Disclosure of Invention
Starting from the prior art, the object of the present invention is to develop a method for producing a diaphragm pot in which the color profile of the diaphragm pot can be achieved already during the production process.
To solve this object, a method for producing a diaphragm pot is proposed, wherein the method comprises the following method steps: at least one color layer is applied to a first mold of an at least two-part resin injection molding machine, in particular to an outer surface of the first mold, and a second mold of the at least two-part resin injection molding machine is arranged relative to the first mold in such a way that at least one cavity is created between the first mold and the second mold, wherein the color layer is arranged within the cavity, and a plastic material is injected into the cavity of the resin injection molding machine in such a way that a film pot with a film is created and the color layer is integrated into the outer surface of the film pot. A diaphragm pot produced according to the method described above is also proposed, which has at least one color layer, which is composed in particular of a gel coat, wherein the color layer is integrated into the outer surface of the diaphragm pot. Furthermore, an acoustic transducer is proposed, which has a diaphragm cup according to the invention and a transducer element, in particular a piezoelectric transducer element, and a circuit board for electrical contacting of the transducer element.
In a method for producing a film pot, at least one color layer is first applied to a first mold, in particular to the outer surface of the first mold, of an at least two-part resin injection molding machine. Preferably automatically by means of a spraying or jetting process. Preferably, in the RTM (resin transfer molding) method, a resin injection molding machine is used.
Subsequently, the second mold of the at least two-part resin injection molding machine is arranged or moved relative to the first mold in such a way that at least one cavity is created between the first mold and the second mold. The cavity is in particular a cavity formed between the first and the second mould. Here, a color layer is arranged within the cavity. In the resin injection molding method, a mold (also referred to as a casting tool) is used as a negative mold (negativeformer) of the diaphragm pot to be produced. The mold determines the geometry of the membrane pot and ensures the required surface quality of the membrane pot and the integrated color layer. In the following method step, the plastic material is injected into the cavity of the resin injection molding machine in such a way that a film pot with the film is produced and the color layer is integrated into the outer surface of the film pot. Preferably, the manufactured membrane pot also has an outer wall. The following possibilities are obtained by the described production method: the color profile of the membrane pot has been achieved during the manufacturing process. Complex process steps, such as cleaning and surface pretreatment of the diaphragm pot, preferably made of aluminum alloy, and application and drying of the lacquer layer, are therefore eliminated. The applied color layer is preferably also designed as a protective layer for the diaphragm pot, in order to prevent moisture from penetrating and UV radiation and mechanical surface damage. Preferably, a plurality of color layers are applied to the outer surface of the first mold sequentially in time. Preferably, the color layer composed of a single or a plurality of color layers has a total thickness in the range of 50 to 500 μm. In order to integrate the color layer into the outer surface of the diaphragm pot, the color layer preferably rests at least partially against the injected plastic material.
Preferably, a color layer is applied on the bottom region of the first mold. The bottom region is in particular the region of the first mold which is used to form the outer side of the membrane pot. The color layer is therefore preferably integrated into the outer surface of the membrane pot, in particular into the outer side of the membrane, when the membrane pot is constructed. Thus, the color of the membrane can be adapted to the exterior color of the vehicle, for example. The effect of the vibration damping of the coloured layer adds additional vibration damping to the vibration damping already present in the plastic material of the diaphragm pot. In the case of the use of a diaphragm pot in an acoustic transducer, the integration of a color layer into the diaphragm of the diaphragm pot leads to an advantageous change in the vibration mechanics of the transducer. In particular, an increase in the structural dynamic damping of the ultrasonic transducer occurs, which leads to an increase in the usable operating frequency range or bandwidth of the acoustic transducer.
Preferably, in a further method step, the fiber material, in particular the fiber mat, is introduced into the first mold as a film of a film pot. The fiber material is embedded in the plastic material when the plastic material is injected and is therefore also integrated into the diaphragm pot. The membrane of the membrane pot is thus constructed as a fiber plastic composite. Preferably, the fibrous material in the first mould is at least partially connected, in particular directly connected, to the colour layer. The color layer introduced into the first mold has the following advantages: the color layer is viscous and remains viscous on the side facing away from the mold. In this way, the fibrous material can be placed in the desired position in the mold in a targeted manner and can also be fixed there. Furthermore, a simple possibility is obtained for the color of the membrane to be matched externally, for example, to the outside of the vehicle color.
Preferably, the color layer consists of a gel coat, in particular a synthetic resin with color pigments. The synthetic resin is preferably composed of epoxy resin or polyester. Preferably, the color layer is thus connected to the fiber material and/or the injected plastic material in a material-locking manner. The injected plastic material is preferably a thermosetting plastic, such as epoxy or polyurethane, or alternatively a thermoplastic, such as polyamide or polyoxymethylene. The adhesive bond between the color layer and the injected plastic material and/or fiber material is achieved by the adhesive properties of the gel coat or its synthetic resin and/or the adhesive properties of the injected and subsequently thermally hardened plastic material. As a result, a non-detachable material-locking connection is produced between the outer side of the diaphragm pot and the color layer. Alternatively or additionally, a non-detachable, cohesive connection thus occurs between the outer side of the membrane pot and the fiber material, in particular the fiber mat. This material-locking connection is comparable to an adhesive connection, wherein, however, instead of an adhesive, the adhesive material properties of the injected plastic material are used for the connection. In this case, it should be noted that the adhesive properties of the gel coat and of the plastic material and/or the fiber material are matched to one another in order to achieve a permanently strong cohesive connection.
