A THERMOFORMED PART COMPRISING A DETACHABLE PART AND A PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH A PART

Abstract

The invention relates to a workpiece having a shape produced by thermoforming from at least one sheet (3) of plastic material, such as polycarbonate, and at least one applied element (6, 8; 7, 9) that is applied to the at least one sheet and secured there, characterised in that the securing of the at least one applied element to the at least one sheet takes place at least partially by means of crimping.

Claims

1. A part with a shape produced by thermoforming from at least one sheet (3) of plastic material, for example polycarbonate, and at least one detachable part (6, 8; 7, 9) being detachable from the at least one sheet being rigidly connected to it, characterised in that the rigid connection of the at least one detachable part to the at least one sheet is achieved at least in part by crimping.

2. A part according to claim 1, characterised in that the sheet has a thickness (ts) in the crimping zone that is less than the average thickness of the sheet (t) outside the crimping zone.

3. A part according to claim 1, characterised in that the detachable part is a self-gripping component with hooks, consisting of a base and a hook field projecting from at least one lower surface of the base, the crimping of the detachable part being such that the base is fitted in a recess formed by the sheet in a manner that prevents it from becoming detached, while the hooks are accessible from the outside, in particular to work in conjunction with another self-gripping component, for example with loops or hooks.

4. A part according to claim 1, characterised in that the detachable part defines an overhang (d), in particular peripheral, under which the thermoformed sheet is inserted to achieve the crimping.

5. A part according to claim 4, characterised in that the overhang (d) is greater than at least of the average thickness of the sheet outside the crimping zone.

6. A part according to claim 1, characterised in that the insert comprises a base with at least two straight parallel opposite edges defining two parallel overhangs for the sheet, so that the detachable part is crimped to the sheet while however preserving mobility parallel to the two straight edges.

7. A part according to claim 1, characterised in that the detachable part comprises a base with a circular edge defining a circular peripheral overhang for the sheet, so that the detachable part is crimped to the sheet while however preserving mobility in rotation with respect to the centre line of the base.

8. A part according to claim 1, characterised in that the height available for crimping, that is to say the distance from the outermost point of the base to the lower surface of the thermoformed sheet, is greater than or equal to the average thickness (t) of the sheet outside the crimping zone, preferably the height (a) available is greater than or equal to twice the average thickness (t) of the sheet.

9. A manufacturing process for a part comprising at least one sheet of plastic material, in particular rigid, for example polycarbonate, and at least one detachable part, which consists of stages in which: a mould is produced having an external surface corresponding to the shape of the desired final part; at least one detachable part which it is desired to connect rigidly to the sheet is positioned on the external surface, for preference on a flat part, this positioning being such at least one part of the detachable part is at a distance from the external surface of the mould; a sheet of plastic material, for example polycarbonate, heated to a temperature enabling it to be thermoformed is placed in front of the external surface of the mould; the external surface of the mould and the heated sheet are brought into contact to give the sheet its final shape, the sheet, when placed in contact, is introduced between the part of the detachable part at a distance from the external surface of the mould and the external surface of the mould to achieve crimping of the detachable part to the sheet after it has returned to a temperature lower than the bending temperature under load of the plastic material of the sheet, in particular to ambient temperature.

10. A manufacturing process according to claim 9, characterised in that the placing in contact of the external surface of the mould comprising one or more detachable components with the heated sheet is done using suction to press the sheet against the mould.

11. A manufacturing process according to claim 9, characterised in that the placing into contact of the external surface of the mould comprising one or more detachable components with the heated sheet is done more forcefully at the location of the detachable part or each detachable part compared to other areas of the sheet, for example by providing stronger suction at the location of the detachable part or each detachable part.

12. A part according to claim 3, characterised in that the spacing of the hooks is between 10 and 750 hooks/cm.sup.2.

13. A part according to claim 1, characterised in that the sheet has a rigidity such that its bending modulus is between 1,500 and 3,500 Mpa.

14. A part according to claim 3, characterised in that at least one of the hooks nearest the periphery of the hook field, in particular all the hooks nearest the periphery of the hook field are at a distance from the thermoformed sheet.

