JP2001262443A - Device for opening fiber bundle and method of opening the fiber bundle, and method of producing prepreg - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for opening fiber bundle, which can stably and efficiently open a fiber bundle, even when the fiber bundle to be opened is the so-called high elastic modulus fiber bundle or even when the speed for carrying the fiber bundle is increased, to provide a method of opening the fiber bundle by the use of the fiber-opening device, and to provide a method of producing a prepreg, wherein the prepreg obtained by impregnating the opened fiber bundle with a resin has a higher grade than those of conventional prepregs. SOLUTION: This device for opening fiber bundle comprises a roller group and a substrate which is reciprocated, while the contact with the carried fiber bundle and the separation from the fiber bundle are repeated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fiber bundle opening apparatus, a fiber bundle opening method using the present fiber opening apparatus, and a prepreg for impregnating a resin into the fiber bundle opened by the opening method. And a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Prepreg is used for aircraft materials, building materials,
It is widely used as an intermediate substrate for molding general industrial materials and sports and leisure goods. The prepreg, after a plurality of fiber bundles in which a plurality of single fibers are gathered are aligned in a sheet shape, and after the fiber bundle is thinly and uniformly spread in the width direction,
It is manufactured by impregnating a matrix resin between single fibers of a fiber bundle.

In recent years, with the diversification of uses, high-quality prepregs having a small thickness and a small thickness unevenness have been demanded. When producing such a prepreg, it is necessary to spread the fiber bundle widely and thinly so as not to impair its quality.

[0004] As a method of opening the fiber bundle, for example, as disclosed in JP-A-56-43435, a fiber bundle to be conveyed is passed through a plurality of rollers while being bent. A method in which the fiber bundle is spread by pressing the fiber bundle against a cylindrical substrate vibrating in the axial direction, or a fiber bundle to be conveyed as disclosed in JP-A-61-275438, a reciprocating body or A method of vibrating in a longitudinal direction by a rotating body, and further pressing the substrate on a substrate having a curved surface to open the fiber;
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4 (1999) -212, a method has been proposed in which a conveyed fiber bundle is opened by passing a part of a roller group which is an eccentric rotating body.

[0005] However, according to these opening methods,
In producing a prepreg having a particularly small thickness, the fiber bundle is strongly pressed against the substrate when the fiber bundle is opened and receives a strong rubbing force, causing fluff or cutting the fiber bundle in severe cases. There were things. This is particularly noticeable when the fiber bundle is a high modulus fiber or when the transport speed is increased, and the quality of the obtained prepreg is poor.

Various measures have been taken to address such problems, such as reducing the coefficient of friction of the base material that opens the fiber bundle and using ultrasonic vibration. However, no satisfactory solution has yet been found. Is the current situation.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to stably and efficiently open fibers even when the fiber bundle is a so-called high modulus fiber or when the transport speed is increased. A fiber bundle opening device, a fiber bundle opening method using the main opening device, and a prepreg obtained by impregnating a resin into a spread fiber bundle, which is higher in quality than ever before. It is to provide a manufacturing method of.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, a fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, this is a fiber bundle opening apparatus in which a roller group and a substrate that reciprocates while repeating contact and separation with the conveyed fiber bundle are constituent elements.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, provided between at least one roller pair of a roller group consisting of at least two rollers to which the fiber bundle is brought into contact and conveyed, and a roller pair consisting of two adjacent rollers in the roller group, The fiber bundle opening apparatus includes a base member that reciprocates while repeating contact and separation with the fiber bundle by changing the position of the shaft center with respect to the fiber bundle to be conveyed.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a fiber bundle opening method according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, using the fiber bundle opening device, the fiber bundle is passed through the roller group in a zigzag manner, the frequency of the reciprocating motion of the substrate is 1 to 100 Hz, and the amplitude of the fiber bundle is 1 to 25 m.
m, a fiber bundle opening method in which the speed of the conveyed fiber bundle is set at 3 to 20 m / min to open the fiber bundle.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method of manufacturing a prepreg according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, this is a method for producing a prepreg in which a resin is impregnated into a fiber bundle that has been spread by the fiber bundle opening method.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present inventors have conducted intensive studies, and as a result, opened a fiber bundle composed of a roller group and a base member performing a specified operation. It has been found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved at once by an apparatus and a fiber bundle opening method using such an opening apparatus.

