JP2002143028A - Body sponge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a body sponge and a face washing sponge formed by a fiber mass body whose porous structure is made closer to natural sponge. SOLUTION: In this body sponge and face washing sponge, a porous fiber accumulated body contains 10 to 100 mass % wet heat adhesive crimped staple 5, 5', a number of cell-like void parts are existent in the mass body, at least some of the fibers constituting the mass body are formed of porous fiber mass body heat-bonded by wet heat adhesive crimped staples, and an opening part with a major axis of 0.5 to 10 mm and a depth of 0.5 mm or more exists at least in a part of the surface.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sponge, and more particularly to a novel body sponge having a sponge-like porous structure and a face-washing sponge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a base material for a body sponge, a urethane foam is generally used as a synthetic product. By changing the chemical composition of a urethane polymer, a soft to hard feel can be obtained. As a semi-synthetic product, a product obtained by gelling and solidifying konjac mannan is known. In addition, sewing products in which the surface of a urethane sponge is covered with a woven or knitted fabric of a natural fiber, a semi-synthetic fiber, or a synthetic fiber provided with functionality are also commercially available. However, body sponges made of these materials have not been satisfactory in foaming of body soap. Natural sponges, on the other hand, are excellent in terms of foaming properties and are commercially available as body sponges, but are expensive because of their low production volume.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a porous fiber assembly whose internal structure is closer to natural sponge than a conventional sponge having a uniform structure formed by resin foaming. And a bulky and flexible body sponge and a face-washing sponge. Further, it is intended to easily provide a molded product having a shape that cannot be obtained with natural sponge.

[0004]

That is, the present invention relates to a porous fiber aggregate containing 10 to 100% by mass of a wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber, and a large number of cellular voids inside the aggregate. Is present, at least a part of the fibers constituting the aggregate is composed of a porous fiber aggregate that is thermally bonded by the wet-heat-adhesive crimpable fiber, and at least a part of the surface has a major axis of 0.5 to 10 mm, A body sponge and a face-washing sponge having an opening having a depth of 0.5 mm or more.
(Hereinafter, these may be generally abbreviated as sponge.)

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, a porous fiber assembly constituting a sponge of the present invention will be described. In the present invention, the wet heat-bonded crimped fiber contained in the fiber assembly is about 95 to
A crimped fiber containing a polymer component that is softened by hot water at 100 ° C. and adheres to self-adhesive or other fibers. The crimped form of the crimped fiber is a flat zigzag crimp,
Three-dimensional crimping by false twisting, side-by-side type composite fiber, eccentric core-sheath type composite fiber, coil-shaped three-dimensional crimp developed by asymmetric cooling fiber, and the like are not particularly limited, but the bulk of the porous fiber aggregate From the viewpoint of properties and flexibility, it is preferable that the fiber has a three-dimensional crimp, and in particular, a false twist crimped fiber is preferably used. On the other hand, in the case of straight yarn such as raw silk, the expression of the above-described three-dimensional random coil cannot be obtained, and the bonded portion is not a dot but a lump, and the hand becomes hard. Moreover, even if it has wet heat adhesiveness, a wet heat adhesive crimped fiber which loses crimp by heat treatment is not preferable because the effect of the present invention cannot be obtained. Further, even if a single yarn (so-called homofilament) in which the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber is composed of an adhesive component of 100% by mass is mixed with a regular crimped yarn, it is difficult to obtain a target structure.

[0006] Such a wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber preferably has a crimp rate of 5% or more, more preferably a fiber having a crimp rate of 10 to 30%. Crimp rate is 5
%, The formation of the cellular voids described below becomes insufficient, and it may be difficult to obtain a bulky sponge which is the object of the present invention.

As the wet heat adhesive polymer constituting the wet heat adhesive fiber, for example, a copolymer containing nylon 12 or acrylamide as one component, polylactic acid, ethylene-
Examples thereof include a vinyl alcohol-based copolymer, and among them, an ethylene-vinyl alcohol-based copolymer is preferably used. As the ethylene-vinyl alcohol-based copolymer, those obtained by copolymerizing polyvinyl alcohol with 10 to 60 mol% of ethylene residues are preferable, and those obtained by copolymerizing ethylene residues with 30 to 50 mol% are particularly suitable for wet heat bonding. It is preferable in terms of properties. Further, the vinyl alcohol part preferably has a saponification degree of 95 mol% or more. Due to the large number of ethylene residues, it has a unique property that it has wet heat adhesion but is hardly soluble in hot water. The degree of polymerization is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 400 to 1500. In the present invention, after the target porous fiber aggregate is formed, the ethylene-vinyl alcohol-based copolymer can be partially cross-linked for post-processing such as imparting dyeability or fiber modification.

The wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber used in the present invention may be a fiber composed of the above-mentioned polymer alone, a composite fiber with another thermoplastic polymer, or a fiber composed of another thermoplastic polymer. Fiber whose surface is coated with the polymer may be used. As other thermoplastic polymers, polyester, polyamide, polypropylene and the like can be mentioned, but in terms of heat resistance, dimensional stability, etc., polyesters, polyamides and the like having a higher melting point than ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers. It is preferably used.

As the polyester, terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylic acid, phthalic acid, α, β- (4-carboxyphenoxy) ethane,
Aromatic dicarboxylic acids such as 4,4'-dicarboxydiphenyl, 5-sodium sulfoisophthalic acid, aliphatic dicarboxylic acids such as azelaic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid and esters thereof, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, 1,3 -Propanediol, 1,4-
Fiber-forming polyesters composed of diols such as butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, neopentyl glycol, cyclohexane-1,4-dimethanol, polyethylene glycol and polytetramethylene glycol. It is preferred that at least mol% be ethylene terephthalate units.

As polyamides, aliphatic polyamides mainly composed of nylon 6, nylon 66 and nylon 12,
Examples thereof include semi-aromatic polyamides, and polyamides containing a small amount of the third component may be used.

In the present invention, when a composite fiber composed of an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and another thermoplastic polymer is used as the fiber constituting the porous fiber aggregate, the composite ratio is the former: the latter (mass) Ratio) = 10: 90-9
0:10, especially 30:70 to 70:30 is preferred from the viewpoint of spinnability. The composite form is not particularly limited, and a conventionally known composite form can be adopted.However, it is necessary that the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer is present on at least a part of the fiber surface,
It is preferable that 50% or more is exposed. Specific examples of the composite form include a core-sheath type, an eccentric core-sheath type, a multilayer bonding type, a side-by-side type, a random composite type, a radial bonding type, and a fine fiber generation type. The cross-sectional shape of these fibers is not limited to a solid cross-sectional shape such as a round cross-section or an irregular cross-sectional shape, but may be various cross-sectional shapes such as a hollow cross-sectional shape. In particular, in the case of using a composite fiber of a fine fiber generation type, it is preferable to use a porous fiber aggregate made of a single fiber having a single fiber fineness of 0.56 dtex or less in terms of feeling.

[0012] Further, in the case of a fiber in which the surface of another fiber is coated with an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, it is preferable that the copolymer covers the surface of the other fiber by 1/3 or more. Preferably it is 1/2 or more.

[0013] The porous fiber assembly constituting the body sponge of the present invention comprises the above-mentioned wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber in an amount of 10 to 10;
0% by mass, preferably 30 to 10%.
0 mass%, more preferably 50 to 100 mass%. If the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber is less than 10% by mass, the fiber will be insufficiently bonded, and the formation of the cellular voids described below will be insufficient.

On the other hand, the fibers other than the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fibers constituting the porous fiber aggregate are not particularly limited, and natural fibers,
Semi-synthetic fibers and synthetic fibers can be used and can be selected according to the purpose, but it is desirable that these fibers also have a crimp equivalent to that of the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber.

The porous fiber assembly according to the present invention is characterized in that it has a large number of cellular voids therein. The cellular void portion referred to in the present invention is a hollow space having a size that can be clearly distinguished from the minute inter-fiber voids of the fibers constituting the porous fiber aggregate, and the shape is spherical to cloud-shaped. And various indefinite forms. Its size has a wide distribution over a major axis of 0.5 to 10 mm. The cellular voids exist alone or in a partially connected state in the porous fiber assembly, and the independent or continuous shape of the cellular voids is not strict, and the sample or its expansion is not limited. This is a shape that can be seen by looking at the photograph, and when viewed microscopically, there may be a cellular void portion that lasts more than 10 cm. The porosity of the aggregate can be arbitrarily set depending on the amount of the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber, the accumulation density of the fiber, the conditions of the wet heat treatment, and the like. Is preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more.

In addition, a large number of cellular voids are distributed in the aggregate and also exist on the surface of the aggregate. The cellular voids on the surface exist as recesses on the surface and form openings.

