METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING AN AT LEAST TWO-LAYER COMPOSITE SERVING AS A LINING FOR A VEHICLE INTERIOR COMPONENT

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a composite includes providing a first template including a cutout for a first layer of the composite, disposing the first layer in the cutout, and disposing a tablet, provided with an adhesive, on the first layer such that the first layer adheres to the tablet. Next, the tablet is removed, together with the first layer adhered thereto, from the cutout, and an adhesive is applied to a side of the first layer facing away from the tablet. A second template is provided that includes a cutout for a second layer of the composite, and then the second layer is disposed in the cutout. The tablet, together with the first layer adhered thereto, is disposed on the second layer disposed in the cutout of the second template, and the tablet is removed, together with the composite produced from the first and second layers, from the second template.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an at least two-layer composite cladding for a vehicle interior component, the method comprising: providing a first template including a cutout for a first layer of the at least two-layer composite; disposing the first layer in the cutout of the first template; disposing a tablet provided with an adhesive on the first layer disposed in the cutout, and in the cutout of the first template, such that the first layer adheres to the tablet; removing the tablet, together with the first layer adhered to the tablet, from the cutout of the first template, and applying an adhesive to a side of the first layer facing away from the tablet; providing a second template including a cutout for a second layer of the at least two-layer composite; disposing the second layer in the cutout of the second template; disposing the tablet together with the first layer, and provided with the adhesive, on the second layer disposed in the cutout of the second template, and in the cutout of the second template; and removing the tablet together with the at least two-layer composite produced from the first and second layers from the second template.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second layer is manufactured from leather.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first layer comprises one of a spacer fabric and a foam.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the second layer is manufactured from leather.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first template and the second template has a modular design made of a plurality of segment variants, and is assembled, adapted to a shape of the respective layer, from a selection of the segment variants.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the segment variants are screwed to each other.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second templates include respective positioning elements, into which the tablet is inserted with respective corresponding positioning elements, and thereby centered in an intended position with respect to the templates.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the tablet is provided with a double-sided adhesive tape, to which the first layer adheres.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second templates is manufactured from polyoxymethylene.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the tablet is manufactured from glass-fiber reinforced plastic.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein a melt adhesive is applied to the first layer as the adhesive.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second layer is sucked onto the second template by under pressure.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second layer is cut smaller than the cutout of the second template.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the removing from the second template, the at least two-layer composite is removed from the tablet, and the first and second layers are connected using pressure and heating.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein after heating, the first and second layers are cooled.

16. An apparatus for manufacturing an at least two-layer composite cladding for a vehicle interior component, the apparatus comprising: a first template including a cutout for a first layer of the at least two-layer composite; a tablet; and a second template including a cutout for a second layer of the composite, wherein the first and second templates and the tablet are shaped such that the tablet respectively only fits into the cutout for the first layer and the cutout for the second layer in a certain arrangement.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0031] In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0032] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a first template including a cutout for a spacer fabric according to the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates a further perspective view of the first template according to the present disclosure, wherein a spacer fabric has been disposed partially in the cutout of the first template;

[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates a further perspective view of the first template according to the present disclosure, wherein after inserting of the spacer fabric, a tablet has also been inserted into the cutout;

[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a device in which the tablet has been arranged together with the spacer fabric adhered therein, in order to provide the spacer fabric with an adhesive;

[0036] FIG. 5 illustrates a further device, using which the applied adhesive is activated by infrared radiation;

[0037] FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a second template including a cutout for a decorative layer manufactured from leather according to the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 7 illustrates a further perspective view of the second template according to the present disclosure after the decorative layer manufactured from leather has been inserted into the cutout of the second template;

[0039] FIG. 8 illustrates a further perspective view of the second template according to the present disclosure, wherein the tablet, together with the spacer fabric adhered thereto, has been positioned on the decorative layer manufactured from leather;

[0040] FIG. 9 illustrates a further perspective view of the second template according to the present disclosure while the tablet is removed together with the composite produced from the spacer fabric and the decorative layer;

[0041] FIG. 10 illustrates a separating process of the composite from the tablet according to the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of a flat-bed laminating machine, using which two of the composites are subjected to pressure and heat according to the present disclosure; and

[0043] FIG. 12 illustrates a perspective view of a further form of the first template according to the present disclosure, wherein it is assembled from a plurality of segments.

[0044] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

[0046] A first template 10 including a cutout 12 for a spacer fabric 14 is illustrated in a perspective view in FIG. 1. The spacer fabric 14 forms a first layer of a composite that serves as cladding for a vehicle interior component. The shape or contour of the cutout 12 corresponds to the shape or contour of the spacer fabric 14. The template 10 includes a plurality of positioning elements 16, which will be described in more detail below.

[0047] In FIG. 2, the first template 10 is illustrated in a further perspective view, specifically while one of the spacer fabrics 14 is precisely inserted into the cutout 12. The spacer fabric 14 can be inserted precisely into the cutout 12.

[0048] In FIG. 3, the first template 10 is illustrated in a further perspective view. A tablet 18 provided with an adhesive, such tablet 18 having a similar contour to the cutout 12 of the first template 10, is disposed on the first layer, i.e., on the spacer fabric 14, disposed in the cutout 12, as a result of which the side of the tablet 18 adheres to the spacer fabric 14 that has previously been disposed in the cutout 12 of the first template 10.

[0049] The tablet 18 includes respective positioning elements 20, which correspond to the above-mentioned positioning elements 16 of the first template 10. The positioning elements 20 of the tablet 18 are configured in the form of tabs, wherein the positioning elements 16 are configured in the form of cutouts. Other shapes of the positioning elements 20, 16 are also possible. It is desired that the positioning elements 16, 20 interact such that the tablet 18 can be inserted precisely into the cutout 12 only in the same relative position with respect to the template 10.

