FLAT BLOW MOLDING APPARATUS, FLAT BLOW MOLDING METHOD AND PRODUCT OF FLAT BLOW MOLDING

Abstract: A flat blow molding apparatus adapted to extrude a flat hollow parison from a clearance between a flat core and a flat die surrounding the core, characterized in that both end portions of the die are provided slidably in the widthwise direction with respect to an intermediate portion thereof with the core formed interchangeably in accordance with the widthwise expansion and contraction of the die. According to this structure, the varying of the width of a flat hollow parison extruded from the clearance between the core and die is effected by slidingly moving both end portions of the die in the widthwise direction and interchanging the core suitably in accordance with the widthwise expansion and contraction of the die. If the flat core consists of a flat interchangeable portion and a curved non-interchangeable portion so that the interchangeable portion only is replaced by another, a plurality of flat interchangeable portions only, which do not cost much, of different lengths need be provided, and this enables the manufactering cost to decrease. Therefore, the varying of the width of a flat hollow parison extruded from the clearance between the flat core and flat die is effected.

Description: The present invention relates to a flat blow molding machine according to the generic part of the independent claim. In recent years, thin and hollow flattened products such as heat collecting plates of a solar water-heating device, casings of office automation equipments, panels, furnitures and interior decorations are experimentally blow molded. In such cases, as shown in Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings, a cylindrical parison "a" is extruded downward, sandwiched by thin metallic molds "b" and "c" from left and right, and air is blown in, as a common blow molding machine does. As a result, the parison "a" expanded due to air injection is fixed at its part "a1" which first contacts the inner wall of the metallic mold and expands therefrom to left and right so that a product having a uniform thickness (wall thickness) cannot be obtained. Thereupon, the present applicant previously developed a flat blow molding machine which does not extrude the cylindrical parison "a", but extrudes a hollow flattened parison, that matches an inner wall of thin metallic molds "b" and "c", from the clearance between a planar flattened core and a flattened die surrounding the core so as to mold a hollow plate-like product having a uniform thickness. This type of flat blow molding machine is constructed as shown in Figure 8: an accumulator chamber "e" whose section is flattened is formed in a housing "d" in a vertical direction, a planar flattened mandrel "f" is vertically provided at the center of the accumulator chamber "e" and a flattened piston "g" is fitted over the flattened mandrel "f". The flattened piston "g" is lowered by a hydraulic cylinder "h" to pressurize a resin in the accumulator chamber "e" and the pressurized resin is extruded in the form of a hollow flattened parison "k" from the clearance between a flattened core "i" provided at the tip of the flattened mandrel "f" and a flattened die "j" provided at the lower end of the housing "d". The resin is fed to the accumulator chamber "e" from extruders "q" provided on the left and right sides in its thickness Y direction. The flattened parison "k" extruded as shown in Figure 9 is sandwiched by flattened metallic molds (not shown) in a direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet, and air is blown in. However, conventional flat blow molding machines include the following problem: Since the width of the extruded parison "k" cannot be adjusted, an unnecessary portion of the extruded flattened parison "k" can be collapsed by the metallic mold and the molded products inevitably have flashes when flattened products having a width smaller than the width of the parison "k" should be manufactured. In other words, a flash ratio increases and this is not economic. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a flat blow molding machine which can change the width of a flattened parison injected from the molding machine. To solve this problem, the invention provides a flat blow molding machine which injects hollow flattened parison from the clearance between a flattened core and a flattened die surrounding the core, comprising the features stated in the independent claim. Dependent claim 3 describes a method of changing the shape of an extrusion gap of a machine according to the invention. According to this construction, if the ends of the die are slid in the width direction respectively and the core is appropriately replaced upon the expansion/contraction of the die in the width direction, it is possible to change the width of the hollow flattened parison to be injected from the clearance between the core and the die. Further, if the flattened core includes a replaceable planar part and non-replaceable curved parts and only the replacable part is loaded and unloaded, the cost is reduced, since it will be sufficient to prepare a plurality of replaceable planar parts of different lengths which are less costly to manufacture. Therefore, it is possible to change the width of the hollow flattened parison injected from the clearance between the flattened core and the flattened die. Figure 1 is a set of illustrations useful to explain the major part of a flat blow molding machine according to one embodiment of the invention, in which Figure 1(a) is