That is, the fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention comprises a roller group and a base material that reciprocates while repeating contact and separation with the conveyed fiber bundle. Specifically, a roller group consisting of at least two rollers to which the fiber bundle is contacted and conveyed,
Provided between at least one pair of roller pairs of two adjacent rollers in the group of rollers;
A base member that reciprocates while repeating contact and separation with the fiber bundle by changing the position of the shaft center with respect to the conveyed fiber bundle is a constituent element.

The term "substrate" as used herein means a member used to spread the conveyed fiber bundle. Specifically, a rod-shaped fixed bar having a polygonal cross section having a certain degree of roundness at a corner, a roller rotatable about an axis, and the like are given. When the substrate is a roller, the substrate may be a driving roller that transmits and rotates a driving force, or may be a so-called free rotation roller that does not transmit a driving force. Note that the roller may have an asymmetric cross section, or may be a so-called eccentric rotating body.

As the material constituting the substrate, stainless steel, ceramics, general carbon steel, etc. can be preferably used, but other materials may be used as long as they have a small amount of bending and do not have insufficient strength. can do. Furthermore, regarding the surface roughness of the part where the substrate and the fiber bundle contact,
The arithmetic average roughness Ra measured according to JIS B0601 is 0.4 to 3.2, preferably 0.8 to 1.6.

The expression "reciprocating while repeating contact and separation" means that a state in which the substrate is completely in contact with the fiber bundle to be conveyed and a state in which the substrate is completely separated are periodically changed. A state that repeats. In a state where the substrate is completely separated, the fiber bundle to be conveyed is not applied with any pressure from the substrate, and a part of the fiber bundle is in a relaxed state in which substantially no tension is applied. Therefore, in the latter situation,
The minimum value of the tension applied to the opening portion of the fiber bundle is substantially zero.

In the fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention,
It is preferable that two or more bases are provided.

In the fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention, at least one roller of the roller group or the at least one base extends on the outer peripheral portion in the roller rotation axis direction and projects from the roller surface. It is preferable that the roller is a support-equipped roller having a plurality of portions (hereinafter, referred to as support portions) for supporting the fiber bundles.

When the fiber bundle comes into contact with the support portion, the fiber bundle is gripped and spread by the roller with the support portion, and the spread portion is brought into contact with the next support portion. You. Thereby, even if false twist exists in the fiber bundle, the spread of twist is prevented, and the fiber bundle is stably opened.

Further, in the fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention, at least one roller with a support portion is located upstream with respect to the direction in which the fiber bundle is transported from the substrate, and It is preferable that the roller rotates in a forward direction with respect to the transport direction of the fiber bundle at an outer peripheral speed lower than the transport speed of the fiber bundle.

Further, in the fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention, at least one roller with a supporting portion is located on the upstream side of the substrate with respect to the direction of transport of the fiber bundle, and the roller with the supporting portion is provided. It is preferable to rotate in the direction opposite to the fiber bundle transport direction.

Further, in the fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention, in the roller with the supporting portion, the angle θ between the adjacent supporting portion and the roller axis is 5 to 50 °, preferably 10 to 40 °. And the height t of the supporting portion and the radius r of the roller are given by the formula t> r × [1 / cos (θ / 2) −
It is better to satisfy the relationship of [1].

Here, if the angle θ is less than 5 °, the spacing between the adjacent support portions becomes narrow, and the twist preventing effect may be reduced. If the angle θ exceeds 50 °, the fiber bundle is not supported. When the fiber bundle comes into contact with the portion, the curvature of the fiber bundle becomes large, so that the fiber bundle may be fuzzed.

