Patent ID: 7625516

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a sheet molded body, comprising: a draping process in which a pressure at a front surface side of a heated decorated sheet is lowered relative to a pressure at a back surface side of the decorated sheet so that the decorated sheet expands toward the front surface side; an inversion process carried out subsequent to the draping process in which an arm is moved toward the decorated sheet from the back surface side of the decorated sheet so that the arm contacts at least a periphery portion of the decorated sheet, and while supporting the decorated sheet by the arm in this manner, the decorated sheet is expanded towards the back surface side by increasing the pressure at the front surface side of the decorated sheet relative to the pressure at the back surface side of the decorated sheet, whereby the direction of the decorated sheet is inverted; and a sheet molding process carried out subsequent to the inversion process in which the decorated sheet is three dimensionally molded along a surface of at least one sheet molding male die by increasing the pressure at the front surface side of the decorated sheet to be higher than the pressure at the back surface side of the decorated sheet and/or decreasing the pressure at the back surface side of the decorated sheet to be lower than the pressure at the front surface side of the decorated sheet, while pressing the at least one sheet molding male die from the back surface side of the decorated sheet and moving the arm backwards.