a front section, Figure 1(b) is a lateral section and Figure 1(c) is a bottom view; Figure 2 is a partially cut front view of the flat blow molding machine shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a partially cut lateral view of the flat blow molding machine shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is an illustration showing how a flattened core is mounted on a tip of a mandrel; Figure 5 shows a modification of an actuator for sliding a slide piece of a flattened core; Figure 6 shows a modification of the ends of the flattened core and a flattened die; Figure 7 is a view useful to explain a conventional flat blow molding machine; Figure 8 is a set of views showing a flat blow molding machine which was previously developed, in which (a) is a front view, (b) is a lateral view and (c) is a bottom view; and Figure 9 is a partially enlarged view of Figure 34(a). Now, an embodiment of the invention will be explained with reference to Figures 1-6. Figure 2 illustrates a front view of a flat blow molding machine 101 and Figure 3 illustrates its lateral view. As shown, a flattened accumulator chamber 103 having a width X and a thickness Y is formed in a flattened main body 102. Into the accumulator chamber 103 a plasticized resin is supplied from two extruders 104a and 104b located left and right in the width Y direction. It should be noted that only one extruder 104a/104b may be provided together with a distribution value (not shown) and the resin may be supplied into the accumulator chamber 103 through the distribution valve. In the accumulator chamber 103 a flattened piston 105 is slidable in up and down directions. The flattened piston 105 is connected to a hydraulic cylinder 107 located above the main body 102 via an intermediate member 106. According to this construction, if the hydraulic cylinder 107 expands/contracts, the flattened piston 105 slides up and down in the accumulator chamber 103 to press the resin. A flattened opening 108 extends vertically in the flat piston 105, and a planar mandrel 109 is inserted in the opening 108. The upper end of the mandrel 109 is connected to an actuator 111 (cylinder mechanism) above the main body 102 via an intermediate member 110, and a flattened core 112 is mounted on the lower end of the mandrel 109. A flattened die 113 surrounds the core 112 at a prescribed clearance. The die 113 is mounted on the lower end of the main body 102 by means of a plate 115 and a holder 114. According to this construction, if the flat piston 105 compresses the resin in the accumulator chamber 103, the pressed resin is extruded from the clearance between the flat die 113 and the flat core 112 as a flattened parison 116. During this operation, if the actuator 111 is manipulated to move the core 112 up and down so as to adjust the clearance (gap) between the die 113 and the core 112, it is possible to control the thickness (wall thickness) of the extruded flat parison 116 in the extruding direction. Next, the subject matters of this embodiment, i.e., the flattened die 113 and the flattened core 112, will be explained in detail with reference to Figure 1. In Figure 1, (a) is a front section of the flattened die 113 and the flattened core 112, (b) is a lateral section and (c) is a bottom view. As shown in Figure 1(c), the flattened die 113 includes a straight portion 113a at the center and corner portions 113b at the ends. The straight portion 113a is constructed by two planar blocks 117 extending parallel to each other at a prescribed clearance. The corner portion 113b includes a slide piece 118 slidably sandwiched by these planar blocks 117. The slide piece 118 has a U-shaped curved (three dimensional) portion 118a and is slid in a width direction by an actuator 119 (hydraulic cylinder) supported by the die holder 114. In this embodiment, a hydraulic cylinder is employed as the actuator 119. However, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be a stepping motor or a feed screw mechanism 119a as illustrated in Figure 5. In any event, the slide piece 118 is moved by the actuator 119 in the width direction and fixed at a desired position. On the other hand, the core 112 is constructed by a planar replaceable (or interchangeable) portion 112b located at the center and curved non-replaceable portions 112a located at the ends, as shown in Figures 1(a) and (c). The replaceable portion 112a is a planar member having the same thickness as the planar mandrel 109. The non-replaceable portion 112a is a member having a projection-like curved portion 112c which engages a recess-like curved portion 118a of the slide piece 118. The replaceable portion 112b and the non-replaceable portions 112a are respectively mounted on the lower end of the planar mandrel 109 by bolts 120. This is illustrated in Figure 4. As depicted, a connection 121 for the lower end of the flattened mandrel 109 and an upper end of the core 112 (replaceable portion 112b and non-replaceable portions 112a) is a faucet joint so that accurate positioning of these two elements is ensured. It should be noted that a hexagon socket head cap screw may be employed instead of a common hexagon head bolt 120. In this embodiment, the recess-like curved (three dimensional) portion 118a and the projection-like curved portion 112c are formed on the slide piece 118 of the flattened die 113 and on the non-replaceable portion 112a of the flattened core 112, respectively. However, in case the parison 116 expands a little upon injection of air during the blow molding, the slide piece 118a and the non-replaceable