The equation t> r × [1 / cos (θ / 2) −
If the relationship of [1] is not satisfied, the fiber bundle may come into contact with the roller surface of the support-equipped roller, and the effect of preventing twisting may decrease.

In the fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that at least one roller in the group of rollers located downstream of the substrate in the fiber bundle transport direction is a so-called brake roller.

By using a brake roller,
The tension of the fiber bundle after opening is increased, and the stability of the fiber bundle after opening is increased.

In the fiber opening device according to the present invention, it is preferable that at least one of the rollers is a so-called dancer roller. Thus, the fluctuation of the tension applied to the fiber bundle at the fiber bundle opening portion can be reduced, and the fiber bundle opening operation can be performed more efficiently.

The width of the fiber bundle swinging due to contact with the substrate, that is, the amplitude of the fiber bundle varies depending on the type of the fiber bundle and the transport speed, but it is preferably 1 to 25 mm, and more preferably 1 to 5 mm. If it exceeds 25 mm, the fiber bundle may not be stably conveyed. In an extreme case, the fiber bundle may even deviate from a predetermined yarn path.

In the present invention, a method of opening a fiber bundle using the above-described opening device is employed. In this fiber bundle opening method, the fiber bundle conveyed by the substrate that repeats the contact with and separation from the fiber bundle described above is opened.

The direction in which the substrate reciprocates is preferably a vertical direction, that is, a vertical direction. However, the direction is not particularly limited as long as it is a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the fiber bundle is conveyed. . Further, the base may be reciprocated on an arc centered on a certain point. If the base is a roller having an asymmetric cross section, the base performs a so-called eccentric rotation to exert the above-described action. You can also.

The fiber bundle to be opened includes carbon fibers,
Graphite fibers are suitable, and especially the tensile modulus of these reinforcing fibers is 200 to 700 GPa, preferably 350 to 70 GPa.
Although the effect is great at 0 GPa, the fiber opening method according to the present invention can be applied to other reinforcing fibers, for example, glass fibers and organic high-modulus fibers such as polyaramid fibers. The number of single fibers constituting the fiber bundle is 1,000 to 100,000,
Preferably, it is 3,000 to 18,000.

Such a fiber bundle is provided with an oil agent for improving the bundle property of the fiber bundle, or a so-called sizing agent for improving the adhesion to the matrix resin when a prepreg is produced. In such a case, before opening the fiber bundle, at least one of the rollers
The surface of the rollers, the surface of at least one substrate in the fiber opening device, or the fiber bundle itself at 70 to 250 ° C,
Preferably 100 to 200 ° C, more preferably 100 to 200 ° C
Preheating to 180 ° C. softens the oil agent and the sizing agent, and thus the fiber bundle can be more efficiently opened, which is preferable.

The oil agent and the sizing agent applied to the fiber bundle can be reduced or removed by passing the fiber bundle through a bath in which an organic solvent or a cleaning solution is stored.

In the fiber bundle opening method according to the present invention, the frequency of the reciprocating motion of the substrate depends on the type of the fiber bundle and the transport speed, but is preferably 1 to 100 Hz, preferably 3 to 60 Hz. . If the frequency exceeds 100 Hz, fluff may be generated in the fiber bundle. The frequency is preferably increased as the transport speed of the fiber bundle increases, from the viewpoint of stabilizing the opening of the fiber bundle. When the transport speed of the fiber bundle is 3 to 10 m / min, the frequency is 3 to 30 Hz. When the speed exceeds 10 m / min, the frequency is preferably 30 to 60 Hz.

In the fiber bundle opening method according to the present invention, the conveying speed of the fiber bundle to be opened is 3 to 20 m / sec.
Min, preferably 5 to 10 m / min. 3m /
If it is less than 10 minutes, the efficiency of obtaining the spread fiber becomes poor, and 2
If it exceeds 0 m / min, the opening efficiency may decrease.