The cellular voids found in the sponge of the present invention are formed without using any foaming agent, and have a structure not found in conventional foamed sponges or nonwoven structures. The cell-shaped void portion is formed by impregnating the fiber assembly containing the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber with water, and
Heat treatment at 0 ° C., that is, the boiling temperature of water, a number of bubbles are generated in the fiber aggregate, the fibers of the aggregate move due to the bubble pressure, and the generated space becomes a cellular void in the fiber aggregate, and at the same time, The heat and heat adhesive crimped fibers are fused together,
The inner wall surface of the void portion is fixed, and the fibers of the other portions are bonded to each other to form an entangled structure. Of course, the use of known adhesives and foaming agents for secondary purposes is not a problem.

The fiber assembly has the feature that no organic solvent or foaming resin is required to form the cellular voids. Therefore, the load and burden on the environment and workers are extremely small, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. This advantage is a great effect in practical use. The heating of the hydrated fiber assembly is performed by blowing steam or using high-frequency electromagnetic waves such as 2450.
It can be heated by microwaves of MHz. High-period electromagnetic wave heating is preferred because bubbles are easily generated in the fiber layer.

After the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fibers are fused, the fiber assembly is cooled by a well-known method to fix the structure of the porous fiber assembly. Since the fiber assembly after the wet heat treatment contains hot water, it is preferably immersed in cold water or cooled with a cold water shower, and cooling with cold air has low efficiency. If the fiber aggregate is compressed before cooling sufficiently, the cellular voids may be deformed. On the other hand, using the compression process,
It is also possible to adjust the cellular voids.

Next, the structure of the porous fiber assembly constituting the body sponge of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First,
The structural difference between the structure of the natural sponge targeted by the present invention and the conventional resin foam will be described. The pores in the conventional resin foam are formed by pore walls constituting a skeletal structure (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a three-dimensional network structure). The presence of a thin film.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged schematic view of a urethane resin foam. In FIG. 1, a skeleton 1 shown by a solid line is shown in front of the paper.
And a skeleton 1 ′ indicated by a dotted line is present at the back of the paper. The skeleton is joined at the fused portion 2. In the figure, the hatched portion indicates the resin film 3 existing in the void wall. In the case of a resin foam, the pore refers to a space surrounded by a skeleton. In other words, a space surrounded by a polygon having the fusion portion 2 as a vertex exists as a hole. Lines intersecting at the fusion portion 2 are further written on the skeleton 1 and their intersections are defined as fusion points a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i,
When j is used, the void in the resin foam is a portion surrounded by the above-described skeleton, that is, the surface a in FIG.
2 shows a polyhedral space surrounded by bcd, surface bcdf, surface abfhg, surface fch, and surface edj. Further, as shown in the drawing, the remaining of the resin film 3 partially formed during the foaming process can be confirmed, which is a characteristic of the resin foam.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic view of a natural sponge used for a sponge. The three-dimensional network structure of the natural sponge is similar to the resin foam shown in FIG. 1, but in the case of the natural sponge, a polyhedral space surrounded by a polygon having the connection point 4 as a vertex is hardly seen. The shape of the holes is significantly different from that shown in FIG.

Further, the cellular void portion of the present invention is characterized in that it is partitioned by a three-dimensional network structure formed by crimped fibers, not voids as seen in a conventional resin foam. is there.

As an example of the porous fiber assembly constituting the sponge of the present invention, an enlarged schematic view in the case of using 100% by mass of a core-sheath type wet heat adhesive crimped fiber having a wet heat adhesive polymer as a sheath component is shown. As shown in FIG. The wet-heat-adhesive crimped fibers 5 are in contact with each other at the fusion portion 2 and fused, and the core component 6 of the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fibers 5 is present. In addition, the further skeleton structure is formed by fusing the wet-heat-adhesive fibers 5 'indicated by dotted lines to each other. Looking at FIG. 3 in more detail, unlike FIG. 2, unlike a conventional resin foam, it is very similar to a natural sponge in that there is no space surrounded by a polygon having the fusion portion as a vertex. ing.

The body sponge of the present invention comprises the above-described porous fiber assembly, and has an opening having a major axis of 0.5 to 10 mm and a depth of 0.5 mm or more on at least a part of its surface. If the major axis of the opening is less than 0.5 mm, foaming of the body soap is poor, and the effect of the present invention is not exhibited. On the other hand, if the major axis exceeds 10 mm, the morphological stability of the opening deteriorates, and the sponge is easily damaged depending on the usage of the sponge. From the point of touch and foaming, major axis is 1-1
0 mm is preferred. The depth of the opening is 0.5 mm or more, and preferably 1-2 mm. 0.5m depth
If it is less than m, the foaming of the body soap becomes poor, and the object of the present invention cannot be achieved.