portion 112a may have a wavy curved portion at their centers, respectively, as shown in Figure 6. If this construction is employed, the concave center portion expands appropriately upon air injection so that the outer face of the parison 116 contacts the inner wall of a metallic mold substantially simultaneously. Thus, it is possible to make the thickness of the product uniform. Now, the operation of the embodiment having the above construction will be described. In the machine 101, the flattened parison 116 is extruded from the clearance between the flattened die 113 and the flattened core 112, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. In order to reduce the width of the flattened parison 116, first the bolt 120 which mounts the flattened core 112 (replaceable portion 112b and non-replaceable portions 112a) onto the tip of the planar mandrel 109 is removed and the replaceable portion 112b and the non-replaceable portions 112a are removed from the mandrel 109. Then, one or both of left and right slide pieces of the flattened die 113 are slid by the actuator 119 such that they approach each other to reduce the width of the flattened die 113. After that, a new replaceable portion 112b which matches the reduced width of the flattened die 113 is mounted on the tip of the planar mandrel 109 by the bolt 120, and the previously removed non-replaceable portions 112a are again mounted on the ends of the mandrel by the bolt 120. To enlarge the width of the flattened parison 116 from this state, the above order of the procedures is reversed. The above procedure enables a width change of the hollow flattened parison 116 extruded from the clearance between the flattened die 113 and the flattened core 112. In this embodiment, since the core 112 includes the replaceable portion 112b at the center and the non-replaceable portions 112a at the ends and only the portion 112b is to be replaced, a plurality of inexpensive and straight (planar) replaceable portions 112b having different lengths will be required only. This reduces the cost. If the actuator 111 is advanced/retracted upon signals from a gap setting device (not shown) during the injection of flattened parison 116 to move the flattened core 112 up and down appropriately via the mandrel 109, the clearance (gap) between the core 112 and the die 113 varies so that it is possible to adjust the thickness profile of the flattened parison 116 in the injection direction (longitudinal direction). Similarly, if the actuator 119 is advanced/retracted upon other signals from the gap setting device during the injection of the flatted parison 116 to move the slide piece 118 appropriately right and left, it is possible to adjust the thickness profile of the flattened parison 116 in the width direction.

Claims: A flat blow molding machine (101) for extruding a hollow parison (116) having a flattened annular cross section from a parison extrusion gap formed at the bottom of the flat blow molding machine (101), the parison extruding gap being defined by flattened core (112) and a die (113) surrounding the core (112), the die (113) including slide pieces (118), characterized in that the core (112) includes a first curved end member (112a), a second curved end member and a central planar member (112b) positioned between the first and second end members (112a), in that the first and second end members (112a) and the planar member (112b) are detachably mounted on the lower end of a mandrel (109), in that the planar member (112b) is replaceable when the flattened shape of the core is elongated or shrunk in a longitudinal direction of the planar member and in that the slide pieces (118) of the die (113) are moved in accordance with a change of shape of the core (112) such that the parison thickness is maintained to be constant. The flat blow molding machine (101) of claim 1, characterized in that the first and second end members (112a) and the planar member (112b) are mounted on the lower end of said mandrel (109) by bolts (120). A method of changing the shape of a flattened parison extrusion gap of a flat blow molding machine (101) according to claim 1 or 2, the parison extrusion gap being defined by a flattened core (112) mounted on the bottom of the mandrel (109) and a die (113, 118) surrounding the core (112), comprising the steps of: A) detachably mounting the first and second curved end members (112a) and the planar member (112b) on the lower end of the mandrel (109), respectively; B) detaching the first and second curved end members (112a) and the planar member (112b) from the lower end of the mandrel (109), respectively, when the shape of the parison extrusion gap is to be changed; C) replacing the planar member (112b) with another planar member (112b) having a different shape; D) moving the die (118) in the longitudinal direction of the planar member (112b) in accordance with the shape of said another planar member (112b); and E) attaching said another planar member (112b) and the first and second curved end members (112a) on the lower end of the mandrel (109), respectively, to form a different shape of said parison extrusion gap. The method of claim 3, characterized in that the step A) is carried out by means of bolts (120).

Inventors: ARAKI SATOSHI, IWAWAKI AKIRA, SHIMIZU TAKASHI, SHITARA YOSHIHARU, UMEZAWA YOSHINORI, ARAKI, SATOSHI, IWAWAKI, AKIRA, SHIMIZU, TAKASHI, SHITARA, YOSHIHARU, UMEZAWA, YOSHINORI
Applicants: ISHIKAWAJIMA HARIMA HEAVY IND, ISHIKAWAJIMA-HARIMA HEAVY INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B29C49
IPC codes: B29C47, B29C49