Further, in the fiber bundle opening method according to the present invention, in order to further enhance the opening effect of the fiber bundle, a gas can be injected into the fiber bundle to be opened. Gas injection
It may be performed upstream or downstream with respect to the direction of transport of the fiber bundle from the substrate, but is preferably performed upstream from the viewpoint of further enhancing the fiber bundle opening effect. Accordingly, even when the oil agent or the sizing agent is applied to the fiber bundle and the fiber bundle is strongly bundled, the fiber bundle can be opened with higher efficiency. Here, the temperature of the gas is
From the viewpoint of further enhancing the fiber bundle opening effect, 70 to 25
0 ° C., preferably 100 to 200 ° C., and the gas injection pressure is 0.1 to 0.5 MPa, preferably 0.2 to 0.5 MPa.
0.5 MPa is good. In addition, air is usually used for gas because of the production cost. In this case, air supplied from the factory compressed air can be used.

In the fiber bundle opening method according to the present invention, the fiber bundle is preferably beaten with a reciprocating body or a rotating body while heating the fiber bundle on the upstream side of the substrate with respect to the direction of transport of the fiber bundle. . Thereby, the softening of the oil agent and the sizing agent attached to the fiber bundle is promoted, and the opening efficiency is enhanced.

Further, in the fiber bundle opening method according to the present invention, the fiber bundle is reciprocated at a frequency lower than the reciprocating frequency of the substrate on the upstream side of the substrate in the direction of transport of the fiber bundle. Or it is preferable to vibrate with a rotating body.
In this method, when the fiber bundle and the substrate are separated from each other, that is, in a non-contact state, the fiber bundle is relaxed, and the opening efficiency is increased.

Here, the frequency lower than the reciprocating frequency of the substrate is 0.5 to 5 Hz, preferably 1 to 3 Hz. At this time, the amplitude of the fiber bundle is 20 to 20.
It is good to be 0 mm.

Further, in the fiber bundle opening method according to the present invention, in order to further enhance the fiber bundle opening effect, the fiber bundle is opened and transported on the downstream side in the fiber bundle transport direction from the substrate in the fiber opening device. The fiber bundle to be formed may be supported on a belt having a width larger than the entire width of the fiber bundle and curved so as to be convex on the side in contact with the fiber bundle.

In the present invention, in the creel device for unwinding the fiber bundle, the opening of the fiber bundle can be stabilized by appropriately changing the resistance of the yarn feeding mechanism for gripping the bobbin.

In the present invention, a prepreg is produced by impregnating a resin into the fiber bundle that has been spread by the fiber bundle opening method of the present invention described above. This makes it possible to produce a high-quality prepreg in which the resin is sufficiently impregnated in the fiber with a small thickness unevenness despite its small thickness.

The resin used here and the method of impregnating the resin are not particularly limited. Examples of the resin include thermosetting resins such as epoxy resin, vinyl ester resin, unsaturated polyester resin, and phenol resin; Thermoplastic resins such as resin, polyethylene resin, polycarbonate resin, polyether resin, and polyamide resin are exemplified.

Examples of the epoxy resin include bisphenol A type epoxy resin, phenol novolak type epoxy resin, cresol novolak type epoxy resin, glycidylamine type epoxy resin, alicyclic epoxy resin, urethane modified epoxy resin, and brominated bisphenol A type. Epoxy resin or the like can be used.

These epoxy resins are not limited to only one resin,
More than one type can be used in combination, and further, from liquid to solid. Usually, a curing agent is added to the epoxy resin for use.