Preferably, in a further method step, the temperature of the first and/or second mold is increased for hardening the injected plastic material. This temperature increase can be achieved, for example, by heating elements integrated into the first and/or second mold. The heating time is also dependent on the injected plastic material and the quantity of injected plastic material.
A further subject matter of the invention is a membrane pot, in particular a membrane pot produced by means of the method for producing a membrane pot described above. The diaphragm pot has at least one color layer, which is in particular formed by a gel coat, which is integrated into the outer surface of the diaphragm pot. Preferably, the membrane pot has a membrane. The color layer is integrated into the outer surface of the membrane pot, in particular into the outer side of the membrane. The outer side of the membrane is in particular the side of the membrane oriented toward the environment outside the membrane pot. The diaphragm can is mounted on the vehicle, in particular in the bumper of the vehicle, on the side of the diaphragm that is visible from the outside. The diaphragm pot, which is particularly suitable for the sound transducer, is in particular designed as a fiber-plastic composite component.
Another subject of the invention is an acoustic transducer, in particular an ultrasonic transducer. The acoustic transducer has the diaphragm cup described above, a transducer element, in particular a piezoelectric transducer element, and a printed circuit board for electrical contacting of the transducer element.
Detailed Description
Fig. 1a shows in a sectional view: how to apply the color layer 15 by means of gel coating onto the outer surface 20 of the first mold 10 of a two-piece resin injection molding machine. The outer surface 20 is configured as a bottom region of the first mold 10. The color layer 15 is designed as a gel coat, which in turn is composed of a synthetic resin with color pigments. In addition, the fiber mat, here as fiber material 30, is directly connected to the color layer 15 on the base region of the first mold. By means of the adhesive properties of the gel coat or its synthetic resin, a cohesive connection of the color layer 15 to the fiber material 30 is produced.
Fig. 1b also shows that the second mold 25 of the two-part resin injection molding machine 5 is arranged or moved relative to the first mold 10 in such a way that a cavity 35 is created between the first mold 10 and the second mold 25. The color layer 15 and the fibre material 30 are now arranged in the cavity 35, said color layer 15 and the fibre material 30 having previously been applied to the outer surface 20 of the first mould tool 10 in the method step of fig. 1 a.
In this exemplary embodiment, the two molds 10 and 25 are joined together in a vacuum-tight manner by means of suitable sealing elements, not shown here, and form a negative mold of the film pot to be produced. In order to inject the plastic material into the cavity 35, the resin injection molding machine 5 has an inlet opening 40 and an outlet opening 45.
Fig. 2 shows the finished membrane pot 1. In this case, the color layer 15, which is formed by a gel coat, is integrated into the outer side 55 of the membrane 56 of the membrane pot 1. The color layer 15 rests in the partial region 32 against the plastic material of the membrane pot 1 and against the fiber material 30 over the entire outer surface of the fiber material 30. The fibre material 30 is itself embedded in the plastic material of the membrane pot 1. In addition to the membrane 56, the membrane pot 1 also has an outer wall 50.
Fig. 3 shows an acoustic transducer 2 with the diaphragm pot 1 shown in fig. 2. In addition to the diaphragm pot 1, the acoustic transducer 2 also has a piezoelectric transducer element 60 and a circuit board 70. For the electrical contacting of the converter element 60, the converter element 60 is connected to the circuit board 70 by means of a conductor 65.
Fig. 4 shows a method for producing a diaphragm pot in the form of a flow chart. In a first method step 100, at least one color layer is applied to a first mold of an at least two-part resin injection molding machine, in particular to an outer surface of the first mold. In particular, a color layer is applied to the bottom region of the first mold. Subsequently, in a method step 120, a second mold of the at least two-part resin injection molding machine is arranged or positioned relative to the first mold in such a way that at least one cavity is created between the first mold and the second mold. Here, a color layer is arranged within the cavity. In a method step 130 following method step 120, the plastic material is injected into the cavity of the resin injection molding machine in such a way that a film pot with the film is produced and the color layer is integrated into the outer surface of the film pot. In particular, the color layer is integrated into the outer surface of the membrane, in particular the outer side of the membrane, of the membrane pot.
In an optional method step 110 following method step 100, the fiber material, in particular the fiber mat, is introduced into the first mold as a film of a film pot. In a method step 130, the fiber material is embedded in the plastic material during the injection of the plastic material.
In an optional method step 140 following the method step 130, the temperature of the first and/or second mold is also increased for hardening the injected plastic material.