When the size of the opening is in the above-mentioned range, the body can be felt as a porous body in appearance, and the foaming of the body soap becomes good. It is preferable that such an opening exists over almost the entire surface, and it is preferable that such an opening be provided in an amount of 5 to 30 / cm ² . 5 openings / cm ²
If the amount is less than the above, the foaming of the body soap may be poor, or other objects of the present invention may not be achieved. Also, 30
When the number of pieces / cm ² is exceeded, the shape stability of the opening and the shape retention during use are deteriorated, and fine foam formation, which is the object of the present invention, may not be obtained.

FIG. 4 is a schematic external view of a spherical sponge according to the present invention. In the figure, the opening 7 is formed by the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber 5, which has the same structure as the cellular void in FIG. That is, like the natural sponge, the opening 7 is not a space surrounded by a polygon having the fusion portion as a vertex as shown in FIG. As described above, the size of the opening has a major axis of 0.5 to 10 mm and a depth of 0.5 mm.
5 mm or more, the body sponge of the present invention is very similar to natural sponge.

The sponge of the present invention is not limited to a planar two-dimensional shape such as a sheet, but may be any shape, such as a rectangle, a cylinder, a sphere, a doll, an animal, a character, a numeral, and a bag. Any arbitrary three-dimensional shape can be used. For example, it is possible to use a three-dimensional porous fiber aggregate manufactured by filling fibers into a mold formed in the above-mentioned shape by means such as a blowing method. In addition, when it is made into a sheet shape, it is preferable to use a napped fiber sheet from the viewpoint that an opening is easily formed when the porous fiber aggregate is formed and that it can be cut freely.

In the sponge of the present invention, the porous fiber assembly may be combined with another base material, if necessary. The other substrate to be combined with the fiber assembly is not particularly limited, and a resin foam, a natural product, or the like can be used. Examples of the resin foam include a polyurethane resin foam, a polyvinyl alcohol resin foam, and a cellulose foam. Examples of natural products include pumice and loofah.

The form of the composite with other substrates is not particularly limited.
The fiber assembly may be laminated with another substrate, or at least one surface of another substrate may be covered with the fiber assembly.

When the porous fiber aggregate according to the present invention is used as a sponge, it feels crumpled in a dry state like a natural sponge, but when immersed in water, the glass transition temperature of the wet heat adhesive polymer drops. It becomes softer and the foaming of the body soap is good, making it an excellent body sponge.

The aggregate can also be used as a sponge for facial cleansing, and like a body sponge, is useful as a sponge with good foaming of a facial cleanser and easy removal of makeup.

Further, the sponge of the present invention may contain or adhere various functionalizing agents such as a coloring agent, a fragrance, a fungicide, a deodorant, and tourmaline as required.

[0034]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following Examples, but it should not be construed that the present invention is limited to these Examples. In addition, each physical property value in an Example was calculated | required by the following method. Size of the opening The major axis of the opening on the surface was measured using a caliper. The depth of the opening is 0.5 m
A needle graduated in m units was inserted into the gap, and the length from the bottom to the surface was measured visually. After winding the yarn with a crimping cutter to a 5500 dtex lump, a load of 10 g was hung at the center of the lower end of the lump, and the lump was fixed at the upper part, and a load of 0.009 cN / dtex was applied. In this state, hot water treatment was performed at 90 ° C. for 30 minutes. Then, after leaving it to stand at room temperature with no load, it was dried again.
The yarn length after being left for 5 minutes while applying a load of 0 g is measured, and this is defined as L1 (mm). Next, apply a load of 1 kg and
The length of the yarn after standing for 2 seconds was measured, and this was calculated as L2 (mm) by the following equation. Crimp rate (%) = {(L2-L1) / L2} × 100