As the impregnation method, a method of directly impregnating a fiber bundle with a resin having a reduced viscosity by heating or a method of thinly and uniformly applying the above resin to a sheet such as paper or a resin film which has been subjected to a release treatment. A method in which a fiber bundle is sandwiched between two coated resin sheets and pressed with, for example, a heating roller, or a method in which the fiber bundle is impregnated with a resin whose viscosity has been reduced by dissolving it in an organic solvent or the like. Can be

[0047]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In each example, the measurement of physical property values and the like was performed as follows. <Tensile modulus, tensile strength> Bakelite (registered trademark) ER manufactured by Union Carbide Co., Ltd.
1000 g (930% by weight) of L-4221 and 30 g of boron trifluoride monoethylamine (BF ₃ .MEA)
(3% by weight) and an epoxy resin composition mixed with 40 g (4% by weight) of acetone.
It was cured by heating for 0 minutes to obtain a resin-impregnated strand.
Next, the tensile modulus and tensile strength were determined according to the resin impregnated strand test method according to JIS R7601. <Tension on Fiber Bundle> The tension was measured using a mechanical tension meter. Here, a digital tension meter (model number: DTM-
5KB). <Spreading width> Using a fixed ruler, it was applied to the fiber bundle to be conveyed, and measured visually. <Degree of generation of fluff> The state of fluff of the fiber bundle was observed by visual measurement, and evaluated according to the following five grades.

Rank 5: No fluff is observed.

Rank 4: The split ends are slightly recognized.

Rank 3: Split ends are observed, but do not wrap around the roller.

Rank 2: Split ends are observed, and winding around the roller occurs.

Rank 1: Split ends were confirmed, winding around the roller occurred, and the fiber bundle was further cut. (Example 1) As a fiber bundle to be opened, the average single fiber diameter is 7 μm, the number of single fibers is 12,000, and the tensile strength is 4900 M.
A carbon fiber bundle having a Pa and a tensile modulus of 230 GPa was used.

While pulling the fiber bundle by the drive nip roller 10, the fiber bundle 7 was unwound from the bobbin 8 provided in the creel device. Here, the tension applied to the fiber bundle at the unwinding site is 1.6 N / line, and the transport speed is 5 m / line.
Minutes.

Next, the fiber bundle was introduced into a preheating device 4 having an effective length of 1 m and having a far-infrared heater with an output of 4 kW to heat the fiber bundle and soften the sizing agent adhering to the fiber bundle.
Here, the atmosphere temperature in the preheating device 4 was 100 ° C.

Next, while continuously conveying the fiber bundle, air is jetted from the gas jetting device 6 at a pressure of 0.2 MPa.
It was introduced into a fiber opening device 1 composed of a substrate 2 composed of a free-rotating roller having a diameter of 40 mm and a plurality of rollers 3 (roller group).

In the fiber opening device 1, the substrate 2 repeatedly contacts and separates with the fiber bundle while reciprocating at a frequency of 10 Hz in a vertical direction, that is, a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the fiber bundle is conveyed. Was. Thereby, the conveyed fiber bundle was opened. Here, the amplitude of the fiber bundle due to the contact between the substrate and the fiber bundle was 5 mm.

At this time, the tension applied to the portion where the fiber bundle is spread was 3.2 N / line at the maximum when the substrate was in contact, and was 0 N / line at the minimum when the substrate was separated.

The fiber bundle was uniformly spread at an average of 30 mm in the fiber bundle direction with respect to the width of 7 mm before fiber opening, and the fiber opening effect was sufficient. The generation degree of fluff was rank 5, which was almost nil. Also, no cutting of the fiber bundle was observed.

Further, the fiber bundle was finally opened through the dancer roller 5, and the resin bundle was impregnated with resin by the resin impregnating device 9 to form a prepreg. (Embodiment 2) In FIG. 3, the fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention has the same configuration as the apparatus of FIG. 1 except that the gas injection device 6 in the apparatus of FIG. Elements in the apparatus of FIG. 3 that are the same as elements in the apparatus of FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this apparatus, the fiber bundle 7 was opened in the same manner as in Example 1. Separately from the vibration of the substrate 2, a vibration imparting member 11 composed of a free rotating roller having a diameter of 40 mm is used.
Of 50 mm was applied.

At this time, the tension applied to the portion where the fiber bundle 7 is opened is a maximum of 3.6 at the time of contact between the base 2 and the fiber bundle 7.
N / pieces, and when the substrate 2 and the fiber bundle 7 are separated from each other,
N / book.