[0050] After the inserting into the cutout 12 of the first template 10, the tablet 18, together with the spacer fabric 14 adhered thereto, is removed from the cutout 12 of the first template 10, and is supplied to a device 22 depicted in FIG. 4. Using this device 22, an adhesive, in one form of the present disclosure a melt adhesive, is applied by a roller application onto a side 24 of the spacer fabric 14, which side 24 faces away from the tablet 18. The melt adhesive is applied flatly and homogeneously onto the side 24 of the spacer fabric 14 facing away from the tablet 18 by the roller application, specifically without the melt adhesive—such as happens, for example, with a spray application—still being distributed in an unfavorable manner inside a production location.

[0051] After the adhesive application, for activating the adhesive, the spacer fabric 14 is supplied to a further device 26, for example, a flash station, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Using the further device 26, the adhesive is activated by infrared radiation. Meanwhile, the spacer fabric 14 further adheres to the tablet 18.

[0052] In FIG. 6, a second template 28 is illustrated in a perspective view. The second template 28 includes a cutout 30, which receives a decorative layer 32 manufactured from leather. Like the first template 10, the second template 28 comprises a plurality of positioning elements 34, which are disposed exactly as the positioning elements 16 in the first template 10. The cutout 12 of the first template 10 and the cutout 30 of the second template 28 have the same contour or the same shape.

[0053] The decorative layers 32 are cut smaller from their blank than the cutout 30 of the second template 28. In addition, the second template 28 is disposed slightly inclined, so that during the inserting or disposing of the respective decorative layers 32, they slip automatically into their intended position due to gravity.

[0054] In FIG. 7, the second template 28 is illustrated in a further perspective view, and specifically after one of the decorative layers 32 manufactured from leather has been positioned in the cutout 30 of the second template 28. After the decorative layer 32 has been disposed as intended inside the second template 28, an under pressure can be generated in the region of the cutout 30 (not shown), so that the decorative layer 32 is sucked onto the second template 28.

[0055] In FIG. 8, the second template 28 is illustrated in a further perspective view, wherein the tablet 18, together with the spacer fabric 14 adhered thereto and provided with the melt adhesive, has been positioned on the decorative layer 32 disposed in the cutout 30 of the second template 28, and positioned in the cutout 30. The tab-shaped positioning elements 20 provide position-precise and desired aligning and arranging of the tablet 18 inside the cutout 30 of the second template 28. Since the positioning elements 34 of the second template 28 are disposed exactly as the positioning elements 16 of the first template 10, the tablet 18 is aligned and disposed as precisely with respect to the positioning elements 34 as with respect to the positioning elements 16. By pressure exertion on the template 28, the spacer fabric 14 provided with the melt adhesive is pressed onto a rear side of the decorative layer 32 and adheres thereto.

[0056] FIG. 9 illustrates how the tablet 18, together with the composite manufactured from the two layers, i.e., the spacer fabric 14 and the decorative layer 32, is removed from the second template 28.

[0057] In FIG. 10, the tablet 18 can be seen in a perspective view, and specifically after the composite 38 has been removed from the spacer fabric 14 and the decorative layer 32 from the tablet 18. A double-sided adhesive tape 36 has been applied to the tablet 18. The double-sided adhesive tape 36 adheres the spacer fabric 14 to the tablet 18 when it is placed on the spacer fabric 14 or pressed after it has been inserted into the cutout 12 of the first template 10. The composite 38, in particular the spacer fabric 14, can be pulled back from the double-sided adhesive tape 36 without damage and thus removed from the tablet 18. In the present representation a further composite 38 can be seen that has been placed on its decorative layer 32 not indicated here in more detail

[0058] In FIG. 11, the two composites 38 can be seen, specifically while they are supplied to a flat-bed laminating machine 40. Using this flat-bed laminating machine 40, under pressure and heating the respective spacer fabric 14 and the decorative layers 32 manufactured from leather are connected to each other, since the melt adhesive is thereby cross-linked and the spacer fabric 14 and the decorative layers 32 are thereby connected to each other. After the heating, the composite 38 is cooled using the flat-bed laminating machine 40, such that the respective spacer fabric 14 and the respective decorative layers 32 cannot still slip with respect to each other.

[0059] In FIG. 12, a further possible form of the first template 10 is illustrated. The template 10 has a modular design comprising a plurality of segment variants 42, which can be configured differently, depending on the shape or contour of the layers, i.e., the respective spacer fabric 14 and the decorative layers 32, and screwed to each other. Due to the segment-type design, it is possible to change blanks without having to change the entire template 10. The second template 28 can also be assembled from such segment variants 42.

[0060] The templates 10, 28 and the tablet 18 together thus form a system for manufacturing the two-layer composite 38 serving as cladding for a vehicle interior component. Since the cutouts 12, 30 of the templates and the tablet 18 are adapted to each other with respect to their shape, the two layers of the composite 38, i.e., the spacer fabric 14 and the decorative layer 32 manufactured from leather, can be aligned with respect to each other and attached to each other. The use of the templates 10, 28 and the tablet 18 is not limited to spacer fabric 14 and decorative layers 32 manufactured from leather. In principle, all types of layers can be manufactured into such composites 38 in the manner described by using the templates 10, 28 and the tablet 18.

[0061] Unless otherwise expressly indicated herein, all numerical values indicating mechanical/thermal properties, compositional percentages, dimensions and/or tolerances, or other characteristics are to be understood as modified by the word “about” or “approximately” in describing the scope of the present disclosure. This modification is desired for various reasons including industrial practice, material, manufacturing, and assembly tolerances, and testing capability.

[0062] As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”

[0063] The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the substance of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.