Example 1 Polyethylene terephthalate containing 3% by mass of fine-particle silica [intrinsic viscosity measured at 30 ° C. in a mixed solvent of phenol / tetrachloroethane and the like = 0.68 dl / g]
Was used as a core component, and an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer having an ethylene content of 40 mol% and MI = 10 was spun at a spinning temperature of 260 ° C. to obtain a core-sheath composite fiber. (Core / sheath ratio = 50/50, 167 dtex /
48 filaments). Using this fiber, the number of false twists is 2350
T / M, a first-stage heater temperature of 120 ° C., and a second-stage heater temperature of 135 ° C. were subjected to false twisting to obtain a false twisted yarn. The crimp rate of the obtained false twisted yarn was 17%. The obtained false twisted yarn is bundled to obtain a tow of 44000 dtex,
This was cut into 127 mm to obtain staple fibers.
Next, the obtained staple fiber was opened by carding to obtain a sliver of 17 g / m. Two opened slivers are drawn together to make them thicker, cut to a length of 6 cm, and then bound at one end with a cotton thread, immersed in a container filled with water, and irradiated with 2450 MHz, 1 kW microwaves. To bring the water in the container to a boil. Next, the fiber bundle in the container was cooled with cooling water, centrifugally dehydrated, and air-dried. The obtained fiber bundle had a hemispherical shape, and a large number of cellular voids could be confirmed on the bottom surface. The surface had 23 openings / cm ² having a major axis of 1 to 3 mm and a depth of 5 mm. The obtained body sponge had satisfactory foaming of the body soap and a soft and satisfactory texture.

Example 2 Three pieces of the false twisted yarn obtained in Example 1 were aligned and 50
1dtex / 144 filaments were knitted as a cut pile yarn using a seal milling knitting machine, and the cut pile height was 7 mm, width 130 cm,
A green fabric having a basis weight of 570 g / m ² was obtained. Break the greige,
Shearing was performed to adjust the pile shape to obtain an organized cloth. Next, the conditioned cloth was continuously immersed in hot water of 98 ° C., then immersed in cold water, and dried at 130 ° C. There were 27 openings / cm ^{2 on} the surface of the obtained finished cloth. The major axis of the opening was 1 mm, which was almost uniform. Furthermore, the depth of the opening was 2 mm in many cases, and was 6 mm which was the deepest and was equal to the pile height. The above-mentioned finishing cloth was cut into a rectangle having a length of 10 cm and a width of 20 cm, and was folded back so that the pile face was on the outside, and a long side portion was sewn into a square of 10 cm square. Next, 5 cm square urethane foam having a thickness of 5 mm was packed in the sewn product as a base material, and the remaining sides were sewn to obtain a sewn sponge. The obtained body sponge had good foaming properties and good feeling.

As a result of observing the cellular voids inside the body sponge obtained in Examples 1 and 2 in detail with an electron microscope, the porous structure is very similar to natural sponge, and should be called artificial sponge. Met. In addition, it is presumed that the formation of the opening is a result of eliminating the space occupied by the crimped fiber due to bubbles generated during the heat treatment.

[0038]

According to the present invention, a sponge comprising a porous fiber aggregate similar to the structure of natural sponge can be obtained.
Good foaming of the body soap and the facial cleansing soap could be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged schematic view of a urethane resin foam.

[Fig. 2] Enlarged schematic diagram of natural sponge

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of a porous fiber assembly constituting the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic external view of a spherical sponge according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1 ': skeleton 2: fused part 3: resin film 4: bonding point 5, 5': wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber 6: core component of wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber 7: opening a, b, c , D, e, f, g, h, i, j: fusion point

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A porous fiber aggregate containing 10 to 100% by mass of wet-heat-adhesive crimped fibers, wherein a large number of cellular voids are present inside the aggregate to constitute the aggregate. At least a part of the fiber is made of a porous fiber aggregate that is heat-bonded by the wet heat-bondable crimpable fiber, and at least a part of the surface has a major axis of 0.5 to 10 mm and an opening of 0.5 mm or more in depth. A body sponge characterized by being present. 2. The body sponge according to claim 1, wherein the openings are present at a rate of 5 to 30 / cm ^{2 over} substantially the entire surface of the porous fiber assembly. 3. A body sponge comprising a composite of the porous fiber assembly according to claim 1 and another substrate. 4. The body sponge according to claim 1, wherein the crimp of the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber is a three-dimensional crimp. 5. The body sponge according to claim 1, wherein the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber is a fiber in which an ethylene-vinyl alcohol polymer is present on at least a part of the fiber surface. 6. A porous fiber aggregate containing 10 to 100% by mass of wet-heat-adhesive crimped fibers, wherein a large number of cellular voids are present inside the aggregate to constitute the aggregate. At least a part of the fiber is made of a porous fiber aggregate that is heat-bonded by the wet-heat-adhesive crimped fiber, and at least a part of the surface has an opening of 0.5 to 10 mm in major axis and 0.5 mm or more in depth. A sponge for facial cleansing, characterized in that: