operate in the manner similar to the conventional molding apparatus. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, in releasing the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  after the molding, the lock cylinders Rs are first operated to project the rods R 1  of the cylinders Rs to push the opposite ends of the lower ring mount bases  9   b.  The lock cylinders Rs are therefore fixed at this position, i.e., at the lowest position of the lower ring  6   b.  Thereafter, the changeover valve  3  of the lower metal mold  1   b  is switched to the suction device  4  side. While the suction device  4  is operated, the rod S 1  of the cylinder S is raised to raise the upper metal mold  1   u . Since the suction device  4  is operating, as the upper metal mold  1   u  is raised, it is released while the molded product is attracted and attached to the lower metal mold  1   b  and the lower ring  6   b  is fixed. 
     Under this condition, the film transport device is operated to move the pickup jig  7  mounted on the bottom of the arm A to the position just above the molded product. Then the pickup jig  7  is lowered. Since the pickup jig  7  and the lower metal mold  1   b  are positioned concentrically, as the pickup jig  7  is lowered, the surface thereof is attracted and attached to the molded product which is sandwiched between the lower metal mold  1   b  and pickup jig  7 . At this stage, the changeover valve  3  of the lower metal mold  1   b  is switched to the exhauster  5  side. Next, the suction device coupled to the pickup jig  7  is operated to raise the pickup jig  7  as shown in FIG.  7 . In this case, the exhauster  5  of the lower metal mold  1   b  is operated instantaneously when the pickup jig  7  starts rising so that the molded product can be reliably attracted and attached to the pickup jig  7  and can be removed from the lower metal mold  1   b  without any deformation of the molded product during the rise of the jig. 
     As the arm A of the film transport device is moved in the pickup direction (direction opposite to the film roll Fr in FIG.  8 ), the molded product attracted and attached to the pickup jig  7  is moved to a predetermined position at the outside of the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  as shown in FIG.  8  and the film F frame to be next molded is pulled between the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b.  At this time, the lock cylinder Rs is released to retract the rod R 1 , the lower ring  6   b  is moved to the initial position by the springs Sp, the suction device for the pickup jig  7  is stopped, the next product is molded, and the first molded product is peeled off from the pickup jig by its own weight. 
     The cone portion C, diaphragm guide portion C 1 , chamber portion Cb, voice coil bobbin bo, and overlap portion C 2  of a molded product of this embodiment were cut and separated. Each separated partial film was measured by a density gradient tube method. The obtained value was 1.384 to 1.400, confirming a predetermined density of the film. The molding time was shortened by 50% relative to the molding method the present applicant has proposed already. 
     In this embodiment, a PPTA film is molded. If the temperatures of the metal molds  1   u  and  1   b  are adjusted, various other materials may be used, including a heat proof resin film such as polyimide resin, thermoplastic film or thermosetting resin conventionally used in common, and various types of woven cloth and unwoven cloth such as cloths made of thermoplastic fibers, mixed woven cloth and mixed unwoven cloth of natural fibers and thermoplastic fibers or thermoplastic fibers and thermosetting fibers. 
     For example, the case where a polyimide resin film is molded will be described. The rings and other devices are sequentially operated by program in the manner same as the PPTA film molding. By setting the upper metal mold  1   u  to 280° C., the lower metal mold  1   b  to 250° C., the falling speed of the cylinder S to about 1.5 mm/sec, it was possible to form a practically usable molded product with the molding time of about 15 seconds. 
     According to the molding method for molding a product by using a film sheet, the film pushing rings disposed outside of the upper and lower rings are controlled to move and stop independently from the motion of the upper and lower metal molds, thereby eliminating a defective molded product to be caused by the motion of the rings after the molding. 
     A finished molded product is attracted and attached to the pickup jig having a surface shape matching the molded product, and removed from the metal molds after the jig is moved outside of the press machine. It is therefore possible to reliably remove a finished molded product even if it is a deep drawing product having a plurality of vertical walls. 
     The molding film is not limited to a PPTA film, but other films, woven cloths, or unwoven cloths may be used for the molding. If a heat resistant film such as a polyimide resin film is used, the molding time is about 15 seconds so that the production efficiency can be improved by about 2.7 to 4 times the conventional method whose molding time is about 40 to 60 seconds. A conventional molding method using a thermoplastic film or the like removes a molded product by cooling the metal molds after the thermal molding. In this invention, a molded product can be removed from the metal molds without cooling the metal molds with the molding temperatures being maintained. The cooling time is not necessary, considerably shortening the molding time. 
     According to the molding apparatus of this invention, for the motion control of the rings, the ring on the side of the metal mold attracting and attaching a molded metal is fixed to the lowest fall position of the ring, and after the metal molds are released and the molded product is removed from the metal molds and the jig, the ring is moved to the initial position. This motion control can be easily realized with a low cost by simply mounting rock cylinders at two positions. 
     The rings are adapted to be detached in the direction other than the direction of clamping the rings. It is therefore possible to use a jig such as a driver, allowing the rings and metal molds to be easily dismounted and improving the maintenance. 
     If the pickup jig is cooled, a molded product attached to the jig can be cooled, improving the strength of the molded product to the removed. If a thermoplastic film is used, a stable shape of a molded product can be obtained. 
     The pickup jig is mounted on the film transport device which is moved while a molded product is attached to the jig. While the pickup jig moves, the film can be automatically fed. It is therefore possible to realize the apparatus at a very low cost by slightly working a conventional molding apparatus.