Description

[0025] By way of an example, we now describe a preferred method of production of the invention by referring to the drawings, in which:

[0026] FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C show diagrammatically the three main stages of an example of the thermoforming process of a part according to the invention;

[0027] FIGS. 1D, 1E, 1F and 1G show diagrammatically the four main stages of another example of the thermoforming process of a part according to the invention;

[0028] FIG. 2 shows diagrammatically the external surface of a mould before thermoforming a sheet, the detachable parts consisting of self-gripping components having previously been positioned on the external surface of the mould;

[0029] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view from below of the final part obtained, before its ejection from the mould;

[0030] FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view from above of the final part obtained;

[0031] FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are cross-sectional views on line A-A of FIG. 4, at the site of the interface between the detachable part and the sheet of the final part, according to several scenarios, and in particular according to the prior position of the hooks with respect to the wall of the mould during application of the thermoformed sheet to the wall of the mould;

[0032] FIGS. 6 to 11 are schematic cross-sectional views similar to those of FIGS. 5A to 5C, showing other methods of production of a part according to the invention;

[0033] FIG. 6 (b) is a photograph of part of a part according to one method of production of the invention represented diagrammatically in FIG. 6;

[0034] FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic view from above of one method of production of a part according to the invention in the field of transport, in particular for manufacturing seats;

[0035] FIG. 12A is a cross-sectional view on line AA of FIG. 12;

[0036] FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view on line BB of FIG. 12;

[0037] FIG. 13A is a schematic view from below of one method of producing a part according to the invention;

[0038] FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view on line AA of FIG. 13A showing part of the mould; and

[0039] FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view similar to those in FIGS. 5A to 5C, showing another method of manufacturing a part according to the invention and part of a mould.

[0040] FIGS. 1A to 10 show a process of thermoforming, in which a metal mould 22 whose external surface 1 has the shape that it is desired to give the final part is positioned in a case 2 with airtight walls. A sheet 3 of plastic material, in particular rigid, in particular of polycarbonate (PC), ABS, PS, PS/PE, PEHD, PP, PETG, PMMA, PVC, ABS/PC, KYDEX, CA (cellulose tri-acetate), EC (ethyl cellulose), PA6, POM, PET, reinforced or not or a composite with glass or carbon fibres, is placed above the case and the sheet 3 is heated by radiation to soften it and permit it to be thermoformed over the mould 22. The sheet of plastic material can be produced by extrusion, injection, moulding, lamination, compaction, blow cutting, or any other classical process for manufacturing such a sheet for thermoforming. The sheet can consist of a single material, several materials or a number of films. A sheet can also mean a preform, on which a component can be attached by the process according to the invention.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 1B, the mould is then mounted with its external surface 1 opposite the softened sheet 3 and in contact with it so that, in particular by creating a vacuum in the case, the sheet 3 closely fits the shape of the external surface 1 of the mould, thereby giving the sheet 3 its final shape. The sheet can be of variable thickness. It may also be a three-dimensional preform.

[0042] Other thermoforming processes are possible according to the invention. In particular, instead of applying the mould to the sheet, the process can be reversed by applying the sheet to the mould, or the two components can be moved towards each other. The process described in FIGS. 1A to 10 is called thermoforming by inflation and suction.

[0043] Another preferred process is described in FIGS. 1D to 1G.

[0044] In the first stage (FIG. 1D), the sheet is placed above the mould and the detachable part. In the second stage (FIG. 1E) the sheet is heated, for example by infrared radiation. In the third stage (FIG. 1F), the sheet is lowered onto the mould and a seal is formed between the sheet and the mould at the edges of the sheet with a frame to form a closed, airtight cavity. In the fourth stage (FIG. 1G), the air present in the cavity is sucked out thereby creating a vacuum which deforms the sheet. The sheet then comes into contact with the mould. In the fifth stage (not shown), the mould and the sheet (the sheet and the detachable part being connected rigidly together) are separated by ejection.

[0045] Other thermoforming processes may be used, alone or in combination, including thermoforming with a punch/die, by pressure difference (vacuum and/or compressed air), rising punch, falling punch, semi-continuous thermoforming (unwinding a film, stopping, thermoforming, cutting off, repeating the cycle, and/or continuous thermoforming. Rather than unwinding a film, direct extrusion of the film may also be extended to processes that produce a preform before thermoforming by vacuum or pressure, such as blowing injection and blowing extrusion.

[0046] According to the invention, before bringing the mould and the heated extruded sheet into contact, the component(s) to be attached that is/are desired to be rigidly connected to it are positioned on the external surface of the mould, on the side opposite to the heated sheet, in particular one or more of the components 4, 5 with hooks comprising a base 6, 7 and hooks 8, projecting from the sheet. The detachable part, in particular the component with hooks, is arranged so that a part of the detachable part, for example the base 6 or 7, remains at a distance from the mould, for example by positioning the hooks on the side of the mould, against it.

[0047] To position the component or components to be added to the mould they may simply be placed above it. The component or components to be attached may also be fitted in a recess or cavity or even on a pedestal formed in the mould. It can also be temporarily fixed with adhesive, by suction, by magnetism, by clipping in a suitable recess, by a self-gripping fixing or by any similar technique.

[0048] The detachable part may be of any material, in particular plastic, thermoplastic, thermo-hardening plastic, metal, textile material or a composite of several materials of this type. The only condition is that the rigidity of the material of the part of the detachable part to be trapped in the sheet must be greater than that of the part, when the sheet is in the softened state.

[0049] For example, for a polycarbonate sheet, the rigidity or bending measured by the bending modulus according to standard ASTM D790, is between 1,500 and 3,500 MPa. More generally, a sheet of rigid plastic material means a sheet with a rigidity or bending measured by the bending modulus according to standard ASTM D790, of between 2,000 and 4,000 MPa, in particular between 2,200 and 3,500 MPa.

[0050] For example, a plastic material with a rigidity or bending measured by the bending modulus according to standard ASTM D790, of between 2,000 and 37,000 MPa, in particular between 2,000 and 15,000 MPa can be used, or a plastic material with a rigidity or bending measured by the bending modulus according to standard ASTM D790 greater than 15,000 MPa, in particular greater than 20,000 MPa can be used, for example in the case of plastic material including glass and/or carbon fibres.

[0051] During thermoforming, sheet 3 covers the upper surface of the side without hooks, of the base and is also introduced into the part under the base essentially peripherally up to the hooks so that the component with hooks is crimped into the sheet. The part shown in FIGS. 3 to 11 is then obtained.

[0052] As seen in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the base of the component with hooks is trapped in sheet 3 due to the fact that, during thermoforming, it is inserted peripherally under the base 6 or of the detachable part, and once brought to a temperature lower than the bending temperature under load of the plastic material, for example to ambient temperature, the base and therefore the detachable part are held to the sheet by crimping.

[0053] In the case of a polycarbonate sheet, the forming temperature may be between 168 C. and 188 C., the bending temperature under load being about 140 C. (with a load of 0.45 MPa).

[0054] As seen in FIGS. 5A to 5C, in the crimping zone, in transverse cross section, the sheet has the general shape of an omega (). The shape produced by thermoforming is a U or a rolled over C shape under the overhang d or in the overhang zone d.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the base of the detachable part projects furthest laterally beyond the hooks at the periphery of the field of hooks by a distance d.

[0056] The distance d (called the overhang distance or overhang) is, seen in cross section, the distance measured horizontally between the outermost edge of the face of the component with hooks in which the hooks project and the furthest outermost edge of the base of the component with hooks. That corresponds to the peripheral overhang formed in the component to permit the sheet to be inserted under the base of the component.

[0057] The height H1 of the hooks may be between 0.1 and 3 mm.

[0058] The height of the hooks enables the air to be effectively evacuated by the suction equipment and enables the sheet to be flattened most effectively to the external surface of the mould, in particular to permit the stretching and flattening of the lateral edges. In other words, the hooks are formed on the external surface of the mould to permit separation of the part of the component to be removed from the external surface of the mould, thereby permitting suction of the air during thermoforming, in particular through the hooks zone, thereby forcing deformation around the detachable component. A similar result may also be obtained using a gripping part with loops.

[0059] The height H2 (called the base position height) is the distance of the lower surface of the base from which the hooks project at the bottom of the mould, that is to say the lower surface of the sheet. The height H2 may be greater than 0 (FIG. 10 for example), lower than 0 (FIG. 5A) or equal to (near 0 in FIG. 5B). The absolute value of the height H2 should preferably be less than 5 times the average thickness of the sheet t and less than 10 times the height H1 of the hooks.

[0060] The height H3 (called the base height) is the thickness of the plate forming the base of the component that is detachable or to be detached. The height H3 may be between 0.5 and 30.0 mm.

[0061] In the methods of implementation shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the base is in the form of a basic rectangular flat plate which is bevelled at its periphery at an angle of between 10 and 60, for example 45.

[0062] The base (see component 4 in FIGS. 2 to 4) can be given a form that is symmetrical in rotation, so that once crimped to the thermoformed sheet, it can still rotate on itself with respect to its centre line.

[0063] As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the average thickness of the sheet t corresponds essentially to the height H1 of the hooks, and the distance of overhang d is chosen for preference to be greater than of the average thickness of the sheet t, for preference greater than the average thickness of the sheet t, and the distance a, called the available crimping height is chosen to be greater than the average thickness of the sheet, in particular greater than twice the average thickness of the sheet. The distance a, the height available for crimping, is calculated from the outermost point of the base (for the horizontal position of the point and the nearest lower surface of the mould for the vertical position, see in particular FIG. 6) to the bottom of the mould, which corresponds to the plane of the lower (essentially flat) surface of the thermoformed sheet intended to be in contact with the mould.