The fiber bundle 7 was uniformly spread with an average width of 30 mm over the longitudinal direction of the fiber bundle with respect to the width of 7 mm before the spread, and the spread was satisfactory. The degree of fluff generation was rank 5. Example 3 A fiber bundle was opened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the opening apparatus shown in FIG. 4 was used.

At this time, the tension applied to the portion where the fiber bundle was opened was 2.8 N / line at the maximum when the substrate was in contact, and was 0 N / line at the minimum when the substrate was separated.

The fiber bundle was uniformly opened at an average of 28 mm in the fiber bundle direction with respect to the width of 7 mm before the opening, and the opening effect was sufficient. The generation degree of fluff was rank 5. (Embodiment 4) In FIG. 5, an apparatus for carrying out the fiber bundle opening method according to the present invention comprises a fiber bundle 7 drawn from a bobbin (not shown) on which the fiber bundle is wound.
First roller 12a, rotating body 15 composed of four small rollers, second roller 12b, third roller 12
c, fourth roller 12d, fifth roller 12e, first base 2A, sixth roller 12f, second base 2
B, seventh roller 12g, third base 2C, first brake roller 13a, second brake roller 13
b and the guide roll 16 are sequentially passed in a zigzag shape.

A pre-heating device 4 (same as the pre-heating device 4 in FIG. 1) is provided below the first roller 12a, the rotating body 15, and the second roller 12b.
A heating device 14 is provided below a section from 2c to the second brake roller 13b. A drive nip roller similar to the drive nip roller 10 of the apparatus in FIG. 1 exists downstream of the guide roll 16 with respect to the transport direction of the fiber bundle, but is not shown.

FIG. 6 is a detailed side view of the first to seventh rollers 12a to 12g in the apparatus of FIG. In FIG. 6, each of these rollers is represented by reference numeral 12.

In this apparatus, the fiber bundle 7 was opened in the same manner as in Example 1. The tension applied to the fiber bundle 7 at the unwinding site and the transport speed were the same as in Example 1.

The fiber bundle 7 drawn out of the bobbin (not shown) is introduced into a preheating device 4 equipped with a far-infrared heater, where the fiber bundle 7 is heated and the sizing agent attached to the fiber bundle 7 is softened. I was impatient. The ambient temperature in the preheating device 4 was 100 ° C.

Next, while continuously transporting the fiber bundle 7, the rotating body 1 composed of four free rotating rollers 45 mm in diameter is used.
5, the fiber bundle 7 was beaten at a frequency of 30 Hz to promote the softening of the sizing agent, and then the fiber bundle 7 was introduced into the fiber opening device 1.

The opening device 1 includes three bases 2A, 2B, 2
C, a plurality of rollers 12a to 12g (roller group), 2
It is composed of the brake rollers 13 a and 13 b and the heating device 14.

Each of the bases 2A, 2B, 2C and the plurality of rollers 12a to 12g is a free rotation roller 12 (FIG. 6) having a plurality of supporting portions extending in the roller rotation axis direction on its outer peripheral portion. , The angle θ between the adjacent support portion and the roller axis is 22.5 °, and the support portion height t
Was 2 mm, the roller radius r was 28 mm, and the tip radius of the support portion was 2 mm.

The brake rollers 13a and 13b had a diameter of 80 mm and one end was connected to a powder brake mechanism (not shown). As the heating device 14, a far-infrared heater was used.

In the opening device 1, each of the substrates 2A, 2B, 2C
However, as shown by the arrow, the vertical direction, that is, the fiber bundle 7
In a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which
Contact and separation with the fiber bundle 7 were repeated while reciprocating at 5 Hz.

As a result, the conveyed fiber bundle 7 was opened. Here, the amplitude of the fiber bundle caused by the contact between each of the substrates 2A, 2B, and 2C and the fiber bundle 7 was 2 mm.