[0064] The thickness of the sheet ts in the crimping zone is less than the average thickness of the sheet outside the crimping zone t, in particular has a value of between 30% and 90% of t, in particular between 50% and 90% of the value of t, more particularly it may be between 50% and 70% of the value of t.

[0065] The average thickness of the sheet t is preferably between 0.5 and 20 mm, more particularly between 0.5 and 5.0 mm, even more particularly between 1 and 3 mm. The average thickness here is that close to the crimping zone and outside the crimping zone.

[0066] The spacing of the hooks may be between 10 and 750 hooks/cm.sup.2, in particular between 15 and 100 hooks/cm.sup.2.

[0067] As seen in the diagrams, the base 6 is fitted into a sort of recess formed by folding the sheet 3. For preference, the base is in contact at its upper surface (in particular at the edges of the periphery of the base) with the sheet 3 to reduce any play permitting the detachable part to move.

[0068] The crimped detachable part is fixed to the sheet 3 partially and/or locally by a flap in a part of the sheet to the component.

[0069] In the method of implementation shown in FIGS. 5A and 6, H2 and H1 are approximately equal.

[0070] On the other hand, in the method of implementation shown in FIG. 7, H1 is greater than H2, while in the method of implementation shown in FIG. 8, the absolute value of H2 is greater than H1 (A in FIG. 8, H2 is negative).

[0071] In FIGS. 6 to 11, the various methods of implementation are shown diagrammatically at the point where the component is crimped by hooks to the thermoformed sheet.

[0072] In these FIGS. 6 to 11, the base has a stepped form, instead of having a bevelled form.

[0073] In FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 6 and 6 (b) in particular, the part according to the invention may have a gap 30 defining a space between the base and the thermoformed sheet. This gap 30 is formed by trapping air during thermoforming. The thermoformed sheet with such a gap has a lower radius of curvature in its crimping zone than that of a thermoformed sheet without such a gap. The risk of creating a breaking point is reduced by the presence of such a gap.

[0074] In FIGS. 9, 11 and 14 in particular, the part according to the invention may be deprived of a gap, having the benefit of reducing the total volume of the zone with the component to be attached and giving improved grip.

[0075] In FIG. 7, the hooks extend beyond the thermoformed sheet. To obtain that, the hooks were positioned in a recess at the bottom of the mould when placing the softened sheet in contact with the mould. On the other hand, in FIG. 8, the hooks were positioned on a pedestal at the bottom of the mould when placing the softened sheet in contact with the mould.

[0076] In FIG. 9, a central through hole is formed in the base. The material of the sheet has a tendency to be lightly penetrated here, which improves the fixing even more.

[0077] In FIG. 11, a through hole is also provided, but in this method of implementation, the hole passes right through the sheet, which is thus crimped round the whole periphery of the hole, at a groove in the surrounding step.

[0078] In FIG. 10, the two basic functions, that is being crimped to the sheet and carrying the hooks, are performed by two different parts of the base, that is an upper part in the form of a plate forming the crimping zone which is intended to be crimped to the thermoformed sheet, while a lower part, also in the form of a plate remains at a distance from the sheet and carries the hooks, both the lower and upper parts being connected by a part of smaller cross section, in particular in the form of a stem. In FIG. 10, a part of the mould 22 is shown to aid understanding.

[0079] A part according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 12, 12A and 12B. The detachable part is a plate made from a number of very wide first sections separated from each other by a number of narrower second sections, with hooks projecting from a zone of the upper surface of the plate which maintain a constant width. The hook zone of constant width extends over the assembly of wide and narrow plates.

[0080] FIGS. 13A, 13B and 14, show two other methods of implementation of the invention in which the detachable part is of the nut type, for example in metal or in a thermoplastic material. These parts are crimped by the presence of studs 21 formed on the external surface of the mould 22 to space the part of the detachable part away from the external surface of the mould.

[0081] Thermoforming of the part may be either partial or complete. Parts such as those described in patent applications WO2005096864, WO20130418809, US2015101156 or WO2015052349 in the name of the applicant can also be used as a detachable part.

[0082] In the methods of implementation shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C, according to the longitudinal cross section shown, two external left and right C folds 23 and 24 are formed which together define an external opening through which the attached part 5, in particular its hooks 9, is directly accessible from the outside. The concave side of the two C folds 23 and 24 face inward (the inside and outside are defined with respect to the sheet, the side of the sheet where part 5 is located being the outside and the other side the inside).

[0083] Two internal left and right C folds at two points 25 and 26 are formed after the external left and right C folds 23 and 24 with their concave side facing outward. The distance between the two internal C folds 25 and 26 is greater than the distance between the two external C folds 23 and 24.

[0084] In the methods of implementation shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C, the crimping zone can be defined as being the part of the sheet that extends between the external folds 23 and 24 and the internal folds 25 and 26, along the detachable part. In this crimping zone, the thickness of at least one portion of the sheet or the average thickness of the sheet is less than the thickness of the sheet in other places, in particular between folds 25 and 26 or to the left of the external left fold 23 or to the right of the external right fold 24.

[0085] In the methods of implementation shown in FIGS. 6, 6 (b) and 7 to 10, according to the longitudinal cross sectional view shown, two external left and right U folds 23 and 24 are formed which together define an external opening through which the detachable part 5, in particular its hooks 9, is directly accessible from the outside. The two folds 23 and 24 have their concave side facing inward (the inside and outside are defined with respect to the sheet, the side of the sheet on which part 5 is located being the outside and the other side the inside).

[0086] Two internal left and right U folds 25 and 26 are formed after the external left and right folds 23 and 24 with their concave side facing outward. The distance between the two internal folds 25 and 26 is greater than the distance between the two external folds 23 and 24.

[0087] In the methods of implementation shown in FIGS. 6, 6(b) and 7 to 10, the crimping zone can be defined as being the part of the sheet that extends between the external folds 23 and 24 and the internal folds 25 and 26, along the detachable part. In this crimping zone, the thickness of at least one portion of the sheet or the average thickness of the sheet is less than the thickness of the sheet in other places, in particular between folds 25 and 26 or to the left of the external left folds 23 or to the right of the external right fold 24.

[0088] In the method of implementation shown in FIG. 11, two detachable parts are shown, each having a left crimping zone with two right folds C 23 and 25 respectively with two folds C 24 and 26 and a right crimping zone with two U folds 24 and 26 respectively left of the two U folds 23 and 25.

[0089] In the method of implementation shown in FIG. 11, the crimping zone may be defined as being the part of the sheet that extends between the folds external 23, 24, 23 and 24 and the internal folds 25, 26, 25 and 26 respectively which are directly adjacent to them, along the detachable part. In this crimping zone, the thickness of the sheet is less than the thickness of the sheet in other places, in particular between folds 25 and 26, between folds 25 and 26, between folds 24 and 23 or to the left of the external left fold 23 or to the right of the external right fold 24.

[0090] In the methods of implementation shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B or FIG. 14, according to the longitudinal cross sectional view shown, two external left and right U folds 23 and 24 are formed which together define an external opening through which the attached part 5 is directly accessible from the outside. The two U folds 23 and 24 have their concave side facing inward (the inside and outside are defined with respect to the sheet, the side of the sheet on which part 5 is located being the outside and the other side the inside).

[0091] Two internal left and right C folds 25 and 26 are formed after external left and right U folds 23 and 24 having their concave side facing outward. The distance between the two internal C folds 25 and 26 is greater than the distance between the two externals U folds 23 and 24.

[0092] Two innermost left and right C folds 27 and 28 are formed after the internal C folds 25 and 26.

[0093] In the methods of implementation shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B or FIG. 14, the crimping zone can be defined as being the part of the sheet which extends between the external U folds 23 and 24 and the internal C folds 25 and 26 which follow them directly, along the detachable part. In this crimping zone, the thickness of the sheet is less than the thickness of the sheet in other places, in particular between the folds 25 and 26 or to the left of the external left fold 23 or to the right of the external right fold 24. The crimping zone can also be defined as being the part of the sheet that extends between the external U folds 23 and 24 and the innermost C folds 27 and 28, along the detachable part. In this crimping zone, the thickness of the sheet is less than the thickness of the sheet in other places, in particular between the folds 25 and 26 or to the left of the external left fold 23 or to the right of the external right fold 24.

[0094] In general, according to the invention the crimping zone can be defined as comprising at least the area of the sheet that extends, in transverse cross section, between the outermost folds having their concave side facing inward and the innermost folds directly after the outermost folds and having their concave side facing outward.

[0095] The crimping zone may also be defined as comprising at least the area of the sheet that extends, in transverse cross section, between the outermost folds with their concave side facing inward and the innermost folds having their concave side facing outward.

[0096] The fields of application of the invention are extensive, ranging from transport (automobile, aeronautical, shipping, bus, railways, etc.), in particular in the manufacture of seats, to the food industry via packing, building, energy, medical, communications, industry, and others.