At this time, the tension applied to the portion where the fiber bundle 7 is opened becomes a maximum of 3.2 N / line when the fiber bundle 7 comes into contact with the bases 2A, 2B and 2C, and the tension applied to the bases 2A, 2B and 2C At the time of separation from the fiber bundle 7, the minimum value was 0N / line, but the tension after passing through the brake roller 13b increased to 4N / line. Due to the heating by the heating device 14, the ambient temperature on the fiber opening device 1 was 100 ° C.

The fiber bundle 7 was uniformly spread with an average width of 30 mm over the longitudinal direction of the fiber bundle with respect to the width of 7 mm before the spread, and the spread was satisfactory. The degree of fluff generation was rank 5, and there was almost no fluff. In addition, the cutting of the fiber bundle 7 was not observed. (Comparative Example 1) A gas injection device 6, a preheating device 4, a cylindrical body 17 vibrating in the axial direction shown in FIG.
Example 1 except that the dancer roller 5 was not used
The fiber bundle was opened in the same manner as described above.

At this time, the tension applied to the portion where the fiber bundle was opened was 2.4 N / line at the maximum and 0.8 N / line at the minimum.

The fiber bundle was opened at an average of 15 mm in the fiber bundle direction with respect to the width of 7 mm before opening, and the opening effect was insufficient. The degree of fluff generation was rank 3. (Comparative Example 2) The rotating body 18 shown in FIG. 8 was used in place of the base 2, and the preheating device 4 was disposed on the downstream side with respect to the transport direction of the fiber bundle of the rotating body 18. The fiber bundle was opened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the dancer roller 5 was not used. Here, the frequency of the rotating body 18 was set to 100 Hz.

At this time, the tension applied to the portion where the fiber bundle was opened was 4.8 N / line at the maximum and 0.2 N / line at the minimum.

The fiber bundle was opened at an average of 20 mm in the fiber bundle direction with respect to a width of 7 mm before opening, and the opening effect was somewhat insufficient. The degree of fluff generation was rank 3. (Comparative Example 3) A fiber bundle was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the eccentric rotation roller 19 shown in FIG. 9 was used instead of the base 2 and the gas injection device 6, the preheating device 4, and the dancer roller 5 were not used. Was opened. At this time, the fiber bundle is not sufficiently relaxed, and the tension applied to the fiber bundle is 0.8 to 2.4 in conjunction with the rotation cycle of the eccentric rotation roller 19.
N / book.

The fiber bundle was opened at an average of 15 mm in the fiber bundle direction with respect to a width of 7 mm before opening, and the opening effect was insufficient. The degree of fluff generation was rank 4.

[0082]

According to the fiber bundle opening apparatus and the fiber bundle opening method using the present fiber opening apparatus according to the present invention, the fiber bundle is a so-called high elastic modulus fiber, and the fiber opening efficiency is improved. Even when the transport speed is increased, the generation of fluff and the like in the fiber bundle can be reduced, and the fiber bundle can be stably and efficiently opened, and a high-quality opened fiber bundle can be obtained. it can.

A prepreg obtained by impregnating a resin into a fiber bundle opened by the above-mentioned opening method has high quality with very little unevenness in thickness, despite its small thickness.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of a method for producing a prepreg according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a fiber bundle opening apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing still another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional shape of a roller including a plurality of support portions protruding from a roller surface in a rotation axis direction of the roller.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a cylinder vibrating in the axial direction.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment according to the prior art.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment according to the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: fiber bundle opening device 2: substrate 2A to 2C: same as above 3: roller 4: preheating device 5: dancer roller 6: gas injection device 7: fiber bundle 8: bobbin (creel device) 9: resin impregnation device 10: Driving nip roller 11: Vibration imparting body 12: Roller with support 12a to 12g: Same as above 13a, 13b: Brake roller 14: Heating device 15: Rotating body 16: Guide roll 17: Cylindrical body vibrating in the axial direction 18: Rotation Body 19: Eccentric rotating roller

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Otani 1-1-1 Sonoyama, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture Toray Industries, Inc. Shiga Plant (72) Inventor Kiyoji Tanaka 1-1-1 Sonoyama, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture No. Toray Industries, Inc. Shiga Plant

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A fiber bundle opening apparatus comprising a roller group and a base material which reciprocates while repeating contact and separation with a conveyed fiber bundle. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fiber bundle is transported in contact with
Provided between at least one roller pair of a roller group consisting of two rollers and a roller pair consisting of two adjacent rollers in the roller group, and the axial center position varies with respect to the fiber bundle to be conveyed. A fiber bundle opening apparatus comprising a base material that reciprocates while repeating contact and separation with the fiber bundle. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the substrate is a rotatable roller.
The fiber bundle opening device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two or more bases are provided.
3. The fiber bundle opening device according to any one of 3. 5. A support part in which at least one roller of the roller group or at least one base in the device has a plurality of support parts protruding from the roller surface in the direction of the rotation axis of the roller on the outer peripheral part thereof. The fiber bundle opening device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising an attached roller. 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said support rollers is located upstream of said substrate in the fiber bundle transport direction, and said support rollers are arranged in a forward direction with respect to the fiber bundle transport direction. The fiber bundle opening device according to claim 5, wherein the fiber bundle opening device rotates at an outer peripheral speed lower than the conveying speed of the fiber bundle. 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said rollers provided with supports is located upstream of said substrate in a direction in which said fiber bundle is transported, and said rollers provided with support are rotated in a direction opposite to the direction in which said fiber bundle is transported. The fiber bundle opening device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the fiber bundle is opened. 8. The roller with a support section, wherein the angle θ between the adjacent support section and the roller axis is 5 to 50 °, and the height t of the support section and the roller radius r are expressed by the following formula: The fiber bundle opening device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, which satisfies a relationship of t> r x [1 / cos (θ / 2) -1]. 9. The fiber bundle according to claim 1, wherein at least one roller in the group of rollers located downstream of the substrate with respect to the direction of transport of the fiber bundle is a brake roller. Fiber opening device. 10. The fiber bundle according to claim 1, wherein at least one roller located downstream of the substrate in the fiber bundle transport direction with respect to the substrate is a dancer roller. Opening device. 11. The fiber opening device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the fiber bundle is passed through the roller group in a zigzag manner, and the frequency of the reciprocating motion of the substrate is 1 to 100H.
z, a fiber bundle opening method for opening the fiber bundle by setting the amplitude of the fiber bundle to 1 to 25 mm and the speed of the conveyed fiber bundle to 3 to 20 m / min. 12. The fiber bundle opening method according to claim 11, wherein at least one roller of the roller group, the surface of at least one substrate of the substrate, or the fiber bundle itself is heated to 70 to 250 ° C. . 13. The fiber bundle opening according to claim 11, wherein the fiber bundle is beaten by a reciprocating body or a rotating body while heating the fiber bundle on an upstream side of the fiber bundle in the transport direction of the fiber bundle. Method. 14. The fiber bundle has a tensile modulus of 200 to 70.
The fiber bundle opening method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the fiber bundle is 0 GPa. 15. The fiber according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the fiber bundle in the direction of transport of the fiber bundle with respect to the substrate, a gas is jetted to the fiber bundle to be transported. Bundle opening method. 16. The fiber bundle opening method according to claim 15, wherein the temperature of the gas is 70 to 250 ° C. and the injection pressure of the gas is 0.1 to 0.5 MPa. 17. A fiber bundle to be conveyed downstream of the substrate in the fiber bundle conveyance direction, wherein the fiber bundle has a width larger than the entire width of the fiber bundle and is convex on the side that comes into contact with the fiber bundle. 11. Support on a belt which is curved so that
16. The method for opening a fiber bundle according to any one of items 16. 18. A method for producing a prepreg, wherein a resin bundle is impregnated into a fiber bundle opened by the method according to any one of claims 11 to 17.